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Going a Mile Below

January 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment

 

Ever wonder how many Empire State buildings it would take to reach the Marcellus shale formation? Four Empire State buildings, stacking up over a mile! Energy In Depth’s Facebook page “The Real Promised Land” recently posted this infographic to showcase the geological wonders of energy production with technology like hyrdaulic fracturing. Miles below the earth’s surface and below groundwater supplies, natural gas and oil are extracted in a safe, responsible manner. What’s even more fascinating is that hydraulic fracturing is used to reach even greater depths in places like North Dakota where oil is extracted from wells that extend 10,000ft horizontally at a depth of 10,000ft. You can find the original graphic here.

 

Filed Under: News, Products and Power

In the Pipeline: 1/16/13

January 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Wind production tax credit: $12.1 billion. Renewable diesel fuel tax credit: $2.2 billon. Algae mandate: $59 million. Elbow-rubbing with Ed Markey: Priceless. Groupon (expires 1/20/13) reports: “For $1,300, you get one VIP ticket for entry at 7 p.m. (a $1,950 value)… On the eve of the presidential inauguration, the 2013 Green Inaugural Ball corrals political leaders in the fields of conservation, clean technology, and renewable energy to celebrate the environmental successes of the last four years and inspire continual progress. At the black-tie affair––which in 2009 featured celebrity guests Maroon 5, Al Gore, and Melissa Etheridge––attendees can brush elbows with current members of Congress, including Massachusetts House member Ed Markey and Minnesota Senator Al Franken, as they brainstorm about oil alternatives and clean technology.”

 

I guess lighting money on fire throws off some energy.  Seems rather ineffective though, right? Forbes (1/14/13) reports: “Federal lawmakers would like you to believe that they’ve turned over a new leaf in 2013. But this fiscal cliff deal is the same old corrupt, insider dealing that so disgusted the public last year. About a fifth of the deal’s pork spending is special favors for flailing green energy initiatives.”

 

Those judges (except for the one who knows what he is talking about) should all be required to put E15 in their tanks from now on.  We’ll see how they feel about their decision then. Bloomberg(1/15/13) reports: “A federal appeals court refused to reconsider a decision to throw out a lawsuit challenging an Environmental Protection Agency rule that allows higher concentrations of corn-based ethanol in gasoline… On the losing side were grocery, auto and oil industry trade groups that sued in 2010, saying using more corn-based ethanol in auto fuel would harm engines and push up the price of food and gasoline. Today’s decision upheld a three-judge panel’s ruling in August that said the industries couldn’t show they had suffered specific harm as a result of the EPA’s decision.”

 

You won’t have King Bolo to kick around anymore.  Maybe he will run for mayor of Longmont. Denver Post (1/16/13) reports: “Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will step down from his cabinet position in the Obama administration and return to Colorado to spend time with his family, his office has confirmed to The Denver Post.”

 

Pay close attention to Dan Kish.  He is a rare breed in Washington – a man who pulls no punches.  Ken Salazar only threatens to punch people. Politico (1/16/13) reports: “The constant message the Obama administration sends to the American people is clear — unreliable, intermittent and expensive energy sources will receive preferential treatment while the affordable and reliable sources we use every day will be taxed, embargoed and driven into bankruptcy,” Dan Kish of the Institute for Energy Research said in October. “President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar have presided over the most abysmal stewardship of public lands in recent history.”

 

I don’t know who Matt Gaetz is, but I can tell this man has a very bright future. NWFDailyNews.com (1/15/13) reports: “Last year state Rep. Matt Gaetz was able to neuter but not kill a state requirement that Florida service stations pump only gasoline containing ethanol… His fellow lawmakers refused to take the 2008 Renewable Fuel Standard Act off the books, but they did agree to remove provisions through which merchants could be punished for ignoring it.”

 

I love me some Tim Carney. Washington Examiner (1/15/13) reports: “A handful of companies have formed America’s Energy Advantage, which is lobbying to curb the export of natural gas. If you’ve been paying attention, you can probably guess who AEA is: U.S. corporations that buy natural gas and don’t want foreigners bidding up the price on gas.”

