|
11-23-2012, 02:11 PM | |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $1798491
VARSITY
|
Fracking to lead to a new golden age?
Dunno if this should be in DC or not, but it seems more societal than political. I thought it was interesting and had no idea that fracking would have that big an impact.
I added the bold formatting in places because doing so will draw your attention to it since I think it's interesting. http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/23/busine...html?hpt=hp_c1 U.S. set for fracking bonanza, says historian Ferguson By Andrew Stevens, CNN updated 12:30 PM EST, Fri November 23, 2012 Hong Kong (CNN) -- If there's been one consistent thread running through the U.S. economic story since 2008, it's been the steady drumbeat of gloom. Outright recession or sub-standard growth, stubbornly high unemployment and fiscal crises have been the topics du jour when it comes to the world's biggest economy. But now an unlikely champion for U.S. growth under the Obama administration has emerged -- a former adviser to a Republican Party presidential candidate and Harvard history professor, Niall Ferguson, who says America could actually be heading toward a new economic "golden age." And it has nothing to do with Washington and everything to do with energy. Ferguson, who is also an author and commentator, believes the production of natural gas and oil from shale formations via a process known as "fracking" -- forcing open rocks by injecting fluid into cracks -- will be a game changer. "This is an absolutely huge phenomenon with massive implications for the U.S. economy, and I think most people are still a little bit slow to appreciate just how big this is," he said in Hong Kong this week. "Conceivably it does mean a new golden age." U.S. energy production has been booming in recent years. The International Energy Agency made a jaw-dropping forecast two weeks ago that the U.S. would pass Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest oil producer by the end of this decade -- and would achieve near energy independence by the 2030s. That energy boom, asserts Ferguson, will create jobs in the United States. Lots of jobs. The energy sector currently supports 1.7 million American jobs directly or indirectly, according to economic forecaster IHS global Insight. That could rise to 3 million by 2020, it says. "It's not only in the extraction industry and infrastructure, but more importantly cheap energy is going to create employment in manufacturing. I think you'll see a renaissance in manufacturing," said Ferguson. "That is being helped by the fact U.S. labor costs have been pretty competitive over the past decade, even as labor costs are going up in China." It is also, he says, a big deal for the dollar. "As the U.S. moves towards energy independence and becoming the biggest producer in the world, the dollar can only benefit. Anybody who thought the financial crisis was going to lead to the demise of the dollar as an international currency is wrong -- it's quite the opposite." And what of U.S. engagement in the Middle East? Ferguson says it would be naive to assume that Washington would withdraw in any significant way from the region. "Nobody is going to step in and take the job of being global policeman in charge of Middle Eastern stability. I think everyone would be nervous, if the Chinese suddenly volunteered to take that job on, which by the way they are not going to do anytime soon," he said. For the recently reelected U.S. president though, the energy boom looks like it could provide a welcome tailwind for his second term. It's something that Ferguson acknowledges -- though one suspects through gritted teeth. As a supporter of Mitt Romney he penned a controversial pre-election cover story in Newsweek headlined "Hit the Road, Barack," which was highly critical of the president's first term. He concedes the irony that the president will now be the beneficiary of the "good times that lie ahead." |
Posts: 142,662
|
11-23-2012, 03:40 PM | #31 |
Time For Your Wake Up Call !!!
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Barn Yard
Casino cash: $4292400
|
Myth ? No, certain fracking fluids are just not suitable around water tables. A lot of alternative fracking fluids is being looked at now because of the concern from the environmentalist.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-1...ale-wells.html |
Posts: 37,189
|
11-23-2012, 03:40 PM | #32 | |
Starter
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: flyover country
Casino cash: $5100
|
Quote:
I read where they were able to light the groundwater on fire is somewhere back east (Pennsylvania?). Apparently this is a natural phenomenon due to how shallow the hydrocarbons are to the surface. The Indians knew of this area and had a name for this which I don't recall and, no, it was not firewater. The environmentalists did not disclose this was a naturally occurring issue in their film because it opposed their agenda. |
|
Posts: 484
|
11-23-2012, 03:41 PM | #33 | |
Supporter
Join Date: Mar 2003
Casino cash: $1997626
|
Quote:
|
|
Posts: 16,964
|
11-23-2012, 03:42 PM | #34 | |
Time For Your Wake Up Call !!!
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Barn Yard
Casino cash: $4292400
|
Quote:
I base a lot of my business off of the oil and gas projects in the US and it's in the pipeline news all the time somewhere. But it's changing due to the concern, let the little birdies chirp. |
|
Posts: 37,189
|
11-23-2012, 03:43 PM | #35 | |
"Think BOOM!"
