Hello Roger,

I don't think that David is saying that lightning itself has anything to do with earthquakes. I think where David is coming from is that charges are required in the atmosphere and/or on the ground in order to have lightning. Without charges (positive and negative), there will be no lightning. The question is what is happening with these charges in locations that don't experience lightning?

Lowell Whiteside, of the USGS, had (maybe still has) a theory about solar flares and earthquakes where his hypothesis was that charges from solor flares would filter down thru the atmosphere and subsequently charge the geocapacitors that in turn would lubricate the faults allowing them to slip more easily. Lowell had shown two different areas where earthquakes would occur following solar flares.

If what Lowell Whiteside is hypothesizing is true, then what is the mechanism that causes charges to be drawn into the earths crust. In addition, if there is a mechanism causing charges to be drawn into the earths crust, couldn't that same mechanism be responsible for drawing other charges out of the atmosphere without there being a solar flare involved? And if this is what is happening, how can it be measured?

Dennis