Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel

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    Breaking: NY Court Decisions in Binghamton & Sidney Cases

    exclusiveAn important development in two New York court cases that potentially impacts shale drilling in the state–and no, neither is (directly) about the Dryden or Middlefield town ban cases currently before New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. The two cases we’re referring to are (1) the City of Binghamton and their ill-fated “moratorium” thrown out by a lower court judge in 2012 and subsequently appealed, and (2) a similar moratorium in the Town of Sidney, NY.

    In the Binghamton case, the appeal of the tossed-out fracking moratorium authored by anti-drilling husband and wife team of David and Helen Slottje has been withdrawn–so that case is now officially ended and the moratorium remains tossed and unenforceable. This is big news with big implications. In the case of Sidney, the judge in that case (different judge from the Binghamton case) issued a decision yesterday, but as of the time we wrote and posted this story, we still do not have a copy of the decision. We’ll post it as soon as we get it. Let’s dive deeper into both cases…

    (Important update at the end of this article)
    Read More “Breaking: NY Court Decisions in Binghamton & Sidney Cases”

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    PA Democrat Gov Candidates Support Partial/Full Moratorium

    Last night, eight Democrat candidates participated in a forum in Philadelphia, all of them seeking the Democrat nomination for governor to run this November. Pay close attention: Seven of the eight support a shale drilling moratorium–either statewide or in certain parts of the state. This is profoundly bad news if the good citizens of PA are unwise enough to elect one of them to the governorship.

    If you want a good idea of the calamity that awaits PA in choosing a Democrat governor, House and Senate, PLEASE read (or re-read) MDN contributor Chris Acker’s article here: Guest Post: Pennsylvania Drilling Moratorium – Good or Bad?. Here’s how it played out last night in Philly with regard to Democrat support for a moratorium on shale drilling:
    Read More “PA Democrat Gov Candidates Support Partial/Full Moratorium”

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    Natural Gas’ “Unfair Advantage” over Wind and Solar

    Yet another novel argument is being trotted out by the militant green left–natural gas an an “unfair” advantage. You see, it’s just too darn easy to build a pipeline–compared with putting up an electrical transmission line. That’s the cockamamie argument now being made by renewable energy zealots like Jaafar Rizvi, writing in Grist Magazine.

    As MDN has shouted for years now–the shale drilling debate is not really about water contamination, truck traffic and “fugitive” methane–it’s really about a few misguided people who want to pick your energy source for you–and for everyone else too. They irrationally hate fossil fuels because fossil fuels, including natural gas, threaten to slow the adoption of so-called renewable sources of energy, like wind and solar. How do wind and solar energy get to market? Via high voltage electricity transmission lines. According to Mr. Rizvi, it’s not a fair playing field between natgas pipelines and electric transmission lines…
    Read More “Natural Gas’ “Unfair Advantage” over Wind and Solar”

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    MoveOn.org Launches FrackingFighter Campaign (Try not to Laugh)

    The extreme left wing group MoveOn.org has spawned a new effort called Fracking Fighters which “seeks to slow down the fracking boom that is anticipated to occur across the United States in 2014 and beyond.” They’ve decided to put a massive $50,000 behind the effort. So far they’ve gotten 100 signups for their trouble. Big whup.

    For those too young to remember, MoveOn.org was started in 1998 to encourage Congress to “move on” and forget about impeaching then President Bill Clinton who lied under oath (perjury) about getting a bj in the Oval Office from intern Monica Lewinski. Getting a bj in the White House is a resume enhancer for the moral-less left–they secretly envied Bill and wanted to be just like him. Long after bj Bill had left town, MoveOn stuck around to support other really important causes, like slowing down fracking. Wait, it’s OK for Bill to frack, but not anyone else? How does that work??…
    Read More “MoveOn.org Launches FrackingFighter Campaign (Try not to Laugh)”

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    Radio Disney Pressured, Pulls Out of OH O&G Education Program

    Radio Disney had been participating in a tour of elementary schools in Ohio as part of an education project that, among other things, educates kids on how oil and gas drilling and pipelines work. Called “Rocking in Ohio” the program’s intent is to foster interest in science and technology. Because the tour is sponsored by the Ohio and Gas Energy Education Program and partially funded by the drilling industry, the anti-drilling brigade came out in force and has now pressured Disney into withdrawing from the program. We can’t have the truth getting out there in song and dance, ya know!