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W
Casino cash: $8929900
VARSITY
|
Quote:
__________________
I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you? |
|
Posts: 185,893
|
11-23-2012, 03:46 PM | #36 |
testing ... 1, 2, 3
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Tennessee
Casino cash: $6753759
|
|
Posts: 44,492
|
11-23-2012, 03:50 PM | #37 |
"Think BOOM!"
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W
Casino cash: $8929900
VARSITY
|
Nor do I. But I think that such overly-dramatic and unfounded prognostications aren't exactly beneficial.
__________________
I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you? |
Posts: 185,893
|
11-23-2012, 03:50 PM | #38 | |
www.nfl-forecast.com
Join Date: Sep 2000
Casino cash: $1311769
|
Quote:
From the stand point of putting the well in place oil drilling and NG fracking are roughly equivalent. The main risk of fracking a well is the impact on overall water resources (how much water are you losing to the fracking process that you might need for other uses) and the removal of pollutants from the production water (the water that comes back up the well) before disposal. For both types of wells, I think it is important to control NG emissions during the initial period before the well is put into productive operation. During transport there is potential for natural gas leakage. Since methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, that needs to be monitored and controlled. Oil has to be refined and there are environmental risks associated with that process, largely regulated. Oil is a dirtier fuel than natural gas when you burn it. Done properly with fuel reprocessing nuclear is potentially the cleanest. Fuel reprocessing is currently politically infeasible in this country. And the number of actual accidents shows that the risk of accidents is far underestimated. The financial risk for utilities is also huge, but that isn't an environmental risk. Chemical waste disposal doesn't really fit with the others. It is a collection of diverse operations that get rid of an environmental liability, while energy production is concerned with obtaining an asset. So I'll leave that one out. I'll throw in coal and renewables for reference. So I'd rank them with respect to environmental friendliness once the fracking regs come to steady state: renewables > fracked natural gas > nuclear > oil > coal |
|
Posts: 45,662
|
11-23-2012, 03:50 PM | #39 | ||
Time For Your Wake Up Call !!!
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Barn Yard
Casino cash: $4292400
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
||
Posts: 37,189
|
11-23-2012, 03:51 PM | #40 |
www.nfl-forecast.com
Join Date: Sep 2000
Casino cash: $1311769
|
|
Posts: 45,662
|
11-23-2012, 04:10 PM | #41 |
Space Cadet and Aczabel
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Kanab, UT, USA
Casino cash: $9333275
VARSITY
|
Someone has played Civilization.
__________________
Thanks, Trump for the civics lesson. We are learning so much about RICO, espionage, sedition, impeachment, the 25th Amendment, order of succession, nepotism, separation of powers, 1st Amendment, obstruction of justice, the emoluments clause, conflicts of interest, collusion, sanctions, oligarchs, money laundering and so much more. |
Posts: 40,584
|
11-23-2012, 04:38 PM | #42 | |
Supporter
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Hollywood, CA
Casino cash: $10053648
|
Quote:
Every election cycle, people claim "But gas prices were less under "John Doe"! The POTUS nor his policies do very little, if anything, to affect the price gasoline and anyone that claims as such is either a liar uninformed. |
|
Posts: 88,960
|
11-23-2012, 04:53 PM | #43 | |
"Think BOOM!"
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W
Casino cash: $8929900
VARSITY
|
Quote:
Why are you bringing up politics? I was referring to there relatively suddenly being a new flow of oil coming into the global market. One of the items that is very closely watched is the global spare capacity. If we start putting millions more barrels of crude into the market, it eases the space capacity concerns. That has nothing to do with politics.
__________________
I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you? |
|
Posts: 185,893
|
11-23-2012, 05:02 PM | #44 |
Supporter
Join Date: Mar 2003
Casino cash: $1997626
|
Evidence that the water supply can be in danger in areas that are being fracked.
|
Posts: 16,964
|
11-23-2012, 05:14 PM | #45 |
The 23rd Pillar
Join Date: Sep 2002
Casino cash: $10019237
|
That article is about how energy companies may have difficulty finding water for fracking when water supplies are scarce, not about local people having difficulty. It's pretty unlikely that local populations will put energy company access to water ahead of their own, IMO.
__________________
“Boy, you all want power. God, I hope you never get it.” - Lindsay Graham |
Posts: 110,871
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|