Off for the weekend

Leaving tomorrow for a field trip to the Potomac Corridor.  No new posts until next week

Best report on OWS

From John Oliver on the Daily Show
                       

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The 99%
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In short, a mixed group including many wackos with an odd way of doing things are bringing attention to what many think, but are too busy to say.

Strange, Stupid and Surreal Sunday Oct. 16

***sigh*** more misuse of 9-1-1, what were they doing in a corn maze with a three-week old in the first place?

The Teabaggers know we can't let the commies contaminate our precious bodily fluids.

Yet another fine moment in Philly sports fandom - yeah cancer!

Guess the bankers can't even hide in the tundra.

Steven Seagal is keepin' busy.

Good Lord this is terrible.

Remember the old Simpsons when Bart was caught shoplifting and the store detective said he would grow up to "steal quarries and stadiums"?  Well don't laugh, infrastructure theft is real.

M..yes, Bigfut ees really from Mother Russia.

Delaware being occupied

An Occupy Delaware group has sprung up and this one has some real blue-collar origins:

Some who arrived at the United Auto Workers hall in Newark on Wednesday were unemployed, others were underemployed and those who had jobs like Von Spalding of Dover talked about the difficulties of supporting a family with current wages.
Spalding said he felt he needed to do something, so he attended a meeting in Newark this week to join the nascent Occupy Delaware group, a gathering modeled after the larger Occupy Wall Street movement spreading across the nation.

The reason why there is a UAW hall in Newark, DE is that there used to be a Chrysler plant in town. That closed recently and has been bought "as is" by the University of Delaware, who is marketing some vague economy defying plans for the property.
Funny thing is Newark is also a college town and one would expect an Occupy group to start up on campus (compare to Boston), but UD students have been accused of being among the most politically apathetic in the country.  I don't know about that, I saw some blazer and tie wearing College Republican fratties cheering for Christine O'Donnell outside the debate in campus last year. Seriously though, any involvement by UD students has been below the radar compared to other locations, I'll see if I can find it.

The whole occupy thing...

I've been trying to get a post with my thoughts on Occupy Wall Street out, but with my obligations and the constantly shifting story I keep finding myself behind the curve. But I should since it ties in with the whole supposed point of this blog. So I'll get one with my impressions to date out tonight.

Someone who I often find myself simultaneously agreeing and disagreeing with, Thomas Friedman, disclosed that he himself is unsure what it all means, but points out two possibilities:

When you see spontaneous social protests erupting from Tunisia to Tel Aviv to Wall Street, it’s clear that something is happening globally that needs defining. There are two unified theories out there that intrigue me. One says this is the start of “The Great Disruption.” The other says that this is all part of “The Big Shift.” You decide.

Disruption, said Gilding. “Our system of economic growth, of ineffective democracy, of overloading planet earth — our system — is eating itself alive. Occupy Wall Street is like the kid in the fairy story saying what everyone knows but is afraid to say: the emperor has no clothes. The system is broken....Not so fast, says John Hagel III, who is the co-chairman of the Center for the Edge at Deloitte, along with John Seely Brown. In their recent book, “The Power of Pull,” they suggest that we’re in the early stages of a “Big Shift,” precipitated by the merging of globalization and the Information Technology Revolution. In the early stages, we experience this Big Shift as mounting pressure, deteriorating performance and growing stress because we continue to operate with institutions and practices that are increasingly dysfunctional — so the eruption of protest movements is no surprise.

Andrew Sullivan thought this picture looked like a South Park parody, but it may actually express many peoples frustration and uncertainty, in a crude sort of way:

Sunday's Strange, Stupid and Surreal, Oct. 9

Blowing up Ikea?-Well it was bound to happen, but who would've thought Poles would be the ones?

Amish breaking bad.

Some would say this is why women shouldn't be in politics, or at least "lobbyists in stiletto heels."

Oops...big oops!

UFOs in KC. Could they be there to pick up Chupacabras? No because they're being shot dead in Mississippi.

