Maryland Gov. Hogan Pulls the Trigger, Commits Fracking Suicide
Metaphorically speaking–Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s finger was on the trigger of a loaded pistol, pointed at the head of the once-great State of Maryland. And now, Hogan pulled the trigger, assassinating any hope of new jobs, new wealth for some of the state’s poorest people (farmers and landowners in western Maryland), and new tax revenue for local communities. BANG. Done. Killed. Death. Thanks Larry, you da man. We previously reported that the Maryland House had loaded the chamber, and then the Senate had cocked the gun and put it in Hogan’s hand (see Gun Loaded & Cocked, Maryland About to Commit Fracking Suicide). On Tuesday, Hogan pulled the trigger. In the midst of the ebullient reporting on Maryland’s action by so-called mainstream media, we continue to ask the question, who got a payoff here (see Antis Deliriously Happy with Maryland Frack Ban, Who Paid Who?). Is anybody investigating Hogan to see if his bank account just got really fat? Or if Hogan was promised something in return for his sell-out of fracking (he ran for governor as a supporter of fracking). We sincerely wonder where the payoff is, because if you dig deep enough, it will be there…
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The same old (very small) cast of environmental radicals is claiming victory in Maryland over the recently passed bill to ban fracking statewide–a bill that now sits on traitor Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk (he’s promised to sign it). Radicals from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (and Food & Water Watch, and the Sierra Club, et al), who are waging a holy war against fossil fuels, say this momentous occasion is evidence of new “bipartisan” support sweeping the nation–that Maryland’s vote has “national implications.” It’s nothing of the sort. Anti-fossil fuel nutters are still by and large Democrats (and Socialists) and confined to a few far-left states (Maryland, New York, Vermont). Larry Hogan is an anomaly–a Republican who ran on a platform of support for fracking who suddenly, without warning and for inexplicable reasons, flipped and promised to sign a ban bill should one be proffered. We wonder, who paid who? There is corruption at work in this situation, of that we have no doubt. All of the so-called “leaders” of the ban frack movement in the Maryland legislature come from either the Washington, D.C. suburbs, or the Baltimore area. They are located on the opposite side of the state from where fracking would, theoretically, take place. These enviro radicals have hijacked the property rights of landowners in Allegany County and Garrett County, the only two Maryland counties with commercially viable shale deposits that could be fracked. It will be a sad day when Hogan turns his back on the people of Maryland and signs the law…
As MDN reported, last week U.S. District Judge Robert Mariani ruled against a Wayne County landowner in a lawsuit that challenged the right of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to stop fracking in the Delaware River Basin (see 
Schlumberger is the world’s largest oilfield services (OFS) company. Weatherford International is the world’s fourth largest OFS company. They both have operations in the Marcellus/Utica region. We’ve posted a number of stories about Weatherford’s financial troubles–and seemingly inevitable march toward bankruptcy (
In May 2016 a landowner in Wayne County, PA–in the Delaware River Basin–filed a lawsuit against the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) asking a judge to declare the DRBC does not have jurisdiction to prevent construction of a natural gas well (see 
There were early signs that Maryland’s newly elected “Republican” governor was weak on the subject of fracking, as we pointed out in 2015 when we said that then-new Gov. Larry Hogan, who was elected on a platform of supporting shale drilling, had decided to let a two-year moratorium on shale drilling become law without his signature (see 
The International Energy Agency (IEA) works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 29 member countries and beyond. IEA’s mission focuses on four main areas of focus: energy security, economic development, environmental awareness and engagement worldwide. A somewhat self-important group that issues reports periodically–particularly on mythical man-made global warming. The core of the man-made global warming argument is that mankind is burning fossil fuels, releasing loads of extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The CO2 in the atmosphere acts as a canopy to trap the earth’s heat and to (someday soon) catastrophically warm the planet, killing off species, causing sea levels to rise, melting polar ice caps. Except none of that is actually happening (the Emperor has no clothes). Which we keep pointing out over and over. We won’t head down that rabbit trail again right now. CO2 levels are important for the eggheads at IEA. In conducting research for the next release of the IEA’s World Energy Outlook report (for 2017), researchers at the agency say worldwide CO2 levels were “flat” in 2016, even though economic activity (or the use of energy) increased. One of the major points in the IEA’s preview of what’s to come in the World Energy Outlook report is this: “The biggest drop [in CO2] came from the United States, where carbon dioxide emissions fell 3%, or 160 million tonnes, while the economy grew by 1.6%. The decline was driven by a surge in shale gas supplies and more attractive renewable power that displaced coal. Emissions in the United States last year were at their lowest level since 1992, a period during which the economy grew by 80%.” Translation: Shale gas is good for global warming, if you believe in global warming…
The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) held a regularly scheduled business meeting yesterday in Washington Crossing, PA. As predicted, a number of anti-fossil fuel zealots turned up to make noise about the PennEast Pipeline project–and about the prospect of the DRBC allowing shale drilling. As we disclosed yesterday, the zealots all read from the same document prepared by Her Eminence, THE Delaware Riverkeeper, Maya van Rossum (see 
You’ve heard the phrase, “The Emperor has no clothes.” A lawsuit against the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) by a Wayne County, PA landowner over the DRBC’s ongoing moratorium of shale gas drilling, is exposing the DRBC as having “no clothes” when it comes to their authority over shale drilling (see 
Not long after the Pennsylvania legislature passed the Act 13 Marcellus Shale drilling law in 2012, signed into law by then-Gov. Tom Corbett, seven selfish towns sued, claiming they should have the right (via zoning laws) to determine just where an oil and gas well can be located within their borders. The challenge was brought by rabid anti-drillers and appealed all the way to the PA Supreme Court, where unfortunately the antis won (see 
We spotted an article on the Hot Air website about a court challenge in Colorado that may (or may not) have implications for shale drilling in places like New York State. Several years ago the ultra-liberal Boulder County, CO banned fracking. Landowners in the county are unconstitutionally denied the right to use their land as they see fit. So Colorado’s Attorney General, Cynthia Coffman, has just sued Boulder County to have the frack ban declared illegal. IF the case were to get appealed to a federal court and IF the case decided that Boulder County does not have the right to ban fracking, might that not serve as a precedence for New York and a statewide ban? We know, we know. It’s a stretch and a lot of IFs. But it is an intriguing idea–and a case worth watching…
In January MDN told you about an effort in Virginia to ensure new changes in Virginia’s environmental regulations that require “mandatory disclosure of fracking chemicals, baseline water testing and monitoring, and spill prevention and response planning” would still protect trade secrets–the exact combinations of chemicals used by drillers when fracking (see 
It’s always breathtaking, and disturbing, when a small group of individuals decide to take away the Constitutional property rights of their fellow citizens. We always wonder, is this how it started in 1920s Germany? The Augusta County (VA) Board of Supervisors voted 6 to 1 Wednesday night to illegally take away the property rights of every citizen in the county by enacting a total ban on fracking in the county. Is there any shale in the county to frack? No idea, but we doubt it. To be fair, the first county in Virginia to become lawless in this regard was King George County, last summer (see 
For some reason Duke University seems to have a fascination with the Marcellus Shale and seeks to denigrate it with fake research reports. Of course there’s big money in research grants, which is why Duke keeps issuing bogus studies. In fact, last year Duke was exposed for doctoring research data in a scheme to grab $200 million in grant money (see 
We now have a bit more of the back story and reason why anti-frackers turned out in large numbers to attend last Thursday’s meeting of the Delaware Basin River Commission (see