    Few American-based media outlets are covering the story, so we have to get the Disney story from the pro-terrorist Al Jazeera America network. You know, the network that paid Al Gore a gazillion dollars for his dying Current TV network, finally making Al a rich man and giving Al Jazeera access to American airways to spread their garbage. The network that hires CNN has-beens like Soledad O’Brien to put a pretty face on an ugly network. The network that loves to air terrorists beheading people? Yeah, that network–the network owned by Middle Eastern oil sheiks who fear fracking will end their massive wealth gives us the Disney pulling out in Ohio story…
    Read More “Radio Disney Pressured, Pulls Out of OH O&G Education Program”

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    Sierra Club, LWV Chooses Coal over NatGas in South Jersey

    Hey, the next member of the New Jersey Sierra Club or NJ League of [Liberal Democrat] Women Voters you meet, shake their hand–pump it up and down hard–and congratulate them on damaging the environment in South Jersey, which is what they’ve just done. South Jersey Gas wanted to run a 22-mile natural gas pipeline that would power an electric generating plant–replacing coal that powers the plant now–and also bring natural gas to residential homes in beautiful Cape May County, NJ. But so-called environmental groups like the Sierra Club and members of the LWV objected and pressured regulators to reject the proposal because the pipeline would run through an area of scrub pine trees that happen to grow in sandy soil. It was rejected even though the pipeline would mostly follow roadways and existing rights-of-way and would largely not disturb the so-called forest.

    Nah, this one was far to easy to demagogue with talk about “pristine this” and “undeveloped that.” Throw in some magic phrases, and nag the *#$@ out of regulators, and you have yourself a rejection. So now, residents in Cape May will continue to breathe dirtier air and continue to heat their homes in winter with oil instead of clean-burning natural gas. Thanks Sierra Club and LWV! You’re real champs of the environment…
    Read More “Sierra Club, LWV Chooses Coal over NatGas in South Jersey”

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    Sierra Club Gets What They Want in OH, and It’s a Big Fat Nothing

    The anti-drilling Sierra Club–an organization that once lauded natural gas as an energy bridge to the future but now hates it (because it’s a good fundraiser for them to demonize it)–went fishing for information in Ohio, and came up with nothing. The Sierra Club previously sued the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) seeking all documentation (emails, etc.) for the case of D&L Energy/Hardrock Excavating–the company that repeatedly dumped untreated frack wastewater in the dead of night down a drain–untreated wastewater that ended up in the Mahoning River (see Youngstown Business Dumped >200K Gal of Untreated Wastewater).

    Not only did the ODNR immediately take strong action against the perpetrators of this environmental crime by shutting down the companies involved, the drilling industry itself loudly and strongly condemned it. Not good enough for the Sierra Clubers. They thought there may be some teeny tiny sliver of something they could demagogue and use in yet another fundraising letter–if only they could sort through the pile of communications surrounding the case. So they sued. The ODNR finally relented and gave them what they wanted–and according to the Sierra Clubers, there were “few new details” in the document dump. In other words, it was a colossal waste of time and taxpayer money…
    Read More “Sierra Club Gets What They Want in OH, and It’s a Big Fat Nothing”

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    Former PA Parks Head John Norbeck Joins the Anti-Drilling Brigade