Marcellus News for Pennsylvania Update: Sep. 28-Oct. 6

Laser pays lobby penalty

The state Ethics Commission levied the penalty of $1,995 against Laser Northeast Gathering Co. LLC for being nearly two months late in filing the report covering the fourth quarter of 2010. The commission approved a consent agreement with the firm earlier this week. Laser has already made payment.

Community Discussion Showcases Job Training and Workforce Development for Pennsylvania's Natural Gas Industry

Local residents in Youngwood, Pa. joined Congressman Tim Murphy, area leaders, educators and businesses today for a community discussion on natural gas training programs, the impact of workforce development in the region, and the natural gas industry's commitment to safe and responsible development of the Marcellus Shale. The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) and America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) jointly hosted the public event held at Westmoreland County Community College (WCCC).

W. Pa. county 3rd highest jobs gain in nation

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that two western Pennsylvania counties were among the top ten in the nation for employment gains in large counties, between March 2010 and March 2011.
Washington County was third, with 4.3 percent growth, and Butler County was sixth, at 4.2 percent. Elkhart, Ind. was on top at 6.2 percent.

Group hopes drillers will agree to spare parks

A Pennsylvania environmental-advocacy group has come up with a plan to keep natural-gas drillers from bringing their rigs, trucks, pipelines, and noise into pristine state parks.

The short version: Get them to pledge not to do it.

Responsible truckers run over in gas rush

The Marcellus gas rush has had a reviving effect on many local industries, but probably none have benefited as much as the trucking business in Pennsylvania.

The process of installing a gas pad and fracking a well require thousands upon thousands of truck trips, hauling equipment and water to remote sites largely inaccessible by any other means of transportation. Over my years covering the issue, I've spoken with dozens of owners of local trucking companies who have said their business has doubled or tripled since the gas companies arrived in the commonwealth.

Their success, however, has been blunted by the arrival of fly-by-night trucking companies, largely run by out-of-state owners looking to make a quick buck on the Marcellus boom, according to local truckers.

Ample supply of natural gas to lower most heating bills this winter

Heating costs for homeowners using natural gas will be lower or stable this fall, a comforting thought as Western Pennsylvania heads into a chilly weekend.
Equitable Gas set its quarterly rate for the fuel at $6.51 per thousand cubic feet, or mcf, starting today. That's down from $7.35 a year ago and $14.45 from fall 2008, when natural gas costs shocked homeowners.

Gas boom means little space for Pa. flood victims

Pennsylvania residents who lost their homes to Tropical Storm Lee more than three weeks ago are having a tough time finding affordable housing, or any housing at all, because workers in the area's natural gas drilling boom have filled nearly every room.

Last month's record flooding has worsened a housing crunch in north central and northeastern Pennsylvania, where a surge in drilling over the past few years has led to housing shortages and skyrocketing rents. Flood victims say that available units are few, and federal disaster assistance doesn't come close to paying the rent on the scattered vacancies that are left.

Shale Gas Producers Going the Extra Environmental Mile, Range Exec Says

Natural gas and oil exploration and production companies have heeded the call to improve transparency and institute better practices in the fast-developing shale resources, but there's more to do as the shale phenomena gets up close and personal in communities all across the continent, according to a Range Resources Corp. executive.
The industry as a whole also has "picked up the ball in best practices," Range Senior Vice President Ray N. Walker Jr. told NGI’s Shale Daily in an interview recently...Unless someone can show us a better way to grow value for our shareholders, we'll stick to the path we've been on.

Drill Fee Proposed for Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett proposed a fee on natural-gas drilling of as much as $160,000 a well in an effort to find a middle ground between public support for assessing drillers in the booming Marcellus Shale basin and a campaign pledge not to impose taxes.

Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Impact Fee: Day Two

More reac­tion and analy­sis on Gov­er­nor Corbett’s pro­posed impact fee on nat­ural gas drillers.
The Post-Gazette reports envi­ron­men­tal groups aren’t thrilled with the idea, even though it includes pro­vi­sions like increased set­backs between wells and water­ways, and stricter penal­ties for drillers.