 

Looks like the only thing good in Washington this year will be the Nationals. Washington Post (1/15/13) reports: “The ownership of the Washington Nationals might as well have issued a public proclamation Tuesday by coming to terms with free agent closer Rafael Soriano: World Series or bust. Davey Johnson, 70, who’ll retire after this year, said it first. Now, owner Ted Lerner, 87, is all-in, too.”

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In the Pipeline: 1/15/13

January 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Could it be that investors have figured that now that the free money is coming to an end, it is time to leave the party? Bloomberg(1/14/13) reports: “Clean energy investment slid 11 percent last year after governments in industrial nations slashed subsidies for technologies ranging from wind turbines to solar power and biomass. The $268.7 billion invested in the industry last year was down from a record $302.3 billion in 2011, the second highest reading ever and was five times the level in 2004, according to data compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.”

 

Sounds like the EPA doesn’t like what they found in Pavilion.  And by that we mean they didn’t find any ‘evidence’ to advance an agenda that doesn’t include actual environmental protection.Billings Gazette (1/10/13) reports: “Federal environmental regulators have once again lengthened their investigation into potential groundwater contamination at a west-central Wyoming natural gas field, riling the operator in the field and area landowners, who are both fed up with the delays.”

 

The Big Pompino is back at the plate and pointing for the fences.  Don’t bet against this man. Politico (1/15/13) reports: “Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) today will reintroduce his legislation from the last congress targeting a variety of tax credits (with a few small adjustments). A House GOP aide tells ME that the bill, which picked up 28 Republican co-sponsors but didn’t see much movement in the last Congress, as well as the larger issue of energy tax provisions in general, is getting more attention from members following the fiscal cliff deal, which included an extension of the wind production tax credit and other energy provisions.”

 

Beyond Belief: Sierra Club “Beyond” Campaigns now include national security, prosperity, and common sense. Politico (1/14/13) reports: “Top brass at the Sierra Club say they have new hope that President Barack Obama will reject the Keystone XL pipeline because of the high-carbon intensity of tar sands oil drilling… Before, activists thought that there was little real chance of such a decision, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said on a press call Monday.”

 

Greeks are raiding public forests to get wood to heat their homes because normal heating oil is too expensive.  Don’t think for a second that this is some silly situation in a faraway land that could never happen here in America. WSJ (1/11/13) reports: “Tens of thousands of trees have disappeared from parks and woodlands this winter across Greece, authorities said, in a worsening problem that has had tragic consequences as the crisis-hit country’s impoverished residents, too broke to pay for electricity or fuel, turn to fireplaces and wood stoves for heat… As winter temperatures bite, that trend is dealing a serious blow to the environment, as hillsides are denuded of timber and smog from fires clouds the air in Athens and other cities, posing risks to public health.”

 

Wind Turbines: The “Cuisinarts of the Sky”. MasterResource (1/14/13) reports: “Tension in the room mounted. The old man … pleaded with the [California] planning commission to protect his pigeons from ‘the Cuisinarts of the air’. The arrow went straight home, sending up a roar from the audience. A new image had been created, and the cameras flashed it across the country. Although often credited to staging by Cerrell and Associates, the term was conceived by the Sierra Club.”

 

Question: Name three people that crushed Matt Damon this weekend at the box office.  Answer: A hobbit, a dead President, and Bette Midler.  And no, Bette Midler is not a hobbit. The Hill(1/7/13) reports: “Fracking gets natural gas out of the ground, but it isn’t bringing people into movie theaters… Big stars and political controversy didn’t translate into a significant box-office haul as “Promised Land,” a new movie exploring environmental concerns about the gas-production method known more formally as “hydraulic fracturing,” fared poorly in its nationwide opening.”

