Category Archives: Energy

Inequality Godzilla

You’re going to start seeing this in photoshops and cartoons and on t-shirts and bumper stickers soon, so I thought I’d let you know ahead of time where it originated.

Excerpt from Senator Mike Lee’s SOTU response – January 28, 2014

Real inequality is trapping poor children in failing schools to benefit bureaucrats and union bosses. It’s penalizing low-income parents for getting married, or getting better jobs.

It’s guaranteeing insurance companies taxpayer bailouts if Obamacare cuts into their profits.

Inequality is blocking thousands of middle-class jobs in the energy industry as a favor to partisan donors and radical environmental activists.

Inequality is denying viable, unborn children any protection under the law, while exempting unsanitary, late-term abortion clinics from basic safety standards.

It’s denying citizens their right to define marriage in their states as traditionally or as broadly as their diverse values dictate.

It’s the federal government hurting rural communities, especially in the west, by controlling and mismanaging public lands.

It’s changing laws without congressional approval, and spying on American citizens without constitutional authority.

And of course, Obamacare – all by itself – is an inequality Godzilla that has robbed working families of their insurance, their doctors, their wages and their jobs. Many Americans are now seeing why some of us fought so hard to stop this train-wreck over the last four years.

Government-driven inequality is the reason why, as hard-working families across the country struggle to make ends meet, six of the ten wealthiest counties in America are now suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Throughout the last five years, President Obama has promised an economy for the middle class; but all he’s delivered is an economy for the middle-men.

And tonight his party cheered as he asked for more of the same, as if the solution to inequality were … well … more inequality.

Source:

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Filed under Abortion, Economy, Education, Energy, Equality, Insurance, Obamacare

Gore-acles and Fracktivists

2013 Al Gore FAIL

Truthland Trailer

About Truthland: Shelly and her husband own a dairy farm near Franklin Forks, Pennsylvania and they have gas wells on their property. Truthland is her story of how she answered several questions raised by Gasland. She travels the country seeking out the truth about Josh Fox’s claims, talking to experts ranging from John Hanger to Terry Engelder, visits a steel plant, discusses issues with landowners, learns why one shouldn’t smoke in the shower of some homes and even participates in some explosive tests of gas well casings. She asks questions, reports on what she learns and puts it all together from the perspective of a farm wife and mother with the same concerns any family would have. It’s authentic. It’s educational. It’s the antidote to a very flawed Gasland.

Truthland: Dispatches from the Real Gasland – Full Movie [HD]

Source:

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Filed under Al Gore, Climate, Energy, Environmentalism

Something Rotten in Gasland

You may or may not have heard of the anti-fracking movies “Gasland” and “Gasland II”” by Josh Fox. The fake “David and Goliath” myth about him is presented uncritically at the beginning of this trailer as absolute fact.

Gasland Trailer [2:47]

According to the Josh-as-David myth, a natural gas company offered him $100,000 for permission to frack on his property. Josh-as-David nobly declined. Instead of taking the money and keeping quiet about the alleged evils of fracking, Josh stood up to the Philistine natural gas giants and made “Gasland.”

The thing about heroes is … they’re supposed to be honest. Josh Fox is not. In the movie’s opening segments, Fox often refers to the 19.5 acres in Milanville, Pa., as “my land.” He also talks about “my $100,000″ in reference to money allegedly offered to him by an unnamed gas company to frack on “his” land.

1. The land belongs to his father.

2. The property consists of two parcels each about 500 feet wide and totaling 19.29 acres. One is fairly steep in parts; the other is near a stream. A typical fracking well pad is slightly less than 500 feet square and requires fairly level ground. It also must be sited a minimum of 500 feet from any major stream, building, well or septic system. Neither of Josh’s father’s parcels are suitable for fracking.

3. Natural gas leases are easy to identify, because each company uses a unique format. In “Gasland,” Josh shows the lease offer he claims he turned down. It’s from Hess Corporation, a company that has done zero business in the township where Pater Fox’s parcels are located.

4. Josh claims he received “his” offer in 2008. But the Hess company didn’t start soliciting fracking leases until 2009 when Josh was already making “Gasland.” However, once Hess came into the general area (though not the specific townships where the Fox parcels are), their lease forms became widely available.

