Why Did DOE Use Our Tax Dollars To Produce Pro SHALE GAS Literature?

How many of you know that the DOE (with our tax dollars) has been subsidizing the Natural Gas Industry since its inception?  How many of you know that the DOE has been doing the Natural Gas Industry's Research and Development FREE OF CHARGE for DECADES?  How many of you know that right now, the DOE is using OUR TAX DOLLARS to produce slick eight pages PRO SHALE GAS pamphlets for the Natural Gas Industry?  When is this Natural Gas industry WELFARE GOING TO END?

New Shale Gas Brochure Now Available!
A new brochure, Shale Gas: Applying Technology to Solve America's Energy Challenges, has been released by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory. The brochure explains the origins of shale gas and maps the locations of shale gas plays in the United States. Included is a timeline of important milestones in the development of shale gas—from the first U.S. commercial natural gas well in 1821, through the technological advances of the 20th century, to today’s growth in production. Further collaborations will focus on safety, environmental sustainability and quantifying the risks of exploration and production activity.

See the free Pro SHALE GAS handout here.

SCUMBAGS, Be All You Can Be, Oil and Gas Industry Landman JOBS

For all those in the Oil and Gas Industry that think raping our lands, despoiling our environment, and poisoning our Fresh Drinking Water supplies in the name of meeting a never ending demand for energy, regardless of the costs to communities is an honorable profession, do apologize in advance for my opinions expressed here.  People with that mentality, those ascribing to embrace that mentality are SCUMBAGS.   That said, and as a public service to SCUMBAGS everywhere, thought I would make it easy for you...the Oil and Gas Industry is looking for a few good Scum Bags (this seems to be a male dominated industry, but sure there is not a gas company in the world that would turn down a good Scumbag, regardless of race, creed, or sexual orientation) to become LANDMEN...hmmmm...Landwoman.

If reports from landowners are too be trusted, some of the qualifications would include, but are not limited to, making false promises while being careful not to put them in writing ANYWHERE, speaking with a forked tongue, and out of both sides of your mouth...extra points for silver tongued devils.  Those capable of lying with a straight face move to the front of the line, and of course those who can get people to swallow and believe BOLD FACED LIES are hired on the spot.  So, if you have these qualifications, you might want to consider applying for some of the jobs listed below that are now available for Landmen and aspiring landmen.  Again, your opinion of the (un)Natural Gas Industry, and those working in it may vary, but if the ever increasing number of complaints and violations about the Shale Gas drilling practices are too be believed, you really have to be a serious loser, or a scumbag to work in this industry that puts so little stock in doing the right thing, in an industry that seems to have no moral compass, an industry with NO ETHICS, or if they have ethics, the ethics of a snake.

Featured Job Postings from the Web
Apr 04	Sr Staff Landman	El Paso	Houston, TX
	Title: Sr Staff Landman Location: Texas-Houston This position is responsible for all land ... Qualifications * Minimum of 10 years oil and gas experience required * Strong... more
Apr 01	Sr Staff Landman	El Paso	Houston, TX
	title approval for drilling operations. Landman will also be responsible for working ... area. Qualifications Minimum of 10 years oil and gas experience required Strong... more
Mar 30	Assistant Landman	Chesapeake Energy	Oklahoma City, OK
	Were the second-largest producer of natural gas, a Top 20 producer of oil and natural gas ... developing unconventional natural gas and oil fields onshore in the U.S. Chesapeake... more
Mar 30	Assistant Landman	Chesapeake Energy	Oklahoma City, OK
	Were the second-largest producer of natural gas, a Top 20 producer of oil and natural gas ... developing unconventional natural gas and oil fields onshore in the U.S. Chesapeake... more
Mar 30	Land Manager	Halliburton	Houston, TX
	with regard to the company's global oil and gas property interests with ... 8-10 years related experience with an oil & gas company. Registration as a Certified... more
Mar 29	Contract Landman	Halliburton	Houston, TX
	scanning and setup of a large number of oil and gas leases into the Land module of ... be well versed in all the various clauses of oil and gas leases and will have the ability... more
Mar 28	Associate Field Landman Ohio.	Chesapeake Energy	Canton, OH
	for the position of Associate Field Landman - Ohio. This position will be based ... Compiling and analyzing oil & natural gas production documentation Utilizing... more
Mar 28	Senior Landman	Aerotek	Oklahoma City, OK
	Landman to work for a growing independent oil and gas company located in Oklahoma City, OK with 10 or more years mid-continent experience. Candidate should have a background... more
Mar 28	Associate Field Landman Ohio.	Chesapeake Energy	Canton, OH
	for the position of Associate Field Landman - Ohio. This position will be based ... Compiling and analyzing oil & natural gas production documentation Utilizing... more