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In the Pipeline: 1/14/13

January 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Coming in at number 3 on the laundry list of your progressive rights (after condoms and the Internet), you have the right to pursue sunlight that may or may not hit your outrageously expensive solar panels that have been installed by the ‘market’ – cough, coercion – but who cares!  You won’t have to worry about going over the threshold for the tax break, because there’s no way you’ll even have access to anything that resembles a reliable source of energy.  Now we just have to decide how much energy everyone needs and call it a day! Christian Science Monitor (1/10/13) reports: “A benefit of consumers paying for the tax is that they would be encouraged to make important choices – such as adjusting their thermostats, changing their light bulbs, or refusing to do so and paying the tax. As with any tax on consumption, however, poorer Americans would suffer more than wealthier ones… A simple exemption, however, could make the tax burden much lighter for poorer Americans, while at the same time encouraging even greater conservation. The idea is simple: Each household would be exempted from the tax for a modest amount of electricity per month or year; the exemption would be most effective if the system also imposed only minimal usage charges for electricity below the cutoff. The system would recognize almost all households need to use some electricity, but that consumption beyond the minimum would be taxed.” [Emphasis added]

 

Blue Ribbon Commission on Delaying and Obfuscation recommends more delay and obfuscation.  The House and Energy Commerce Committee is rude enough to point out that we probably need less of both. Energy & Commerce (1/11/2013) reports: “We cannot have a serious conversation about solving America’s nuclear waste problems without talking about Yucca Mountain. There remains a gaping hole in this implementation plan because President Obama precluded the commission from considering Yucca Mountain in its report. The Blue Ribbon Commission emphasized the need for a long-term storage repository, and Yucca Mountain remains the most viable and thoroughly studied option.”

 

So, let’s review.  A large government agency that would benefit from government regulation of GHG emissions produces a questionable report designed to support (wait for it) . . . government regulation of GHGs. Washington Time (1/11/13) reports: “Strangely, NCDC changes temperature data even from the distant past without notification. For example, NCDC now asserts that the average temperature in July 1936 was 76.4 degrees, a full degree cooler than the 77.4 degrees that they claimed for the month in the July 2012 SOTC report. This allows them to continue to say that July 2012 set a record… Mr. Watts found that in the 23 monthly SOTC reports between October 2010 and November 2012 (three SOTC reports did not list average temperatures), 22 of them do not match the NCDC database, presumably due to later updating when all the data are received and analyzed. In all cases except one, the country cooled when all the data were incorporated.”

 

Gosh, we didn’t realize the bad guys were running out of talking points, but apparently fracking is going to ‘kill’ the whole world. NY Daily News (1/11/13) reports: “Fracking kills,” Ono said at a press conference with other drilling opponents. “And it doesn’t just kill us, it kills the land, nature and eventually the whole world.”… “Actors by nature are narcissists, and so it is no surprise that they ‘imagine’ themselves as scientists, engineers, farmers and economists,” said Karen Moreau of the state Petroleum Council… “They are also hypocrites of the first order,” Moreau said. “Wealthy urbanites who live in expensive energy consuming mansions, happy to burn natural gas in their gourmet eight-burner cooktops and to enjoy the benefits of low-cost heat and electricity as a result of ‘fracked’ gas.”

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In the Pipeline: 1/11/13

January 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

This boggles even me. Washington Examiner (1/10/13) reports: “A new video game featuring a black alien female superhero delivered to Earth to fight global warming is about to hit the market thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Obama administration… The National Endowment for the Arts is funding the Spelman College of Atlanta, Ga.’s multi-episode game called “HERadventure.” In the grant announcement made last year, the NEA said the story ‘focuses on a young female superhero sent to Earth to save her own planet from devastation because of climate changes caused by social issues impacting women and girls.’”

 

The Keystone Cops of the Obama Administration succeed.  Their horsing around means china will get more oil from Alberta than Keystone XL would send to the US. Financial Post (1/10/13) reports: “The Canadian arm of Dallas-based Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP is upping by 20% the capacity of its proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to Canada’s West Coast, extending its lead over transportation rival Enbridge Inc.’s Northern Gateway project in the race to deliver Alberta oil to new markets… Kinder Morgan Canada Inc. said Thursday it has enough support from shippers to boost capacity on the Pacific-bound line to 890,000 barrels per day, up from a previous target of 750,000 barrels daily.”

 

Why does this remind us of the proctologist with both hands on your shoulders who keeps saying, “everything will be fine.” E&ETV(1/10/13) reports: “How would a bottom-up approach to environment policy help engage conservatives and promote the conservative environmental agenda? During today’s OnPoint, Ed Schafer, former secretary of Agriculture and former governor of North Dakota, and Gale Norton, former Interior secretary, discuss their work with the Conservation Leadership Council and explain why they believe limited government is the best approach to managing the United States’ environmental challenges.”

