Pickens Plan District Group PA-01

Comment

Comment by Mike Johnston on December 17, 2009 at 5:08pm

Send a holiday e-card to Sen. Specter asking him to support green energy in the new year (sponsored by the Sierra Club).

Link: http://action.sierraclub.org/site/Ecard?ecard_id=2321

Comment by Mike Johnston on December 8, 2009 at 7:37am

There is no single answer. Not wind, not solar. At the present time none of these most mentioned green energy sources can provide 100% of the power that America demands. It is not just a question of capacity either. Solar and wind are both intermittent and there has to be energy sources in place which can run 100% of the time, on demand to make up for the times that the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow. Natural gas is far cleaner than coal and much more safe than nuclear (the two other options).

There are a half million gas wells in the US at present. The number of wells where there has been a problem is very small and from what I have read those problems resulted from conditions or events specific to those wells not practices or conditions overall. Safeguards for the environment and water quality can and should be built into the leases before wells are sited.

Right now there is estimated to be enough natural gas in the US to totally provide for our energy needs for 140 years. That is a great stop gap :-)

Nothing is 100% perfect. Wind energy has been accused of being a danger to birds and bats. Solar panels cover natural habitat for animals. The first time a wind tower tips over in a storm and kills someone will that make wind power too dangerous to consider? If the sun reflects off a solar panel and blinds someone driving a car and they cause a multi car pileup does that make solar power too dangerous? Or what about the fact that exposure to solar radiation has been proven to cause skin cancer? We may have to ban solar energy...

Retail gas prices are dictated my the market. Oil is the same. As the easy to produce oil reserves are exhausted the price will go up. Nothing is perfect. We have to make things as safe as we can and damage the environment as little as possible but the resources that we have are what they are.

Comment by Kevin Kennedy on December 8, 2009 at 6:23am

Is that limitation at the State or federal level? Renewable energy is limitless if by chance research is properly allocated by means of State and federal funding but the lobbies that hinder that research are who need to be met head-on and curtailed (censored) for the blatant misrepresentations. All this natural gas talk is OK, but it's by no means the answer and it continues "doing what we're doing, while we keep getting what we're getting!" We have to concentrate on the substantive issue of renewable energy concepts and call these lobbyists out for the lies they're perpetuating.

Comment by Jo Rudolph on December 8, 2009 at 5:50am

I agree.

Comment by Kenneth C. Blood on December 8, 2009 at 5:40am

NG is good for a stop gap measure but shale is not without its own limitations. In PA the state is going to tax it. It has caused well water and air contamination that is has gone to the courts. Renewable energy is best but each and every source of energy has limitations.

Comment by Jo Rudolph on December 7, 2009 at 11:33am

Thanx for your response

Yes, there is an extra expense.Which as I said doubles (?) the cost of shale gas.

No doubt, NG is better than oil/coal. Burning NG produces less CO2 than oil/coal but keep in mind 1/2 the gas coming out of the ground is CO2. That is separated out before the gas is sent your house.


My point is that NG has several advantages but also has its drawbacks. We should avoid trading one addiction for another, albeit cleaner, one. The focus should be on getting "off" fossil fuesl altogether.

Comment by Mike Johnston on December 7, 2009 at 11:02am

The extra expense is in the drilling of the well not in the price of the gas produced.

Most shale wells go down 9,000 feet or more, well below the water table.

Natural gas does produce CO2 but much less than other fossil fuels and none of the other pollutants associated with them. Plus it is a perfect basis for transitioning to a Hydrogen economy via several models.

In addition, natural gas is domestic which is a big factor in todays volatile economic and security landscape.

The film addresses all of these concerns :-)

Comment by Jo Rudolph on December 7, 2009 at 10:52am

Gas from shale deposits will be part of our energy mix for many years but it won't be cheap. I've heard it is 2-3 times as expensive becasue of the energy. water and chemical costs to free the gas from the shale. There are also environmental concerns in re: all the chemical laden water. Also gas is just another fossil fuel , produces CO2 and is not renewable.
For the long run the focus must be on true renewables and efficiency.
While I applaud Mr Pickens for his very public support of wind power etc I feel his message is diluted when he champions natural gas. Many people become suspicious of an oil man talking about natural gas as an "alternative". Is he doing what is good for us or his shareholders?

Comment by Mike Johnston on December 7, 2009 at 9:10am

I think that it would be nice if we all had a visual aid to show to people when we try to educate them about the potential of natural gas as a cleaner, abundant, domestic energy source and one which can serve as a bridge to a green energy economy.

I found a documentary film, just released a short time ago, that does all these things. It profiles the lives of people in the Haynesville Louisiana area after the find of massive gas deposits there. It also uses a group of experts in the areas of energy and the environment to flesh out all of the things that we have been saying about natural gas. Many of the comments sound like things Boone has been saying since last year...

I am thinking that Army members could use the film to hold screenings for their friends/family/governement representatives/community, etc. Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words and so a film must be worth a million, lol

Many Army members have told me that they don't know what to say to people or things of that nature and a film like this does the talking for you. At the moment I am working to bring the film to Plan members but I thought I would put this up so you can go have a look at the film website and trailer at least.

Website: http://www.haynesvillemovie.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/haynesvillemovie

Comment by Kevin Kennedy on November 13, 2009 at 10:54am

Not to be a nay sayer in this process but I feel the need to exemplify the hesitancy of going from one addiction to another. While CNG is extraordinarily inexpensive now, whats to say it won't rival the cost of gasoline in a short while. I believe the effort to change the thought process is good but education in public transportation may be an added commentary to explore. The infrastructure jobs alone can have immediate impact on the economic growth in this state and also make a not so accessibly public transportation system more of a viable choice. The undertaking of such a program may seem daunting but it's long term affects would rival any public works effort to date.

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