"Oil boom spurring fast growth in Texas" by Ramit Plushnick-Masti and Jesse J. Holland | Associated Press May 23, 2014
HOUSTON — Oil equals boom, especially in population right now. And Texas, in the midst of a significant energy rush, is seeing its towns and cities burst at the seams. It's going to be like a sugar rush: crashing all to soon.
Three of the nation’s five fastest-growing cities, and seven of the top 15, are in the Lone Star State, according to new data from the US Census Bureau, part of a trend largely fueled by an oil boom.
Now these cities need to have enough roads, schools, water, and infrastructure to keep up — the growing pains of a surging population. And while it is viewed as opportunity, city planners are frazzled.
Odessa, Texas, smack-dab in the middle of the oil-rich Permian basin, is number 11 on the Census Bureau list. People are flooding the oil fields, booming thanks to new hydraulic fracturing technologies that allow drillers to access to once out-of-reach resources. Related: Montana's Oil Boom
People are lured by higher-than-average salaries, but developers cannot build homes quickly enough, the schools are rapidly filling, and an overburdened water supply, made worse by a long drought, is stretched thin. Overburdened in more ways than one when the polluted and poisonous waste water is injected into them wells.
‘‘It’s a challenge to continue to provide services to the rising population when you’re competing with the same workforce and labor that the oil field is,” said Richard Morton, Odessa’s city manager.
San Marcos, a city between Austin and San Antonio, has topped the list of expanding cities with more than 50,000 people for the second year in a row, showing growth of 8 percent between July 2012 and 2013 to 54,076 people.
Frisco, a suburb about 30 miles north of Dallas, has had growth ‘‘so long and sustained that we’re used to it,’’ said Mayor Maher Maso. Just 15 years ago there were only five schools in Frisco’s main school district. Now, there are 56 and seven under construction, he said.
For Texas, though, water is a concern, highlighted by years of debilitating drought. I'm sick of being sold drought when the real problem is neglected infrastructure by this government.
Conservation is key, Maso said, and his city has distributed rainwater barrels, changed reuse policies, and is trying to make better arrangements to get water from a river on the Oklahoma border. I thought that was illegal.
‘‘That resource is challenging, and we have to change the way we do things,’’ he said.
The large ridge that broke off? Due to fracking! Not the first mudslide we have had this year, either, after a record snowpack from last winter's record snowfall.
"White House touts energy policies as rules loom" by Jim Kuhnhenn | Associated Press May 30, 2014
WASHINGTON — Setting the stage for upcoming restrictions on coal-fired power plants, the Obama administration is making a concerted effort to cast its energy policy as an economic success that is creating jobs, securing the nation against international upheavals, and shifting energy use to cleaner sources. Like fracking and nuclear power!
In a 42-page report to be released Thursday, the White House contends that significant increases in the domestic production of natural gas and reductions in oil consumption have the United States in a better position to advance its economic and environmental goals. ??????
Few of the report’s conclusions are new, but a detailed analysis describes how past reliance on petroleum imports made the US economy especially susceptible to oil price shocks, a vulnerability that White House economists say has been diminished by a reduced US demand for foreign oil. I'm tired of recycled oil from this agenda-pushing administration.
The report is designed to inoculate the administration against criticism that new Environmental Protection Agency regulations on coal-fired power plants, expected to be unveiled Monday, will increase electricity costs, cost jobs, and be a drag on economic growth. Conservatives and business groups such as the US Chamber of Commerce have contended that the reductions in emissions will be too small and the consequences to the economy too large to justify new restrictions. OMG, it is a PUBLIC RELATIONS and POLITICAL piece of PROPAGANDA! Enough with the IMAGERY and ILLUSION!!
While the White House economic report does not address those criticisms directly, it says greater domestic energy production, the use of wind and solar power, and the reduction in oil consumption ‘‘have had substantial economic and energy security benefits, and they are helping to reduce carbon emissions in the energy sector and thereby tackle the challenge posed by climate change.’’ Pffft!
A quarter of the report is devoted to analyzing the economic impact of the United States’ shift to producing more energy than it imports. The White House makes the case that the US economy is better protected from high oil prices than before. Once again, government basing its decisions on fiction.