5. When challenged, Josh says he no longer has the original documents. What … this was SO IMPORTANT that he turned up his nose at $100 grand, but then he misplaced the evidence? Maybe the dog ate them.

6. Josh likes to cast himself as this altruistic savior of the planet, but anti-fracking has paid much more than $100,000, even if that latter money had ever even existed, which it clearly did not. HBO paid him $750,000 in upfront money to shoot “Gasland”, then publicized it for him. The Park Foundation paid him $150,000 to promote anti-fracking. And he gets paid $5,000-$7,500 to lie out his lying liar hole about his personal saintliness and the evils of natural gas.

Gasland II Debunked [2:44]

Source:

Something Rotten in Gasland by Tom Shepstone – June 7, 2011

http://energyindepth.org/marcellus/something-rotten-in-gasland/

H/t J-bob

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Filed under Energy, Environmentalism, Fracking, Movies & Television

The Moral Case for the Fossil Fuel Industry

If we define morality to mean any activity that is fundamentally beneficial to human life, then the fossil fuel industry is resoundingly moral, because it produces the most abundant, affordable, reliable energy in the world.

The fossil fuel industry thus makes every other industry more productive and, in turn, makes every individual more productive and thus more prosperous. Because of fossil fuels, human beings enjoy a level of opportunity to pursue happiness that previous generations couldn’t even dream of.

But, I hear the Lefties squawking, fossil fuels are bad for the environment, which makes them immoral by your own definition! Really? Let’s talk about that. In order to assess the fossil fuel industry’s impact on our environment, we need to answer two questions:

  1. What is its impact on threats to the environment?
  2. What is its impact on environmental resources?

1. What is its impact on threats to the environment?

The “fossil fuels are immoral” case says they damage our environment, making it less habitable for humans. But this is based on a false assumption that the raw environment is hospitable to humans. It isn’t.

The natural environment is loaded with things that cause high infant mortality, premature aging, injury, disease and death. It is only thanks to the cheap, plentiful, reliable energy provided by fossil fuels that we are able to modify and control our environment so that it is safer and more hospitable for human life.

We enjoy sturdy, climate-controlled shelter and clothing, purified water and plentiful fresh food only because of fossil fuels. We live longer, healthier lives because of labor saving machinery and high tech medical care. None of this is possible without cheap, plentiful, reliable energy.

2. What is its impact on environmental resources?

The “fossil fuels are immoral” case says fossil fuel resources are scarce, so we shouldn’t use them. That’s just dumb. If I’ve got food in the cupboard and I’m hungry, I need to eat so I can keep up my strength to work toward obtaining more food.

Besides coal, oil, and natural gas aren’t natural resources until we do something to make them useful. If we just leave them in the ground, they don’t do anyone any good at all.

Some call those developing shale and oil sands energy sources “exploiters.” Gimme a break. They’re turning stone and sludge into life-giving energy. What good is that stuff doing anyone sitting in the ground? Sheesh.

Besides, every material is finite including the materials necessary to making solar panels and windmills. And don’t get me started on what the absurd corn ethanol industry has done to food prices. “You can always grow more corn” isn’t a valid argument, because you need land to grow corn and land is a finite resource.

And so what if fossil fuels will eventually be depleted? They’re there now. We’re here now. The only MORAL choice is to use them to keep human society strong while we work on developing non-fossil fuel energy technologies that work as well or better than fossil fuels … which the ones we have now do not.

The above is based on The Moral Case for the Fossil Fueld Industry

Click to access The-Moral-Case-for-Fossil-Fuels.pdf

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Filed under Energy, Environmentalism

Another government thumbs up for fracking safety

Former Energy Secretary Steven Chu and current Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz have BOTH said that fracking is safe.

And former Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] Administrator Lisa Jackson told Congress she was “not aware of any proven case where the fracking process itself has affected water.

Now, a new report from British Department of Health says,

Contamination of groundwater from the underground fracking process itself (i.e., the fracturing of the shale) is unlikely. Surface spills of fracking fluids or waste water may affect groundwater; and emissions to air also have the potential to impact on health. [But] reported problems are typically a result of operational failure and a poor regulatory environment.”

British DoH Summary:

Potential risks to public health from exposure to emissions associated with the shale gas extraction process [aka, fracking] are low if operations are properly run and regulated.