 

Come on, guys.  Everyone can see your hands (yes, both hands) reaching into the cookie jar. Politico (1/10/13) reports: “Dow Chemical denied Thursday that it’s trying to corner a potential natural gas export market while urging the Energy Department to limit its approval of other companies’ applications to export liquefied natural gas.”

 

Yea, sure we have nice competitive advantage right now in the U.S.  But wait, who is the “we”?  Because usually it’s “we the people” who take it in the shorts when the bad guys and good guys start to play footsie with each other in Washington.  Politico(1/10/13) reports: “What does the Sierra Club have in common with chemical company Dow Chemical?… They’re both opposed to exporting natural gas, even though it’s for different reasons… ‘The concern is that you have this tremendous competitive advantage in the U.S. right now — don’t squander that. Don’t give that away,’ Biltz said.”

 

“The Unwelcome Renaissance”?  Really?  Energy that your average Joe can afford is awesome, and a rare change from the dreary plight most humans suffered through over the course of our existence.  Why are humans so ashamed of being awesome these days? The Economist (1/5/13) reports: “WHILE coal production and use plummet in America, in Europe “we have some kind of golden age of coal,” says Anne-Sophie Corbeau of the International Energy Agency. The amount of electricity generated from coal is rising at annualised rates of as much as 50% in some European countries. Since coal is by the far the most polluting source of electricity, with more greenhouse gas produced per kilowatt hour than any other fossil fuel, this is making a mockery of European environmental aspirations. How did it happen?”

 

This is a little scary, a little weird, but totally worth the read. Mother Jones (1/9/13) reports: “It was the kind of meeting that conspiratorial conservative bloggers dream about… A month after President Barack Obama won reelection, top brass from three dozen of the most powerful groups in liberal politics met at the headquarters of the National Education Association (NEA), a few blocks north of the White House. Brought together by the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Communication Workers of America (CWA), and the NAACP, the meeting was invite-only and off-the-record. Despite all the Democratic wins in November, a sense of outrage filled the room as labor officials, environmentalists, civil rights activists, immigration reformers, and a panoply of other progressive leaders discussed the challenges facing the left and what to do to beat back the deep-pocketed conservative movement.”

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In the Pipeline: 1/9/13

January 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment

This dude is the rock for our roll. Energy Guardian (1/9/13) reports: “The effort by conservative Republican lawmakers and anti-tax groups to end tax breaks for renewable energy didn’t go anywhere in Congress last year, but that’s not stopping Rep. Mike Pompeo from trying again… The bill has the backing of key conservative groups that oppose renewable energy tax breaks, according to a letter Pompeo is circulating to colleagues.”

 

With the right energy policy, this could be America. Bloomberg(1/7/13) reports: “Legislators in Texas, the biggest energy producer among U.S. states, will begin deliberating its next two-year budget with a surplus forecast today to match an $8.8 billion record set in 2007… The Texas economy has topped budget projections over the past 15 months, as booming energy output fueled job growth and an 11 percent fiscal first-quarter gain in sales-tax receipts, the biggest source of general-fund revenue. Even after paying off $7 billion in health and school bills, Comptroller Susan Combs said today that the state will be flush heading into 2014.”

 

I guess now that they can’t lobby for cap and trade, or for an environmentally and economically destructive ethanol program, or against access to our natural resources, or screw up wetlands policy, these retreads from the catastrophic Bush “Administration” figured it was time to work the other side of the street.  And just in case we missed the point, the whole thing is being funded by the collectivists over at the Environmental Defense Fund. E&ENews (1/8/13) reports: “The CLC has spent plenty of time in recent months thinking about the costs associated with the country’s many environmental challenges and has sought to provide solutions that conservatives can embrace… Formed last year and featuring several former George W. Bush administration officials, CLC hopes to be a new voice for free-market, limited-government conservation efforts that can garner support and reignite environmental debate in conservative and libertarian circles.”

 

Seriously dude, the science is settled.  Shut up and stop asking questions about the data. The Telegraph (1/8/13) reports: “Although the first decade of the 21st century was the warmest on record, warming has not been as rapid since 2000 as over the longer period since the 1970s,” he said. “This variability in global temperatures is not unusual, with several periods lasting a decade or more with little or no warming since the instrumental record began.”