What a NG Investment INSIDER Has to Say! MUST READ.

I have cut and pasted some salient remarks below from an article written by someone that can only be described as an INDUSTRY INSIDER and seriously encourage ALL THOSE IN THE ANTI FRACKING movement to read this article.  Some of the things this insider has to say are breath taking in their scope, and really confirm our WORST FEARS.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Poised to Take Control of Regulating and Banning Hydraulic Fracturing "Fracking"

March 3, 2011 (Investorideas Newswire) - Mr. Miller is part of many industry and governmental working groups regarding the Oil and Natural Gas Oversight and Regulation. 

 

It has not become a foregone conclusion that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be given full authority and mandate to regulate any and all activities surrounding Hydraulic Fracturing, to include an imminent ban on the injection of all toxic chemicals into the ground, imposition of major fines for violations of the Clean Water Act, and designation of De-facto superfund/clean up sites in major drilling areas already seriously contaminated by the Natural Gas and Drilling Producers.

The future of Hydraulic Fracturing "Fracking" in the Continental U.S. is very much at risk given the undeniable facts that the process can't be conducted without the use of toxic chemicals, contamination of water tables, use of known carcinogens known to be harmful to humans and violation of the U.S. Clean Water Act.

Mr. Miller is a major supporter and advocate for the environmentally responsible development and production of Oil and Natural Gas in the U.S.

According to Mr. Miller:

• The Oil and Natural Gas industry has brought a critical self inflicted crisis upon itself by failing to act in an environmentally responsible manner regarding the use of hydraulic fracturing. In one fell sweep, the industry has become the primary target of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), State and Federal lawmakers, and most importantly, the general public.

• The injection of toxic chemicals in to Oil and Natural Gas wells, many chemicals which are clearly known to be harmful to the environment, water tables, and human beings represents a catastrophic failure of the Oil and Natural Gas producers in the U.S.
• Given the continued abuse by the natural Oil and Natural Gas and mounting incidents of water table contamination, fires and other drilling related problems in high and low density populated areas, and the pending law that will in essence "kill fracking" by virtue of eliminating the use of toxic chemicals in production wells, leads to the conclusion that the States and Federal Government will in unison and individually start to ban fracking operations across the U.S.
• The first permanent drilling bans will occur in the Eastern U.S. in the Marcellus Shale formation in New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. This geographic area has already been severely damaged by Natural Gas Fracking and substantial legal actions are pending and many more are forthcoming against production companies.

There does not appear to be any way for the Oil and Natural Gas industry to lobby itself out of this critical problem, which many industry experts consider a death nail to many natural gas producers. Public opinion is overwhelmingly now against "Hydraulic Fracking" and we see the momentum to ban the practice outright in a majority of the U.S. as irreversible.

: Stocks: CHK, DVN, EOG, APA, SWN, SD, APC, BP, OXY, CVX, XTO, XOM

Companies Like Chesapeake Energy Spend MILLIONS on Propanganda

If you go visit some of Chesapeake Energy's propaganda sites, read their so called FACT SHEETS you soon realize how easily those within the Nature Gas industry come to lying...or who knows, maybe they are so blinded by their quests for huge profits that they are truly blind to the damage FRACKING has done and will do to our environment.  Sure Chesapeake Energy wants to race forward in mock outrage at such an allegation, but some simple Google Searches quickly prove the point that they hold the environment, and average citizens in high disdain.