So, if an upheaval occurs in an oil-producing country and sends prices soaring, US consumers would still pay the higher costs at the pump, creating adverse economic reverberations. That's because gas and oil need to be shipped to Ukraine and Israel as that Fed printing press whirs away.
But a greater portion of that consumer spending would stay in the United States and contribute to the economy instead of fleeing overseas. In theory, US drillers would get more money, pay more in taxes, and create jobs to find more oil.
That said, the United States remains a top oil importer, second only to China, and is the number one consumer of oil. You have to love those two phrases back to back. Both mean the preceding is pure bull$hit!!!!
The White House report offers a lengthy list of Obama energy initiatives, ranging from new vehicle fuel economy standards to electric plants powered by renewable energy sources, that have contributed to less reliance on foreign oil. It also cites energy-efficient building projects and reduced processing time for onshore drilling permits and issuance of new offshore permits. Yeah, BP got a whole slew of them.
Yet many of the trends that buttress the administration’s case are attributable to dramatic technological advances that have vastly expanded the extraction of domestic natural gas and oil. The main process, called hydraulic fracturing, has caused a furor within the environmental movement. Not just with them. Please don't pigeonhole me, pos!
Natural gas is cleaner-burning than coal or oil, and the White House has embraced it as a transitional fuel. The report concedes ‘‘extraction of natural gas raises some environmental concerns,’’ and says the administration supports ‘‘safe and responsible development.’’ But what about the DRINKING WATER that can be LIT on FIRE?!
In addition, some of the positive trends predate Obama’s presidency, which began in 2009. The report acknowledges that the decline in petroleum consumption, for example, began in 2006, though it attributes much of the initial decline to the start of the recession. Meanwhile, natural gas consumption is up 18 percent since 2005. Five years of recovery, so WTF?!! Is it possible there NEVER WAS a RECOVERY for all but the elite and its political cla$$ of slaves?
"EPA reaches deal to clean coal ash spill; Energy company must pay to clear sludge in N.C., Va." by Michael Biesecker and Mitch Weiss | Associated Press May 23, 2014
RALEIGH, N.C. — Federal environmental officials said Thursday that they have reached a deal with Duke Energy to clean up its mess from a massive coal ash spill into the Dan River that coated 70 miles of the waterway in North Carolina and Virginia with toxic gray sludge. Related: Power Surge Doesn't it just make you want to die?
The Environmental Protection Agency said it had finalized an enforceable agreement with the nation’s largest electricity company over the Feb. 2 spill, which was triggered when a pipe collapsed at Duke’s Dan River Steam Station.
The EPA will oversee the cleanup in consultation with federal wildlife officials under provisions in the Superfund law. Duke will reimburse the federal government for its oversight costs, including those incurred in the emergency response to the spill.
“EPA will work with Duke Energy to ensure that cleanup at the site, and affected areas, is comprehensive based on sound scientific and ecological principles, complies with all federal and state environmental standards, and moves as quickly as possible,” said Heather McTeer Toney, the EPA’s regional administrator based in Atlanta.
The agreement makes no mention of any fines imposed against Duke, which has its headquarters in Charlotte. The EPA did not immediately respond to questions Thursday about whether any civil penalties could still be forthcoming.
Duke did not immediately comment on the settlement.
Recent testing of water samples from the river show the level of contamination decreased quickly after the spill as the ash and the toxic heavy metals it contains sank to the bottom. Duke has already begun vacuuming out three large deposits of ash in the river, including a pocket that collected at the bottom of a dam in Danville, Va. Yeah, they are doing such a good job. What a whoreporate po$.
The byproduct left behind when coal is burned to generate electricity, the ash contains numerous toxic substances, including arsenic, selenium, chromium, thallium, mercury, and lead. Wildlife officials will be collecting tissue samples from fish in the Dan River to monitor whether the contamination works its way up the food chain. Public health officials in both states have advised residents not to eat fish caught downstream of the spill site. Can they use the water yet?
“Conditions resulting from the coal ash release at the Dan River Steam Station present a substantial threat to public health or welfare and the environment if not properly managed,” the agency states in the agreement signed Thursday.
The agreement warns that any delay in the cleanup could cause serious problems.
“Actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances from this site, if not addressed by implementing the response action selected in this Action Memorandum, may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health, welfare or the environment,” the agreement says.
The agreement does not appear to resolve a criminal investigation into the spill and the company’s close relationships with North Carolina politicians and regulators.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Former employees at a West Virginia coal mine are charged with pocketing almost $2 million from vendors in a pay-to-play kickback scheme, federal prosecutors said Friday.
US Attorney Booth Goodwin said the widespread setup required vendors to pay kickbacks to Arch Coal employees to do business with the coal company. Yeah, so? That's the AmeriKan $y$tem in the 21st-century, be it economic or political.
Four employees at Arch Coal’s Mountain Laurel mining complex in Logan County are accused of taking kickbacks from 2007 to 2012. Prosecutors said the mine’s former general manager, David E. Runyon, was at the center of the setup.
Prosecutors said some companies spent more than $400,000 to maintain lucrative contracts with Arch Coal, one of the biggest coal producers and marketers worldwide.
Ten people in all have been charged, with vendors, contractors, and four Arch employees among them. The employees are no longer with the company.
Companies knew Arch Coal would sever their contracts if the side payments stopped. Likewise, Runyon knew losing the contracts would hurt the companies, according to court documents.
‘‘This kind of pay-to-play scheme hurts honest coal industry vendors who refuse to pay bribes as a way to get customers,’’ Goodwin said in a news release Friday.
Arch Coal has mines in Wyoming, Colorado, Illinois, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Maryland. Its Mountain Laurel facility employs about 350 in underground and surface mining. Mountain Laurel produced 2.9 million tons in sales last year, according to the company’s website.
--more--" Time to zero out this post.
"Report: Car, truck crashes cost whopping $871B" Associated Press May 30, 2014
WASHINGTON — The economic and societal harm from motor vehicle crashes amounted to a whopping $871 billion in a single year, according to a study released Thursday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. How can they possibly know that?
The study examined the economic toll of car and truck crashes in 2010, when 32,999 people were killed, 3.9 million injured, and 24 million vehicles damaged. Those deaths and injuries were similar to other recent years. Actually, that second one is way more important.
Of the total price tag, $277 billion was tied to economic costs — nearly $900 for every person living in the United States that year. Harm from loss of life, pain, and decreased quality of life due to injuries was pegged at $594 billion.
NHTSA produces such calculations about once a decade.
The economic cost was the equivalent of nearly 2 percent of the US gross domestic product in 2010. Yeah, it was car crashes that crashed the U.S. economy, not Wall Street thieves and their schemes or that nonstop Fed printing press.
Factors contributing to the toll include productivity losses, property damage, and cost of medical and rehabilitation treatment, congestion, legal and court fees, emergency services and insurance administration, and costs to employers. Overall, nearly three-quarters of these costs are paid through taxes, insurance, and congestion-related costs such as travel delay, fuel consumption, and increased environmental impacts.
"Woman in fatal Norwood crash identified" by Melissa Hanson | Globe Correspondent May 31, 2014
The 58-year-old woman who died in a head-on crash on Interstate 95 in Norwood on Friday afternoon was identified as Jacqueline Fellow of Foster, R.I., State Police said.
A sport utility vehicle driven by Charles Iarrobino, 53, of Foxborough, crossed the median by Exit 11 at 4:22 p.m., when it hit a car in which Fellow and two additional people were riding, State Police said.
Fellow was pronounced dead at the scene.
Douglas Fellow, 62, and Nicholas Fellow, 28, of Providence were taken by helicopter to Boston Medical Center with serious injuries.
After hitting the car, the SUV struck another vehicle. Two passengers of that vehicle, Nina Battista and Katlynn Landry, both 25 and of Quincy, were taken to Norwood Hospital.
A 5-year-old boy, whose relationship to Iarrobino was not clear, was in the SUV during the crash, State Police said.
The boy and Iarrobino were transported to Norwood Hospital.
HOUSTON — Oil equals boom, especially in population right now. And Texas, in the midst of a significant energy rush, is seeing its towns and cities burst at the seams.
It's going to be like a sugar rush: crashing all to soon.