 

Wait, really?  That’s all the debate boils down to?  It has nothing to do with millions of people trying to improve their lives with access to affordable and reliable energy?  Nothing to do with silly things like science, markets, technology and BTUs? Forbes(1/2/13) reports: “The clean energy subsidy debate is one of the most contested, but unsophisticated policy debates in Washington today. It largely boils down to a specific energy industry fighting to extend its preferred subsidy and anti-clean energy advocates fighting to eliminate said subsidy. As a result, little attention is paid to how these policy incentives impact clean energy innovation and whether energy technologies need different types of support or better deployment support all together.”

 

In all fairness, he left out that the royal house of Qatar also bankrolled Matt Damon’s propaganda flop. Forbes (1/8/13) reports: “Al-Jazeera, the anti-Israeli network funded by Qatar, closed a deal with the struggling left-wing cable station Current TV founded by Al Gore which gives the them access to 40 million U.S. homes. Unfortunately for Mr. Gore, the purchase wasn’t consummated until January 2nd, depriving him of success in his efforts to beat the clock on an estimated $100 million payback before higher tax rates kicked in on January 1.”

 

What do you get when you live in a society where the predators start to outweigh the producers? Monkey-Wrenching America (1/7/13) reports: “The industry has ebbed and flowed a bit as various direct subsidies have waxed and waned. But wind’s most sustained growth spurt coincided with the renewable energy portfolio fad that swept the states, mandating markets where little or no natural market existed… Dr. David Dismukes, of Louisiana State University, examined the role various government interventions have played in the growth of the industry in a recent report, ”Removing Big Wind’s Training Wheels: The Case for Ending the Federal Production Tax Credit.” Here’s part of what the report had to say about renewable energy production mandates.”

 

Bonner does solid work.  This is no exception. National Center for Public Policy Research (1/8/13) reports: “The Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to bypass normal regulatory procedures to stop a mining project in a remote part of Alaska could have profound implications for domestic mining across the U.S., according to Dr. Bonner Cohen in a scathing new report, “The EPA’s Pebble Mine Assessment Puts Politics Above Sound Science.”… The report, available athttp://www.nationalcenter.org/NPA646.html, has been submitted to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for use in an investigation of the EPA related to the proposed Pebble Mine project.”

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In the Pipeline: 1/8/13

January 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

You mean those roughnecks and coal miners aren’t kidding when they say they like to hunt and fish in their own back yards? For some reason I used to think it was more sensible to listen to “real” environmentalists from places like Manhattan. WSJ (1/4/13) reports: “The inescapable if unfashionable conclusion is that the human use of fossil fuels has been causing the greening of the planet in three separate ways: first, by displacing firewood as a fuel; second, by warming the climate; and third, by raising carbon dioxide levels, which raise plant growth rates.”

 

Even the New York Times understands that biofuels are taking food out of the mouths of the world’s poor. NYTimes (1/5/13) reports: “In the tiny tortillerias of this city, people complain ceaselessly about the high price of corn. Just three years ago, one quetzal — about 15 cents — bought eight tortillas; today it buys only four. And eggs have tripled in price because chickens eat corn feed.”

 

“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in [Boulder] that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.” Denver Post (1/6/13) reports: “An army of consultants and citizen working groups are on the march in Boulder, trying to determine whether Xcel Energy, the state’s largest electric utility, can be replaced with a municipal power authority.”

 

Gore’s Oil bet pays off while his solar stocks sink. Must be because of global warming. WSJ (1/7/13) reports: “Al Gore’s big payday courtesy of a Middle Eastern oil emirate couldn’t come at a better time for the former vice president. That’s because of the rough market for Mr. Gore’s investments in oil alternatives. While Mr. Gore collects an estimated $100 million selling Current TV to Qatar-backed broadcaster Al Jazeera, the recent sale of a solar company backed by Mr. Gore’s venture-capital firm reveals a green-energy disaster.”

