It would take 27,000 magnitude 3's to relieve the stress of a mag 
5..it would take 729 MILLION magnitude 3s to relieve a magnitude 8..

The only thing these smaller quakes do is to actually raise the stress levels..

Canie

At 08:02 AM 10/5/2011, you wrote:
>Probably not.  The release of energy in small amounts, by whatever 
>cause, probably is good as it relieves stress.  Remember, there were 
>some BIG earthquakes in the New Madrid area between December 1811 
>and February 1812.
>If petroleum exploration and extraction is the cause of these 
>seismic events, it is probably doing a great service to the area. by 
>relieving stress in small increments.

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