Three of the nation’s five fastest-growing cities, and seven of the top 15, are in the Lone Star State, according to new data from the US Census Bureau, part of a trend largely fueled by an oil boom.
Now these cities need to have enough roads, schools, water, and infrastructure to keep up — the growing pains of a surging population. And while it is viewed as opportunity, city planners are frazzled.
Odessa, Texas, smack-dab in the middle of the oil-rich Permian basin, is number 11 on the Census Bureau list. People are flooding the oil fields, booming thanks to new hydraulic fracturing technologies that allow drillers to access to once out-of-reach resources.
Related: Montana's Oil Boom
People are lured by higher-than-average salaries, but developers cannot build homes quickly enough, the schools are rapidly filling, and an overburdened water supply, made worse by a long drought, is stretched thin.
Overburdened in more ways than one when the polluted and poisonous waste water is injected into them wells.
‘‘It’s a challenge to continue to provide services to the rising population when you’re competing with the same workforce and labor that the oil field is,” said Richard Morton, Odessa’s city manager.
San Marcos, a city between Austin and San Antonio, has topped the list of expanding cities with more than 50,000 people for the second year in a row, showing growth of 8 percent between July 2012 and 2013 to 54,076 people.
Frisco, a suburb about 30 miles north of Dallas, has had growth ‘‘so long and sustained that we’re used to it,’’ said Mayor Maher Maso. Just 15 years ago there were only five schools in Frisco’s main school district. Now, there are 56 and seven under construction, he said.
For Texas, though, water is a concern, highlighted by years of debilitating drought.
I'm sick of being sold drought when the real problem is neglected infrastructure by this government.
Conservation is key, Maso said, and his city has distributed rainwater barrels, changed reuse policies, and is trying to make better arrangements to get water from a river on the Oklahoma border. I thought that was illegal.
‘‘That resource is challenging, and we have to change the way we do things,’’ he said.
--more--"
And about those droughts:
Colorado mudslide still unstable, hampering search
Search halted for 3 missing after Colorado slide
The large ridge that broke off? Due to fracking!
Not the first mudslide we have had this year, either, after a record snowpack from last winter's record snowfall.
"White House touts energy policies as rules loom" by Jim Kuhnhenn | Associated Press May 30, 2014
WASHINGTON — Setting the stage for upcoming restrictions on coal-fired power plants, the Obama administration is making a concerted effort to cast its energy policy as an economic success that is creating jobs, securing the nation against international upheavals, and shifting energy use to cleaner sources.
Like fracking and nuclear power!
In a 42-page report to be released Thursday, the White House contends that significant increases in the domestic production of natural gas and reductions in oil consumption have the United States in a better position to advance its economic and environmental goals.
??????
Few of the report’s conclusions are new, but a detailed analysis describes how past reliance on petroleum imports made the US economy especially susceptible to oil price shocks, a vulnerability that White House economists say has been diminished by a reduced US demand for foreign oil.
I'm tired of recycled oil from this agenda-pushing administration.
The report is designed to inoculate the administration against criticism that new Environmental Protection Agency regulations on coal-fired power plants, expected to be unveiled Monday, will increase electricity costs, cost jobs, and be a drag on economic growth. Conservatives and business groups such as the US Chamber of Commerce have contended that the reductions in emissions will be too small and the consequences to the economy too large to justify new restrictions.
OMG, it is a PUBLIC RELATIONS and POLITICAL piece of PROPAGANDA!
Enough with the IMAGERY and ILLUSION!!
While the White House economic report does not address those criticisms directly, it says greater domestic energy production, the use of wind and solar power, and the reduction in oil consumption ‘‘have had substantial economic and energy security benefits, and they are helping to reduce carbon emissions in the energy sector and thereby tackle the challenge posed by climate change.’’
Pffft!
A quarter of the report is devoted to analyzing the economic impact of the United States’ shift to producing more energy than it imports. The White House makes the case that the US economy is better protected from high oil prices than before.
Once again, government basing its decisions on fiction.
So, if an upheaval occurs in an oil-producing country and sends prices soaring, US consumers would still pay the higher costs at the pump, creating adverse economic reverberations.
That's because gas and oil need to be shipped to Ukraine and Israel as that Fed printing press whirs away.