 

The Boring Legacy: “Damon’s fracking hunt finds little good will”. E&ENews (1/2/13) reports: “Although the actors lauded the Times series, the paper’s review of “Promised Land” didn’t return the favor. Reviewer A.O. Scott opined that the film “works” but that it is “unable to fulfill its own promise.”… The Washington Post was less charitable, calling it an “attractive, well-intentioned dry well.” And the Los Angeles Times deemed it ‘an echo of a convincing film rather than the real deal.’”

 

I don’t remember this, but it appears we’re in the wrong business.AZCentral.com (4/12/12) reports: “Rob Gillette, the ousted CEO of First Solar Inc., earned more than $32 million in compensation from the struggling company for his two years of service, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday… Gillette came to First Solar from Phoenix-based Honeywell Aerospace in October 2009 and was fired by the Tempe-based solar company’s board of directors in October 2011… First Solar’s share price was greater than $143 the day Gillette’s employment contract began with the company, and it was $100 less when he was fired two years later… Most of his compensation came in the three months of 2009 that he worked, when his total compensation, including salary, bonus, stock and options awards and other perks, reached $16.55 million.”

 

What’s their REAL agenda? Clean Technica (1/2/13) reports: “The AVSP, according to estimates provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is expected to offset more than 775,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year. That’s the equivalent of eradicating three million cars from California’s highways over the 20 years of the plant’s projected operation (though, it’s likely to actually run longer than 20 years)… Now, if only we could also get rid of three million cars — then we’d be doing pretty well!”

 

So can we get back to real work now? All the bickering is less than productive. The Global Warming Policy Foundation (1/7/13) reports: “That the global temperature standstill (observed from 1997 to the present) could continue to at least 2017 would mean a 20-year period of no statistically significant change in global temperatures. Such a period of no increase coming at a time when greenhouse gas forcing is rising will pose fundamental problems for climate models… If the latest Met Office prediction is correct, and it accords far more closely with the observed data than previous predictions, then it will prove to be a lesson in humility. It will show that the previous predictions that were given so confidently as advice to the UK government and so unquestioningly accepted by the media, were wrong, and that the so-called sceptics who were derided for questioning them were actually on the right track.”

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In the Pipeline: 1/7/13

January 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The chance to get rich off global warming is slipping away.  Which could explain why Vice President Gore joined up with the royal house of Qatar, so they can hate American domestic energy production together.  Did we mention that Al Jazeera also is backing that lousy propaganda from Matt Damon? WSJ (1/4/13) reports: “The Kyoto Protocol on climate change used to be a big deal. So big that the future of humanity was said to hinge on its implementation. Did you know it expired on New Year’s Day? We’re guessing you didn’t, but don’t worry. It’s no big deal.”

 

I wonder what this dude has in mind.  I bet it is taxes on carbon.  I personally think we should tax dangerous, regressive, economically destructive, pointless policies. NYTimes (1/5/13) reports: “NO one enjoys paying taxes — and no politician relishes raising them. Yet some taxes actually make us better off, even apart from the revenue they provide for public services… Taxes on activities with harmful side effects are a case in point. Strongly favored even by many conservative Republican economists, these levies are known as Pigovian taxes, after the British economist Arthur C. Pigou, who advocated them in his 1920 book, “The Economics of Welfare.” In today’s deeply polarized political climate, they offer one of the few realistic hopes for progress.”

 

Good news for Alaska: Unwanted yuppies will continue to be kept at bay. Anchorage Daily News (1/5/13) reports: “The overwhelming majority of Alaska is getting colder and has been since 2000, according to a study by researchers with the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. But the authors stop short of saying the lower temperatures contradict that idea that the earth, and Alaska in particular, is warming. Instead, they conclude that the findings show a temporary variation.”

 

We’d want to ask the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund (renamed as Earthworks) whether this also applies to Global Warming research. CBS Pittsburgh (1/6/13) reports: “‘In its inability to find a single company willing to test water quality before and after drilling and fracking, the EPA is being thwarted in perhaps the most important part of its study of fracking’s impacts,’ Earthworks said in a statement… ‘Computer simulations are not enough,’ Alan Septoff, a spokesman for Earthworks, said.”

 

Let a thousand Bakkens Bloom: Fed Reserve reports Bakken income up 19% while U.S. is flat. INFORUM (1/4/13) reports: “The Bakken oil boom is now five times larger than the area’s 1980s oil boom, according to a new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.”