    Sadly, the former head of Pennsylvania’s state park system, John Norbeck, has thrown in his lot with the strongly anti-drilling PennFuture organization and will become its vice president and chief operating officer. PennFuture has worked tirelessly to obstruct and stop drilling wherever and whenever it can. Apparently Norbeck was a closet anti-driller all along. Who knew?…
    Read More “Former PA Parks Head John Norbeck Joins the Anti-Drilling Brigade”

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    Top 10 Marcellus Anti-Drilling Stories of 2013, Courtesy NPR

    MDN and RBN Energy weren’t the only blog sites to do a top 10. Our post was, in our humble opinion, a serious analysis and “think piece” to give those concerned with Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling perspective on the big issues of last year (see MDN’s Top 10 Most Important Stories of 2013 – Our View). RBN Energy’s top 10 looked at the entire country (see today’s story of RBN’s top 10 2014 predictions). MDN and RBN were not alone.

    It seems everyone and their sister was doing top 10 pieces last week, including the reliably anti-drilling StateImpact Pennsylvania–which is a couple of NPR reporters who hate fossil fuels writing about energy and about those evil, nasty Republicans that support shale drilling in PA. We found their top 10 list rather amusing and thought you might too…
    Read More “Top 10 Marcellus Anti-Drilling Stories of 2013, Courtesy NPR”

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    AP Drive-By Article Says Drilling Pollutes Water Wells

    A classic example of mainstream media’s drive-by murder of the truth has happened yet again–at the hands of the Associated Press (hitman: Kevin Begos). The introduction to the most recent hit piece (read it below) is that the AP has done extensive “research” (which is, of course, laughable) into all of these numerous cases of potential water contamination by oil and gas drilling and by golly some of those cases are true–oil and gas drilling polluted some people’s well water. Never mind what kind of pollution, the water was polluted and that’s all you need to know.

    Near the end of the article the mountain of evidence is offered–and what do we find? A statistically infinitesimally small number of complaints about well water contamination, very few of which were proven to be true. So the opening paragraphs are a clever deception, but most people don’t bother to read down to the point where the truth is revealed–and some may not even grasp the truth when they do read it. This one story, written by a reporter with an anti-drilling agenda, is reprinted ad nauseum in hundreds of local newspapers across the country that never bother to question its veracity or attempt to verify the facts. Welcome to Propaganda 101…
    Read More “AP Drive-By Article Says Drilling Pollutes Water Wells”

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    Third Time the Charm? Youngstown Anti-Drillers Try Again for Ban

    The crazies are back in Youngstown, OH–or more properly, they never left. Anti-drillers couldn’t get the good citizens of Youngstown to vote in favor of a frack ban twice in a row, but that doesn’t stop zealots like members of FrackFree Mahoning Valley from trying again. They’re back at it, circulating a petition that–for a third time–asks residents to put the same tired old “ban fracking” measure on the ballot for a vote. After twice being voted down in large numbers. The nutters call it a “Bill of Rights” hoping to fool people. Call the measure what you want–its effect would be to shut down Youngstown from the drilling industry and deny residents the multitude of benefits they now get from Utica drilling (jobs and business tax revenue).

    But hey, it’s (still) America where fruitcakes have the freedom to do what they want–including pestering their neighbors to sign a petition circulated twice before. Our advice: If one of the FrackFree Mahoning fruitcakes comes knocking on your door–hand them the fruitcake you got for Christmas and still haven’t eaten, and send them packing…
    Read More “Third Time the Charm? Youngstown Anti-Drillers Try Again for Ban”

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    MDN’s Top 10 Most Important Stories of 2013 – Our View

    Top 10Yes it’s trite and certainly overdone, but hey, it’s the last day of 2013 and a slow news day. So MDN editor Jim Willis thought he would put together a list of what he considered to be the top 10 Marcellus and Utica Shale stories from 2013. It’s a look into what we believe, based on your input and feedback, to be the most relevant and important stories from this year. Enjoy!…
    Read More “MDN’s Top 10 Most Important Stories of 2013 – Our View”

