Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Jan 31, 2012

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:

Gas-fired power up 50 percent in last decade
Tulsa World
The huge, belching smokestacks of electric power plants have long symbolized air pollution problems. But a shift is under way: More and more electric plants around the nation are being fueled by natural gas, which is far cleaner than coal, the traditional fuel.

Natural gas fluctuates on revised forecasts of milder weather
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Natural gas futures fluctuated in New York as revised forecasts showed milder weather that may limit heating-fuel demand.

In Jewish fracking debate, it’s the environment vs. energy independence-and energy’s winning
The Jewish Journal
As concerns mount over the environmental and public health consequences of hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, Jewish groups are coalescing around a strategy that supports efforts to extract natural gas from shale rock while seeking to mitigate its worst effects.

An Infrastructure Bank: Democrats and Republicans Both Like It. Why?
World News Report
Investors continue to plow hundreds of billions of dollars into U.S. treasury bonds, even though those bonds repay virtually nothing in interest. Why?

Obama’s frack attack
Washington Times
President Obama taking credit for higher oil and natural gas production is like the rooster taking credit for the sunrise.

EQT Helps Accelerate the Use of Natural Gas Vehicles by Awarding Grants to Non-Profit Organizations
Business Wire
EQT Corporation today announced that the EQT Foundation awarded more than $900,000 in grants to five Pittsburgh area non-profit organizations to support community programming and promote the use of Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs).

Pickens’ Plan, Obama’s Energy Initiatives And Opportunities For Investors
Seeking Alpha
Legendary investor T. Boone Pickens recently appeared on SquawkBox . The primary subject of conversation was President Obama’s newly unveiled energy initiatives, and, more specifically, the parallels between those initiatives and the Pickens Plan.

Exxon and the Natural Gas Revolution
Forbes.com
As the demand for natural gas increases and catches up with supply, companies–like Exxon–that made early investments should benefit from having invested ahead of the trend.

Is Anyone Still Drilling for Natural Gas?
The Motley Fool
While the price of natural gas price is low in North America due to a vast abundance of supply, the same is not true in the rest of the world.