 

Trick question: What’s the one country in the world that embraces opportunity, investment, and adding tangible value to society? Edmonton Journal (1/1/13) reports: “Alison Redford’s cabinet is expected to decide in January whether the government will spend $10 million to study the idea of building a rail line to ship oilsands products from northern Alberta to a port in Alaska… The money would help pay for a $40-million study that will investigate the feasibility of a proposed 2,400-kilometre rail line to carry landlocked oilsands products from Fort McMurray to Delta Junction, Alaska… From there, Alberta’s oil would flow through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline system to the Valdez Marine Terminal, and on to booming Asian markets.”

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In the Pipeline: 1/4/13

January 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Why has Gov. Cuomo been sitting on a state report that shows that hydraulic fracturing is safe? What does he have against job creation and economic growth in upstate New York? NYTimes(1/3/13) reports: “The state’s Health Department found in an analysis it prepared early last year that the much-debated drilling technology known as hydrofracking could be conducted safely in New York, according to a copy obtained by The New York Times from an expert who did not believe it should be kept secret… The analysis and other health assessments have been closely guarded by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and his administration as the governor weighs whether to approve fracking. Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, has long delayed making a decision, unnerved in part by strident opposition on his party’s left. A plan to allow a limited amount of fracking in the state’s Southern Tier along the Pennsylvania border is still seen as the most likely outcome, should the drilling process receive final approval.”

 

Can I get an amen? I said, can I get an AMEN?! Washington Times(1/3/12) reports: “At a time when jobs and the economy were, as they still are, in the forefront of each American’s mind, the president turned down an opportunity that would have created upward of 20,000 new jobs in the energy and manufacturing industries… At a time when unrest in the Middle East disrupted global oil supply, the president declined a pipeline that would have prevented the United States from spending $70 million per day to purchase oil from this volatile region… At a time when cash-strapped states were struggling through an anemic economic recovery, the president wrote off $585 million in potential state and local tax revenue the pipeline would have generated… None of this makes sense.”

 

Did you know that Al sold this thing to Al Jazeera rather than Glenn Beck because Al Jazeera was more in line with his ideology?  Think about that for a second. WSJ (1/2/13) reports: “Al-Jazeera, the Pan-Arab news channel that struggled to win space on American cable television, has acquired Current TV, boosting its reach in the U.S. nearly ninefold to about 40 million homes. With a focus on U.S. news, it plans to rebrand the left-leaning news network that cofounder Al Gore couldn’t make relevant… The former vice president confirmed the sale Wednesday, saying in a statement that Al-Jazeera shares Current TV’s mission ‘to give voice to those who are not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and diverse points of view; and to tell the stories that no one else is telling.’”

 

I dig contrarianism.  Especially when it is directed at folks like EPA. Energy Tribune (1/2/13) reports: “The Supreme Court, in Mass v. EPA, stated that the EPA must treat CO2 and other Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), as “pollutants” and then carryout an analysis to determine whether the increasing concentrations in atmospheric CO2 may reasonably be anticipated to endanger human health and welfare. The Court did not mandate regulation; rather it mandated that EPA go through an Endangerment Finding process.”

 

“A multiyear extension in conjunction with a well-crafted phase-out”?  Who in the world does Senator Udall think he is kidding?  This thing is the poster child for everything wrong with Federal energy policy.  And by the way, when has Senator Udall come up with a well-crafted anything? National Journal (1/3/12) reports: “The battle to get Congress to renew the wind-energy production tax credit before year’s end strained relationships among utilities, splintered support within the industry’s biggest trade group, and is setting up the industry—and its supporters in Congress—for a 2013 even more contentious than 2012… Many utilities, environmental groups, and lawmakers from both parties are cheering the news that the production tax credit was extended by one year as part of the fiscal cliff deal. But the bruising fight over the last year doesn’t bode well for the sector as it must now agree on how to ramp down the tax subsidy that was first created 21 years ago.”