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    NY’s Ongoing War Against Natural Gas – An Update

    Lenape Resources is one of MDN’s favorite NY-based energy companies. We’ve heard their CEO John Holko speak at events touting the benefits of shale drilling in NY. John doesn’t just say good things about drilling, he puts his money (and his time) into the cause as well. In 2012 Lenape sued the Town of Avon, NY (Livingston County) over their hastily passed fracking ban, a ban that not only bans horizontal or shale fracking (which isn’t even allowed in NY) but also ended up banning vertical fracking in the town, something that’s been going on in NY for more than 40 years. Lenape lost the case in lower court and appealed it (see Lenape Appeals Ruling, Seeks to Overturn Frack Ban in Avon, NY).

    In its heyday, before the NY frack moratorium that’s now 5 1/2 years old, Lenape employed 100 people. Today? They have 5 people. Sound familiar (cough *Norse Energy* cough)? NY is driving energy companies out of business with ongoing hostility by municipalities like Avon and with delays by the state. NY is about as business unfriendly as you get. Here’s an AP update on Lenape and the ongoing negative impact of the frack moratorium in NY:
    Read More “NY’s Ongoing War Against Natural Gas – An Update”

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    NY’s Albany Anti-Frack Protest – Made Possible by Natural Gas

    Not only are the crazies marching in Maryland (see today’s story Maryland Anti-Fracking “Madness” Continues – Crazies on the March), they’re also about to descend on Albany, NY. MDN friend and occasional guest blogger Vic Furman, a retired IBMer and one of the leaders of the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, provided the article below pointing out the hypocrisy of those who oppose shale drilling. Vic says that in nine days when anti-drilling protesters arrive in Albany (many from out of state), they will do so because natural gas and oil from shale drilling made it possible for them to be there.

    Take time to read Vic’s post and consider the salient points he makes:
    Read More “NY’s Albany Anti-Frack Protest – Made Possible by Natural Gas”

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    Maryland Anti-Fracking “Madness” Continues – Crazies on the March

    The anti-drilling crazies in Maryland are on the march, literally! A coalition of extremist so-called “environmental” groups plan to march on Annapolis on the opening day of the General Assembly session to urge legislators to ban shale drilling. No, they are not demanding a moratorium–they are demanding an outright and permanent ban on fracking. How do you reason with unreasonable people? You don’t. You defeat them. And that’s what pro-drilling and clear-thinking people must do in Maryland. There is no sane debate with a crazy people.

    Here’s a Maryland “madness” update:
    Read More “Maryland Anti-Fracking “Madness” Continues – Crazies on the March”

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    PA Town in Poconos Symbolically Votes to Condemn Fracking

    The day before the PA Supreme Court ruled that towns must allow fracking but can impose their own zoning rules about where it is and isn’t used, the Stroudsburg Borough Council voted, unanimously, to pass a resolution (or depending on your news source, ordinance) that “condemns” fracking. Stroudsburg is located about five miles from the Delaware Water Gap in Monroe County, PA. It’s debatable whether or not there’s anything to frack under Stoudsburg. Because the borough is in the Delaware River Basin the DRBC doesn’t yet allow drilling there anyway–so the vote was purely symbolic.

    The ring leader seems to be outgoing councilwoman Kathleen Lockwood who has proven her ignorance on the subject of fracking with her public comments on the matter (see below). Since this was a symbolic vote, we nominate Ms. Lockwood to symbolically remove herself from using all natural gas–she should quit heating her home with it, quit using it to cook her food, and quit using electricity in her home produced by using natural gas–you know, to show the rest of us her resolve in opposing fracking. If fracking is so bad and evil, surely she would want to quit using the results of that fracking–natural gas–right? What’s that? Not so fast? Let’s not be hasty now! Yeah, that’s what we thought…
    Read More “PA Town in Poconos Symbolically Votes to Condemn Fracking”