If you have not seen FrackNation yet, then you don’t really have all the fracking facts.

http://fracknation.com/

Source:

http://washingtonexaminer.com/fracking-poses-low-risk-to-public-health-says-uk-government/article/2538294

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Filed under Energy, EPA, Fracking

Flaming faucets are not caused by fracking

Methane (which is flammable) was first isolated by Alessandro Volta between 1776 and 1778. Volta was inspired to study gases after reading work by Benjamin Franklin.

The following is excerpted from a letter written by Benjamin Franklin:

In 1764, I heard it several times mentioned, that by applying a lighted candle near the surface of some rivers, a sudden flame would catch and spread on the water. …

In 1765, I heard of the same experiment, the whole surface of the water was in a blaze, as instantly as the vapour of warm inflammable spirits.

Obama’s Former EPA Chief Admits NO Fracking Water Contamination

Later, the Obama EPA issued … then RETRACTED … a “Fracking Is Bad” report.

Sources:

What is methane? @ http://www.rwlwater.com/what-is-methane/

Franklin letter @ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=579036415471047&set=a.208982849143074.48148.208180129223346&type=1&ref=nf. Edited for clarity only by CtH. The full text is at this URL.

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Filed under Energy, Environmentalism, EPA, Fracking

Obama flushes more of our money down the toilet

Remember when unicorn

Once again, the American public lost when the Obama administration attempted to pick “winners and losers” in the free market. Today the electric car company Fisker Automotive, which received nearly $200 million in taxpayer money, is laying off three-fourths of its U.S. workers.

The Anaheim, CA-based start up has failed at pretty much every level – especially when it comes to the company’s ultra expensive luxury electric hybrid, the Karma (what a name!), which is assembled in Finland and received a green-energy loan to transition the assembly to the U.S., something that never happened.

This losing tax-subsidized venture joins other past losers like the Obama-subsidized Volt that gets 40 miles per battery charge, or like the Obama-subsidized Tesla that turns into a “brick” when the battery completely discharges and then costs $40,000 to repair.

This is really just the latest manifestation of the administration’s crony capitalism as their green energy buddies benefit from this atrocious waste of taxpayer money. Americans really need to get outraged by these wasteful ventures. As we’ve seen time and time again, We the People are always stuck subsidizing the left’s “losers.”

So what’s the solution and where do Americans go with our outrage? Stand up against the crony capitalism and elect only those who understand and will let America’s marketplace dictate economic successes, instead of letting politicians (some who have never run any business nor even worked in the private sector) choose free enterprises’ winners and losers. Take a stand, friends. Nothing will change unless you do.

– Sarah Palin

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Filed under Barack Obama, Crony Capitalism, Economy, Energy, Environmentalism, Government Waste

Barack Obama WANTS America to fail

2013_03 12 No immediate crisis

TWEET: A reminder to @BarackObama: More people than the entire population of Germany have dropped off employment rolls since you took office.

2013_03 15 Obama burns gas to preach about gas consumption

Source:

http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/343060/obama-scheduled-take-359500-flight-today

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Filed under Barack Obama, Energy, Government Waste, Inflation, National Debt, Unemployment

Texas leads the way

2013_01 08 Iowahawk tweets re Texas surplus

The Texas State Legislature begins its 2013 session with an EIGHT BILLION DOLLAR budget SURPLUS. How is that possible when the Federal and most State governments are drowning in red ink? Well, it seems that back in 2011, the Texas Legislature cut spending (what a concept) and allowed a fracking boom (ooh eeevil, providing cheap energy to Americans). Not only is the State government flush, but the jobless rate in Texas is at 6.2%. Read the rest @ http://news.yahoo.com/texas-legislature-wrestle-over-unexpected-budget-surplus-184800547.html

Sadly, Democrats care more about ideology than success, so don’t look for BLUE gummints to pick up The Texas Ball and run with it.

Statist reforms - Common sense from Lawrence Reed

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Filed under Budget, Democrats, Economy, Energy, Unemployment

New York voters support fracking

Anti-fracking candidates were soundly rejected at the polls in the part of New York State where fracking will actually occur — if the government allows it.

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Filed under Elections, Energy, Fracking