 

How many times can a man turn his head, pretending he just doesn’t see? The answer my friend, will no doubt be uncovered by these two gentlemen. Politico (1/3/13) reports: “Lankford, in an interview with POLITICO Wednesday, said he was interested in looking into energy tax credits on his subcommittee… ‘The wind Production Tax Credit is a fertile field for congressional oversight, especially in light of the decision to expand the program’s eligibility requirements in the recent fiscal cliff legislation,” said Benjamin Cole, spokesman for the American Energy Alliance, a group that has ties to the oil industry. “The wind industry owes the American people full transparency in how this credit works at the ground level, and Chairman Issa is particularly well-suited to explore the potential for fraud in this billion dollar annual program.’”

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In the Pipeline: 1/3/13

January 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Jim Lankford is the right man for this job – a solid individual. Politico(1/2/13) reports: “The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is planning a renewed focus on energy issues in the next Congress… Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) will establish a new subcommittee on energy policy, health care and entitlements next year, POLITICO has learned. The subcommittee will be chaired by Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.).”

 

For you take the high road and I’ll take the low road, and I’ll be in Scotland afore ye.  Unless I’m a bird, then I’m probably going to die a horrific death from the blade of a wind turbine. Scotsman.com (1/2/13) reports: “The RSPB, which has objected to a number of major wind farm developments, claimed that the installation of the turbine would help improve the environmental performance of the charity’s estate. But now the charity has decided to scrap the scheme after it was blown off course by defence chiefs… More than 20 letters of objection from members of the public had already been received by Aberdeenshire Council, vehemently opposing the RSPB’s plans on the grounds that the turbine poses a risk to birdlife on the reserve.”

 

Keith Olbermann.  Eliot Spitzer.  Al Gore.  Now the royal house of Qatar.  Not sure if it is getting better or worse, but one thing is sure – the channel will continue to hate American energy production, just like it did when Al Gore ran it. NYTimes (1/2/13) reports: “Al Jazeera on Wednesday announced a deal to take over Current TV, the low-rated cable channel that was founded by Al Gore, a former vice president, and his business partners seven years ago. Al Jazeera plans to shut Current and start an English-language channel, which will be available in more than 40 million homes, with newscasts emanating from both New York and Doha, Qatar.”

 

Does anybody else smell treachery down at the EPA?  Or are we just picking up the scent of a great republic that is being smothered faster everyday?  OilPrice.com (1/1/13) reports: “The cargo of the train was owned by Bioversal Trading Inc., or its US partner Verdero, depending on what stage of the trip it was at. The companies “made several million dollars importing and exporting the fuel to exploit a loophole in a U.S. green energy program.” Each time the loaded train crossed the border the cargo earned its owner a certain amount of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), which were awarded by the US EPA to “promote and track production and importation of renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.” The RINs were supposed to be retired each time the shipment passed the border, but due to a glitch not all of them were. This enabled Bioversal to accumulate over 12 million RINs from the 24 trips, worth between 50 cents and $1 each, which they can then sell on to oil companies that haven’t met the EPA’s renewable fuel requirements.”

 

This battle may have been lost, but at least a few of the fat ladies in Congress have begun to warm up their pipes. The Hill (1/2/13) reports: “A recently renewed wind power credit could face more scrutiny next Congress, as House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Wednesday that the credit is of “serious interest” to his committee… ‘In 24 hours the heavily subsidized wind industry has gone from the verge of collapse to a modern-day Gold Rush. H.R. 8 seems to create a perverse incentive to rush production of additional facilities even when there may not be adequate demand for wind, biomass, or geothermal energy,’ Issa told The Hill in a statement.”

 

Hollywood, railroads, rum producers, and phantom fuels… It turns out you’re a fool these days to not scramble for a bite of the pie.  And by ‘bite’ of pie, we mean the crumbs falling off of Uncle Sam’s scraggly beard as he wolfs down the entire U.S. economy. ABC News(1/1/13) reports: “The “fiscal cliff” compromise has been heralded as a saving grace for middle class taxpayers, their families and the unemployed… But buried in the fine print of the 150-page deal are also some lesser-known New Year’s gifts to some of Washington’s favorite industries.”

 

Stossel hits it right on the screws. Reason (1/2/13) reports: “It is scary to think about a world without regulation. Intuition leads us to think that without government we’d be victims of fraud, as I explain in my latest book, “No, They Can’t!” But our intuition is wrong… Consider this: An entire sector of the economy operates almost entirely without government controls. Complete strangers exchange big money there every day.”

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