But a greater portion of that consumer spending would stay in the United States and contribute to the economy instead of fleeing overseas. In theory, US drillers would get more money, pay more in taxes, and create jobs to find more oil.
That said, the United States remains a top oil importer, second only to China, and is the number one consumer of oil.
You have to love those two phrases back to back. Both mean the preceding is pure bull$hit!!!!
The White House report offers a lengthy list of Obama energy initiatives, ranging from new vehicle fuel economy standards to electric plants powered by renewable energy sources, that have contributed to less reliance on foreign oil. It also cites energy-efficient building projects and reduced processing time for onshore drilling permits and issuance of new offshore permits.
Yeah, BP got a whole slew of them.
Yet many of the trends that buttress the administration’s case are attributable to dramatic technological advances that have vastly expanded the extraction of domestic natural gas and oil. The main process, called hydraulic fracturing, has caused a furor within the environmental movement.
Not just with them. Please don't pigeonhole me, pos!
Natural gas is cleaner-burning than coal or oil, and the White House has embraced it as a transitional fuel. The report concedes ‘‘extraction of natural gas raises some environmental concerns,’’ and says the administration supports ‘‘safe and responsible development.’’
But what about the DRINKING WATER that can be LIT on FIRE?!
In addition, some of the positive trends predate Obama’s presidency, which began in 2009. The report acknowledges that the decline in petroleum consumption, for example, began in 2006, though it attributes much of the initial decline to the start of the recession. Meanwhile, natural gas consumption is up 18 percent since 2005.
Five years of recovery, so WTF?!!
Is it possible there NEVER WAS a RECOVERY for all but the elite and its political cla$$ of slaves?
--more--"
UPDATE: Group protests natural gas pipeline in Vermont
Maybe we could use something else for energy:
"EPA reaches deal to clean coal ash spill; Energy company must pay to clear sludge in N.C., Va." by Michael Biesecker and Mitch Weiss | Associated Press May 23, 2014
RALEIGH, N.C. — Federal environmental officials said Thursday that they have reached a deal with Duke Energy to clean up its mess from a massive coal ash spill into the Dan River that coated 70 miles of the waterway in North Carolina and Virginia with toxic gray sludge.
Related: Power Surge
Doesn't it just make you want to die?
The Environmental Protection Agency said it had finalized an enforceable agreement with the nation’s largest electricity company over the Feb. 2 spill, which was triggered when a pipe collapsed at Duke’s Dan River Steam Station.
The EPA will oversee the cleanup in consultation with federal wildlife officials under provisions in the Superfund law. Duke will reimburse the federal government for its oversight costs, including those incurred in the emergency response to the spill.
“EPA will work with Duke Energy to ensure that cleanup at the site, and affected areas, is comprehensive based on sound scientific and ecological principles, complies with all federal and state environmental standards, and moves as quickly as possible,” said Heather McTeer Toney, the EPA’s regional administrator based in Atlanta.
The agreement makes no mention of any fines imposed against Duke, which has its headquarters in Charlotte. The EPA did not immediately respond to questions Thursday about whether any civil penalties could still be forthcoming.
Duke did not immediately comment on the settlement.
Recent testing of water samples from the river show the level of contamination decreased quickly after the spill as the ash and the toxic heavy metals it contains sank to the bottom. Duke has already begun vacuuming out three large deposits of ash in the river, including a pocket that collected at the bottom of a dam in Danville, Va.
Yeah, they are doing such a good job.
What a whoreporate po$.
The byproduct left behind when coal is burned to generate electricity, the ash contains numerous toxic substances, including arsenic, selenium, chromium, thallium, mercury, and lead. Wildlife officials will be collecting tissue samples from fish in the Dan River to monitor whether the contamination works its way up the food chain. Public health officials in both states have advised residents not to eat fish caught downstream of the spill site.
Can they use the water yet?
“Conditions resulting from the coal ash release at the Dan River Steam Station present a substantial threat to public health or welfare and the environment if not properly managed,” the agency states in the agreement signed Thursday.
The agreement warns that any delay in the cleanup could cause serious problems.
“Actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances from this site, if not addressed by implementing the response action selected in this Action Memorandum, may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health, welfare or the environment,” the agreement says.