Google Chesapeake Energy Environmental Violations, and you find FIFTEEN THOUSAND hits...that number in and of itself should give every American cause for concern, should see us doubting any study, any fact sheet bearing their company name.  In the past three years the Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Dept. has cited 47 well operators more than 900 times for "environmental health and safety" violations with Chesapeake Energy LEADING THE PACK...even worse, in some cases, they just simply IGNORED THE REGULATIONS, did what they wanted to do.

After a routine site inspection March 8 and a March 10 meeting with Chesapeake, DEP issued a notice of violation for several infractions of the Clean Streams Law and Oil and Gas Act. The company did not respond to the notice. During follow-up inspections March 21 and 22, staff discovered the additional violations and impacts that resulted in the March 22 order.

It is sorely tempting in the case of Chesapeake Energy and its various subsidiary holdings to use the word thugs...in part because they seem fond of using fear, intimidation and  law suits to get their way...one such case they filed was against a county clerk FOR DOING HER JOB.  When the recorders office protocols did not allow Chesapeake Energy to file gas drilling leases fast enough (this clerk's office has approved over 5,000 of their leases, the company MARCHED INTO COURT asking a judge to have her policies deemed unlawful.  This blogs guess...for Chesapeake Energy, it is not a matter of right or wrong, it is about bleeding a county's treasury down to force them to give into Chesapeake's preferred means of doing business...which one could suggest is unethical, if not unlawful...any one looked into a RICO case?

Apparently, a part of Chesapeake Energy's business model seems to be violate laws, regulations and contracts down, and negotiate out a fine later.  One such example of this, is their violation of a water agreement in Pennsylvania wherein they violated the agreed upon contract FORTY SEVEN TIMES in just a one year period, withdrawing more water from local water supplies than their maximum allowed daily amount.  Sure their paltry $20,000 fine for FORTY SEVEN VIOLATIONS was a bargain for them, and it makes you wonder just how many local politicians they own.

Chesapeake Energy, and other companies in the natural gas mix in a big way all seem to follow this same business model, and one would be well served to take their supposed FACT SHEETS and view them for what they are...not worth the paper they are printed on.

Just How Ugly Could It Get? 17,000 WELLS BAD with CRIMINALS at The Helm

Shale Gas Executives and Landmen

For those wanting to sit on the sidelines, for those wanting to IGNORE the whole shale gas issue, for farmers and others that say THEY JUST DO NOT HAVE TIME TO BE BOTHERED...wake up to just how bad this problem could get.  In a March 10th article published in the Charleston Gazzette (West Virginia) a Norwegian company (Statoil ASA) partnering with known polluter Chesapeake Energy  says it could drill 17,000 Marcellus wells in the next 20 years...HELLO, THIS IS JUST ONE COMPANY!  The article goes on to say that the agreement between the two companies covers 1.8 million acres and more than 32,000 leases in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio.

This is not the only player in the game people!  32,000 landowners have already sold out, bought into the lies and propaganda of the industry, or simply did not care about the harm shale gas drilling will bring to the community, cared only about personal wealth, even if getting it means poisoning their neighbors land, making their neighbors children sick.  Lets take a look at the vile, lying, cheating, unethical scums we are dealing with here...maybe in doing so, a few more people will wake up, will see truth, and will join the growing ranks of those opposed to shale gas drilling.

Statoil ASA

After three years of satisfying obligations under a deferred prosecution agreement, the charges against Statoil ASA for violating the anti-bribery and accounting provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act FCPA have been dismissed with prejudice. Statoil is an international oil company headquartered in Norway and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

“Three years of diligent efforts by Statoil to address past misconduct and serious compliance failures have led to the dismissal of foreign bribery charges against the company,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer. “Bribing foreign government officials and then attempting to disguise the payments cannot be standard operating procedure. Companies that have robust compliance programs risk far less than companies that take their chances on possible FCPA violations.”

“This case shows that deferred prosecution agreements against corporations can work as an important middle ground between declining prosecution and obtaining the conviction of a corporation,” said U.S. Attorney Prett Bharara. “The deferred prosecution in this case helped restore the integrity of Statoils operations and preserve its financial viability while at the same time ensuring that it improved what was obviously a failed compliance and anti-corruption program.”

