Texas Tribune Daily Brief | | Mounting Evidence Suggests Dallas Quakes are Induced by Human Activity | | Scientists presented new evidence this week suggesting that all five North Texas earthquake sequences, including those in Dallas, have been triggered by humans. Until now, researchers have not commented on the cause of the Dallas-Irving quakes or the 4-magnitude quake that struck Venus, 30 miles south of Dallas, in May. While scientists believe that high-volume injection wells may have triggered the quakes in Venus, they have not yet worked out a specific mechanism behind the Dallas and Irving quakes. 'We don't think they're natural,' SMU seismologist Heather DeShon told The Dallas Morning News. 'But we don't understand the subsurface physics surrounding the Irving earthquake sequence, so we're still considering all causes.' Anna Kuchment , The Dallas Morning News 12/17/2015 | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News | Virginia to Remove Embattled Guardrail System from Roadways | | Virginia will begin removing a controversial highway guardrail system from some of its roadways after a crash test confirmed its concerns about the safety of the device, state officials said Wednesday. Virginia spent about $250,000 to perform its own tests of Trinity Industries Inc.'s ET-Plus System this year after deeming the safety tests overseen by the federal government to be insufficient. Federal officials announced earlier this year that the system had passed all eight crash tests they requested. Alanna Durkin?|?AP, The Washington Post 12/17/2015 | Read Article: The Washington Post | | |