Breaking down Corbett's drilling fee proposal

On Monday, Gov. Tom Corbett made a long-awaited announcement giving his blessing to allowing Pennsylvania's counties impose an impact fee on Marcellus Shale drillers.

The fee would let counties charge $40,000 per well in the first year, $30,000 in the
second year, $20,000 in the third year and $10,000 in the fourth through tenth
years, adding up to a potential total of $160,000 per well.

The impact fee revenues will be split, with 75 percent being retained at the local
level and 25 percent of the fee divided among state agencies.

Of the local money, 36 percent would got to the county, 37 percent would be distributed to municipalities with actual drilling and 27 percent would be distributed to all the municipalities within a Marcellus drilling impacted county.

WVU Researcher to Map Methane Sources in Monongahela-Area Drinking Water

Oil and gas operators and residents in the Marcellus shale region have become aware that drinking water can contain dissolved methane. But did it come from hydraulic fracturing, previously abandoned wells or from some other source?
Now a West Virginia University researcher is gathering data to help answer that question for aquifers in the Monongahela River watershed.

Newspapers seek opening of Marcellus lawsuit settlement

Washington County Judge Paul Pozonsky is questioning whether the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Washington Observer-Reporter newspapers have the right to intervene in a Marcellus Shale case that was settled in his chambers in August.

The Post-Gazette asked the judge to unseal the settlement between the plaintiffs, Stephanie and Chris Hallowich of Mount Pleasant Township and various defendants including Range Resources Corp. and MarkWest Energy Partners and Energy Group.

 Tea and gas don't mix well 

The Northeast Pennsylvania Tea Party is launching robo-calls, bashing congressmen Tom Marino, R-10, of Cogan Station, and Lou Barletta, R-9, of Hazleton, diehard conservative Republicans who have often identified themselves as members of the Tea Party.
In fact, it’s their Tea-esque rhetoric that helped get them elected, many observers have said.
So, why would the herd be turning against their own?
Two words: Natural gas

Ahh Sox....

Well it was an ugly and slow, not a quick and merciful death.  But with 2 WS championships in the past decade it was not nearly as bad as 1978, 1986 or 2003, not even as bad '88 and '90.  The team had no heart or drive this year so newbie fans should quit their whining.

Speaking of which, I found this crowning moment of "dumbness" in the Boston.com comments last night:

without a doubt, francona is the dumbest coach that ever coached baseball.  I don't think anything was surprised that the red sox lost.  francona's dumbness leaves the players open to getting worn down and giving up.  I don't think there is a team in the league that gives up when they play against francona.  Because they know sooner or later francona will do
something stupid to allow them to get back in the game.  francona is dumb dumb dumb.  And the announcers on 103.7 won't allow anyone on the airways criticize francona. such dishonest broadcasting.

This is what happens when parents let the kids stay up too late. Capitals son, use capitals.  What's more pathetic is that this yutz has cut and pasted this in the comments for weeks.  In the end the comment is a perfect example of someone who is celeberity (aka player) worshiper.  Francona has two championships at the helm, that's how dumb he is.  He may even know how to properly write in English.

Marcellus News for Pennsylvania Update: Sep 21-28

EQT Receives Federal Clearance to Begin Long-Planned Marcellus Shale Pipeline Construction Project

As part of its ongoing Marcellus capacity expansion, Equitrans will begin construction of its project "Sunrise" which is comprised of the installation of approximately 41.5 miles of 24-inch-diameter pipeline and 2.7 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline that runs from Wetzel County, West Virginia to Greene County, Pennsylvania, as well as a new compressor station near Jefferson in Greene County. The Sunrise pipeline system will generally parallel existing Equitrans facilities, thereby reducing its environmental footprint, and is expected to be operational before summer 2012.

DEP reorganizes to oversee Marcellus drilling

A bureau of environmental cleanup and brownfields will be created to emphasize revitalization of industrial sites, he said. A new bureau of conservation and reclamation, which will include staff assigned to restoring streams affected by acid mine drainage, will consolidate water management functions.