Lets not kid ourselves folks...these people got caught have shown themselves to be SCUM...even worse, the prosecutor admits THEY BRIBED OUR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS here in America.  Everyone CUT A DEAL...a deal that lets this unscrupulous company continue in business here in America, lets them KEEP THE THOUSANDS OF LEASES THEY HOLD that will in turn ALLOW THEM TO DRILL UP TO 17,000 wells in our rural lands. The above DEFERRED PROSECUTION is just one example of this company's corrupt business model.

 Chesapeake Energy

1.  State environmental regulators have halted work on a natural-gas well pad in northern Pennsylvania because of erosion that affected the water supply for hundreds of households.

The Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday it issued the order against Chesapeake Energy Corp. on Tuesday after it did not respond to notice of violations of the Clean Streams Law and Oil and Gas Act.

The DEP says the violations involved site-preparation work that occurs before any drilling. It says a significant amount of sediment and silt was discharged into a stream that feeds a water source for Galeton borough in Potter County, forcing the water authority to switch to another source. DEP spokeswoman Katy Gresh says more than 1,000 households were affected.

2.  Socially Responsible Investment Firm Divests Chesapeake Energy

By Dale Wannen | March 23rd, 2011 

In times when oil prices are on the brink of huge increases and radiation leaks from Japanese nuclear reactors seem out of control, natural gas is the latest panacea of energy companies looking for cheap, quick solutions. While energy providers are jumping on the natural gas bandwagon, impact investors are jumping off just as quickly due to environmental concerns like fracking.

Harrington Investments, Inc., an investment advisory firm specializing in socially responsible investing (and my employer), announced today that it is divesting its entire holding in Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) due to the corporation’s poor environmental record and its lack of accountability to shareholders.

Recently, the Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Department cited over 40 natural gas well operators more than 900 times for “environmental health and safety” violations.   Leading this unworthy group with 109 citations was Chesapeake Energy.

We are told not to name call...but come on folks, these companies are scum!  They are sending in their slick Landmen in their fancy cars, and expensive suits to sell us a RED HERRING, making VERBAL PROMISES that oddly enough are not found in the contracts people are tricked into signing.  They bribe our elected officials, buy off opposition, and then once they have the secured contracts and acreage to begin drilling, THEY IGNORE THE LAWS meant to protect human health and the environment.  Meanwhile, the grassroots activists who are sacrificing their time, money, and in some cases their health to sound the alarm are NOT BEING HEARD, or worse being ignored.  

Do not take our word for it when we sound the alarm, claim the sky is about too fall...instead, use our modern day technology for FIVE MINUTES....that is all it took  to find these and other violations concerning these two vile companies that want to start drilling in our communities here in New York.

Could New York Gas Shale Fracking Cause Melt Down At Indian Point Nuclear Reactor? Maybe...

Indian Point Next Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station?

 

After the horrific nuclear accident in Japan, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has come finally admitted what most in the Anti Nuclear Camp have known for decades...that the reactor in the most danger should a earthquake hit is Entergy's trouble plagued Indian Point reactors, IP2 and IP3...at the time of the plant's original licensing, Indian Point was able to be exempt from the new Earthquake criteria, as said rules had not yet been finalized by the commission...if they had been, these two reactors which are built DIRECTLY ATOP A EARTHQUAKE FAULT could have never been built.  Which makes the NRC's plans to re-license these two aged relics from nuclear energy's early days even more troublesome and confusing.

So, what does this have to do with Shale Gas and Fracking...in a word, everything.  Increased earthquake activity out in Arkansas has seen the state put a stop to fracking activities there until such time as scientists, and the companies involved can prove that said INCREASED earthquake activities are not being caused by the gas industry's unsafe and unsound drilling practices.

Looking at this fact, lets look at theTEPCO reactors, and the ever spreading crisis in Japan.  The earthquake and subsequent tsunami have caused damages into the hundreds of billions of dollars, and the financial, environmental and human life costs are rising with each passing day.  The Japanese government is now admitting that radiation 100,000 allowable limits is being found in the ground surrounding the failing, cracked and broken nuclear reactors...others are finally admitting the truth those in the know feared...radioactive materials in lethal amounts have made their way into the ocean, and world air currents have now carried radioactive contaminants not just to the west coast of America, but clear across our great land to the East Coast, all this in a matter of just weeks.