The agreement does not appear to resolve a criminal investigation into the spill and the company’s close relationships with North Carolina politicians and regulators.
--more--"
Coal corruption is everywhere:
"Coal-mine kickback scheme alleged" May 31, 2014
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Former employees at a West Virginia coal mine are charged with pocketing almost $2 million from vendors in a pay-to-play kickback scheme, federal prosecutors said Friday.
US Attorney Booth Goodwin said the widespread setup required vendors to pay kickbacks to Arch Coal employees to do business with the coal company.
Yeah, so?
That's the AmeriKan $y$tem in the 21st-century, be it economic or political.
Four employees at Arch Coal’s Mountain Laurel mining complex in Logan County are accused of taking kickbacks from 2007 to 2012. Prosecutors said the mine’s former general manager, David E. Runyon, was at the center of the setup.
Prosecutors said some companies spent more than $400,000 to maintain lucrative contracts with Arch Coal, one of the biggest coal producers and marketers worldwide.
Ten people in all have been charged, with vendors, contractors, and four Arch employees among them. The employees are no longer with the company.
Companies knew Arch Coal would sever their contracts if the side payments stopped. Likewise, Runyon knew losing the contracts would hurt the companies, according to court documents.
‘‘This kind of pay-to-play scheme hurts honest coal industry vendors who refuse to pay bribes as a way to get customers,’’ Goodwin said in a news release Friday.
Arch Coal has mines in Wyoming, Colorado, Illinois, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Maryland. Its Mountain Laurel facility employs about 350 in underground and surface mining. Mountain Laurel produced 2.9 million tons in sales last year, according to the company’s website.
--more--"
Time to zero out this post.
"Report: Car, truck crashes cost whopping $871B" Associated Press May 30, 2014
WASHINGTON — The economic and societal harm from motor vehicle crashes amounted to a whopping $871 billion in a single year, according to a study released Thursday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
How can they possibly know that?
The study examined the economic toll of car and truck crashes in 2010, when 32,999 people were killed, 3.9 million injured, and 24 million vehicles damaged. Those deaths and injuries were similar to other recent years.
Actually, that second one is way more important.
Of the total price tag, $277 billion was tied to economic costs — nearly $900 for every person living in the United States that year. Harm from loss of life, pain, and decreased quality of life due to injuries was pegged at $594 billion.
NHTSA produces such calculations about once a decade.
The economic cost was the equivalent of nearly 2 percent of the US gross domestic product in 2010.
Yeah, it was car crashes that crashed the U.S. economy, not Wall Street thieves and their schemes or that nonstop Fed printing press.
Factors contributing to the toll include productivity losses, property damage, and cost of medical and rehabilitation treatment, congestion, legal and court fees, emergency services and insurance administration, and costs to employers. Overall, nearly three-quarters of these costs are paid through taxes, insurance, and congestion-related costs such as travel delay, fuel consumption, and increased environmental impacts.
--more--"
Also see:
Chief judge calls for improved traffic safety
One person killed in multi-vehicle crash on I-95 South in Norwood
They obviously did not listen. People starting to act just like government.
Time to turn the Globe car radio off, sorry. See you next month, readers.
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"Woman in fatal Norwood crash identified" by Melissa Hanson | Globe Correspondent May 31, 2014
The 58-year-old woman who died in a head-on crash on Interstate 95 in Norwood on Friday afternoon was identified as Jacqueline Fellow of Foster, R.I., State Police said.
A sport utility vehicle driven by Charles Iarrobino, 53, of Foxborough, crossed the median by Exit 11 at 4:22 p.m., when it hit a car in which Fellow and two additional people were riding, State Police said.
Fellow was pronounced dead at the scene.
Douglas Fellow, 62, and Nicholas Fellow, 28, of Providence were taken by helicopter to Boston Medical Center with serious injuries.
After hitting the car, the SUV struck another vehicle. Two passengers of that vehicle, Nina Battista and Katlynn Landry, both 25 and of Quincy, were taken to Norwood Hospital.
A 5-year-old boy, whose relationship to Iarrobino was not clear, was in the SUV during the crash, State Police said.
The boy and Iarrobino were transported to Norwood Hospital.
The crash remains under investigation.