Penn Virginia-Aqua to Supply Water

The operating units of Penn Virginia Resource Partners L.P. (PVR - Analyst Report) and Aqua America Inc. (WTR - Snapshot Report), yesterday, joined hands to build and operate a private pipeline system to supply fresh water to natural gas producers drilling in the Marcellus Shale in north-central Pennsylvania.  The joint venture formed between the two companies is named Aqua — PVR Water Services LLC.

Federal Court Rules on Drilling In PA National Forest

A fed­eral appeals court rul­ing may open the door to more Mar­cel­lus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National For­est. It also sheds light on the con­fus­ing issue of sur­face and min­eral rights. Because of the way state law is writ­ten, sur­face and min­eral rights are sold sep­a­rately. That means a per­son can sell land to the state or fed­eral gov­ern­ment, and still main­tain con­trol over whether or not drilling can take place there.

Marcellus Gas Producers Face 'Chaos' From Land Law Ruling

A Pennsylvania appeals court ruling has raised questions about who can claim ownership of natural gas embedded in the Marcellus shale formation, potentially putting in doubt the legitimacy of thousands of drilling leases.

The state's Superior Court said Pennsylvania law governing ownership of oil and gas rights isn't clear and a lower-court judge should solicit expert opinions in a case pitting current landowners against the heirs to an 1881 deed.

 DiGirolamo co-sponsoring Marcellus Shale tax bill

State Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, R-18, is trying to push through a law that would enact a 4.9 percent tax on drillers for natural gas through Marcellus Shale formations in Pennsylvania.
DiGirolamo is teaming up with state Rep. Tom Murt, R-152, on the effort and the two lawmakers have e-mailed all other state representatives seeking co-sponsors for the bill. The two say their proposed law is a “compromise among the various pieces of legislation seeking to institute a severance tax or an impact fee on deep natural gas within the state’s Marcellus Shale formation.”

State law still fuzzy on vital mineral rights

Mineral extraction has been a principal industry in Pennsylvania since the mid-1800s. One would think, given vast practical experience in the extraction of oil and coal, that legal issues regarding drilling leases and mineral rights would be settled.

Not so, according to the state Superior Court, which has directed a court in Susquehanna County to conduct a hearing that could upset an unknown, but certainly substantial number of drilling leases.

Spin overtaking facts in Marcellus Shale debate

Some insist Marcellus Shale natural gas is a huge economic boom for America, while others are certain it's an environmental catastrophe.
Gas drilling from the Marcellus pollutes groundwater, or it never pollutes groundwater. It's cleaner than coal or oil, except that it's dirty. It provides a boost to hard-hit rural economies; but then again, maybe it doesn't.
The one point of agreement? Scientists say advocates on both sides increasingly spin every shred of research to fit their own views, and ignore the bigger picture.

Drillers Face Methane Concern

Many water supplies in northern Pennsylvania have long contained detectable levels of methane, because of poorly constructed water wells and the unusual geologic features here. But the contamination in Ms. Vargson's existing well is among the first cases that state regulators have attributed to natural-gas drilling, prompting a normally competitive group of drilling companies to work together to fix the problem.

Maker of 'Gasland' honored at Manayunk festival

Documentary filmmaker Josh Fox has reaped praise and criticism for his film Gasland.

Now, he's won what he calls a very timely award.

The Manayunk Development Corporation honored Fox this weekend with its My Eco-Champion Award during the second Manayunk EcoArts Festival. 

Scarnati Wants A Marcellus Bill By October; Ready To Play Ball To Get One

Sen­ate Pres­i­dent Pro Tem Joe Scar­nati is grow­ing impa­tient. He doesn’t want to wait any longer to pass a com­pre­hen­sive bill deal­ing with nat­ural gas drilling. On the state House’s first day back in Har­ris­burg since June, the Jef­fer­son County Repub­li­can set a dead­line. “I want it moved in Octo­ber,” he told the Penn­syl­va­nia Press Club, refer­ring to a bill cre­at­ing a drilling impact fee, and impos­ing safety and zon­ing reg­u­la­tions. “I am tired of being here, hold­ing the bag year after year, try­ing to get this done.”