President Obama has just ordered a review of all 104 operating reactors...that is not enough.  Certain reactors such as Entergy's Indian Point (built atop a earthquake fault) need to be immediately shut down, the task of decommissioning begun.  Furthermore, we need a moratorium on all fracking activities in the United States of America until such time as scientists have had more time to adequately study the correlation between the gas industry's use of this dangerous technology, and increased earthquake activity in the areas it has been deployed too.  The world simply cannot afford another event like the one now unfolding at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan.

It is suggested here, that the NY DEP in light of the situation in Japan, in light of the situation out in Arkansas where fracking has brought on greatly increased seismic activity, that the Final GEIS be reopened so that this important issue of frackings relationship to increased seismic activity can be properly and thoroughly investigated by our brightest scientific scholars...simply stated, there is just too much riding on this rule promulgation not to take the time to investigate any and all new areas of concern before the DEP begins issuing permits that will include fracking activities.

Welcome To Fracktoid...Contributing Authors Welcome

Fracking KILLS Communities

Greetings Fracktoids:

First, I have to admit my own ignorance on the subject of Fracking...until Saturday March 26, 2011 I had not even heard of the word, let alone the environmentally reprehensible act it referenced.  I was attending the showing of "The Greenhorns" at the (Catskill Art Society) CAS Arts Center Livingston Manor and during the question and answer immediately following, a woman was quiet vocal about it, and I had hoped to have a further opportunity to speak with her on the subject.  That opportunity occurred today at another event I was attending on the subject of buying food locally grown.  

The woman in question it turned out is one Victoria Lesser who was very well informed on the subject, and who suggested I visit Catskill Citizens, which I did this evening...what I read there, and so very basic research I did after visiting that site has me absolutely convinced that Fracking is both dangerous to our environment, and our human health...thus the word and title for this blog, Fracktoid...one who has been, is being, or will be harmed by the deplorable act used by gas drilling companies known as Fracking.

Sure that some might think my decision is made in haste...after all, how can one do adequate enough research in a few scant hours to make a decision on such an important issue, and how can one be against a gas industry practice that makes it easier to extract gas from underneath the ground...the politically incorrect part of me could simply state, "I'm opposed to anything that has George W Bush, Dick Cheney and Haliburton's filthy dirty corrupt fingerprints on it", and be speaking truth.  However, there are far more insidious reason that have caused me to, in a moment, become a citizens opposed to Fracking.  For reasons of brevity in this opening post, shall simply list a few on my list, which I am sure will grow into quite a lengthy one as time goes by and the story unfolds itself.

1.  The chemicals used in this process are known HUMAN carcinogens, that among other things, cause cancer and birth defects.

2.  The industry, much like the nuclear industry is hiding much of the horrific truth of the chemicals used in their deadly cocktail from members of the Stakeholder Communities under the guise and claim of Proprietary Secrets...it is noted here, that should a citizen group choose to CHALLENGE THIS CLAIM with say the EPA, the company(ies) would have to prove their right and need to keep the recipe secret from their competitors far outweighs a stakeholder community's NEED TO KNOW.  No lawyer here, but be willing to bet the industry would lose this one if properly challenged...especially since everyone in the industry who is doing FRACKING probably already has the recipe, or one of a similar dangerous concoction, which means they are claiming Proprietary Privilege for only ONE REASON...to keep citizens from being able to truly measure the risks to both human health and the environment from the egregious dangerous act of FRACKING. 

3.  The US EPA which has a deplorable record of protecting both human health and the environment with the help of one George W. Bush has exempted the gas industry and their fracking from the Clean Water Act...there is ONLY ONE REASON TO DO THIS...fracking RUINS YOUR SAFE DRINKING WATER!

It was not too long into my research that I saw MUCH WAS and IS being done by some very fine groups, and my only hope, is that this little blog will add more fuel to the proverbial fire as communities wake up all across America and start saying NO TO THE GAS INDUSTRY...some fights are worth fighting, and this is one of them.