Oil politics aside, Oklahoma governor offers thanks to Jerry Brown

Republican Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has oil wells outside her statehouse office.

Earlier this year, she issued an executive order barring agencies from going along with President Barack Obama’s climate change plan.

Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown has derided GOP skeptics of man’s role in global warming as “troglodytes,” while making efforts to curb oil consumption and climate change a central theme of his final term.

But all is not conflict between the two states. When it comes to earthquakes in the Sooner State, Fallin recently had some warm words for Brown.

In a Dec. 9 letter, Fallin thanked “Jerry” for the assistance of Caltrans experts who have shared “their knowledge and expertise” with Oklahoma officials as “we learn more about mitigating risks associated with these ‘new to us’ natural phenomena,” Fallin wrote.

California knows a thing or two about earthquakes, which historically have been concentrated along the West Coast. In recent years, though, the number of earthquakes in the central and eastern U.S. has increased significantly. In 2011, a 5.0 quake caused millions of dollars in damage in Oklahoma.

Many experts link the shaking to disposal wells from oil and gas drilling operations, including fracking. Notwithstanding the “natural phenomena” mentioned in her letter to Brown, Fallin acknowledged in August a “direct correlation” between the shaking and disposal wells.

Jim Miller

This story was originally published December 26, 2015 at 9:01 PM with the headline "Oil politics aside, Oklahoma governor offers thanks to Jerry Brown."