 Range Resources, Cabot Dismiss Impact Of Pennsylvania Shale Case

In a move aimed at calming anxious investors, Range Resources Corp. (RRC) and Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) said Monday that ongoing litigation over shale gas rights in Pennsylvania is unlikely to have a significant impact on their operations.

Both oil-and-gas companies issued statements playing down the effect of a legal dispute being reviewed by a Pennsylvania appeals court. However, the case, Butler vs. Powers, could have broad consequences for the ownership of thousands of leases in the state's portion of the Marcellus Shale, a rock formation underlying several states in the Northeast that has become one of the most prolific sources of natural gas in the U.S.

W. Pa.'s Consol Energy in $193M Marcellus deal

Consol Energy Inc. says it has sold a $193 million stake in its Marcellus Shale holdings in southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Consol, based in Canonsburg, announced the deal with Antero Resources Appalachian Corp. of Denver on Monday. Antero will receive royalty interests of approximately 7 percent in 115,647 acres located in nine counties.

Curriculum revised to meet demand in shale industry

Nine career and technical education centers in Pennsylvania have revised their curriculum to accommodate the demand, and three others plan to, according to a survey by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. Twenty of the state's 62 career and technical education centers, or CTCs, responded to the survey.

"We're trying to start new adult programs that will get people out working," said Christine Scalise, adult vocation training coordinator at the Forbes Road CTC. "It looks like there will be jobs far into the future."

Marcellus shale science target of $2.5 million NSF grant

A science- and energy-based program focusing on Pennsylvania counties with natural gas exploration and production, and developed by a multidisciplinary team of Penn State researchers, is part of a $2.5-million grant from the National Science Foundation.
"Marcellus Matters: Engaging Adults in Science and Energy" aims to enhance the public's understanding of science, engineering and energy through community-based activities that promote "doing" science, develop local expertise on energy issues and draw on residents' knowledge of their environment.

EPA Holds Hearing on Natural Gas Drilling in Pennsylvania

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency held a public hearing in Pittsburgh, Penn. on Tuesday night in a move to advocate its proposed rules to reduce air pollution from oil and gas drilling operations in order to comply with the Clean Air Act.The EPA proposal, which would apply new pollution control standards to approximately 25,000 gas wells that are hydraulically fractured in the U.S. each year, would require drillers to implement a new technology that would allow them to capture and sell gas that would normally go to waste.

 Upper Devonian may hold as much gas as Marcellus Shale: Range executive

Upper Devonian, found at shallower depths than the Marcellus Shale that sits around 6,500 feet deep in southwest Pennsylvania, may hold "probably an equal amount of gas per section...as there is in the Marcellus," Ray Walker, a senior vice president of Range, said late Tuesday at the Independent Petroleum Association of America's Oil and Gas Investment Seminar in San Francisco. His comments were webcast. 

 News Nearby: Judge to Rule on Marcellus Shale Home Rule Charter Question Next Week

Washington County Common Pleas Court Judge Paul Pozonsky said Wednesday he plans to rule by the end of next week on an injunction request filed by Peters Township to not place the Home Rule Charter amendment, proposed by the Marcellus Shale Awareness and Action organization, on the Nov. 8 election ballots.

Sunday strange surreal and stupid is back!

Hmm if the are more obese than hungry, maybe there's solution to both problems...

Why go Florida when you can hit the beach in Lake Havasu?
So this woman apparently stands on the tracks to light a cigarette?

So I guess chimps are big Ayn Rand fans.
But not as bad as college Republicans.

Somewhere Glenn Beck is saying "why didn't I think of that?"  BTW, aren't these people supposed to be Communists?

Well if he pretended to be in combat then he can pretend to have combat stress right?

The hunter is now the hunted,by the other hunters?

Well at least Somerville, MA has this bit of fluff going for it.

Not enough for his on own post, but Rick Santorum is still an ass.

Aye, the Jamesons was a wee bit strong.