UPS Makes a Wrong Turn – Buys into “Renewable” NatGas Hype
UPS, the package delivery company, is so excited they’re about to burst. The company issued a press release yesterday to announce they cut a deal to purchase 170 million gallon equivalents of so-called renewable natural gas (RNG) through 2026. It is “the largest commitment for use of RNG to date by any company in the United States.” Horray!!! What’s that? What is “renewable” natural gas? That’s methane from pig and cow poop, and from landfills. Somehow because the word “renewable” is slipped into the label, companies like UPS mistakenly believe Big Green will be pleased. We hate to burst their bubble…
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Last November the judges in Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court issued a ruling in favor of Penn Township (Westmoreland County) granting “special exception” permits to Apex Energy, allowing them to drill four shale wells (see 
Pennsylvania’s worst governor in a generation, Tom Wolf, continues his Santa Claus routine. Only this time with a twist…he’s become Bad Santa. Wolf has traipsed around the state for the past few months touting his so-called Restore PA program–a program that will fund all sorts of projects around the state–to the tune of a massive $4.5 billion. However, the only revenue source Wolf will consider to fund his Santa Claus giveaways is a Marcellus-killing severance tax.
Anti-fossil fuel kooks in Massachusetts are desperate to block a federally (and state) approved compressor station from getting built in Weymouth, MA. Antis have one remaining, way-outside chance of blocking the project: Bully the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) into reversing the permit it has already issued for the project.
Ever notice the tagline under the MDN logo? It says: “Helping People & Businesses Profit from Northeast Shale Drilling.” Not mentioned are non-profits, but even non-profits can “profit” from shale drilling. How? By applying for grants awarded either by the industry itself (drillers, pipeline and utility companies), or, in this case, by applying for grants from the PA state government.
A few weeks ago the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP) published a new resource for those interested in checking out the many (many!) job opportunities there are working in the oil and gas industry. Not a list of open positions at specific companies, but a list of jobs and careers. Everything from administrative assistant and attorney to welder and workover rig supervisor. But this isn’t just a laundry list of 75+ careers/jobs, it includes a detailed explanation of what each job does, the amount and type of education required, and a list of places (in Ohio, of course) where you can receive training for that type of job. This is an awesome resource!
Yet another attack on the shale industry by two Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “reporters” (propagandists) who have made a career of unfairly attacking shale–Don Hopey and David Templeton. This latest smear job makes the claim that leachate coming from a landfill piped to a municipal wastewater treatment facility is “contaminated” with all sorts of nasty chemicals (what the heck do you think is in leachate, anyway?!). The claim is the chemicals in the leachate are present because of drillers dumping leftover rock and dirt that comes out of the ground when drilling new holes for shale wells into the landfill.
Anti-fossil fuel fanatics attempting to ban natural gas extraction, the pipelines that flow it, and even end-use of natgas have blathered on for years that “
We’ve been saying the following until we’re blue (flame) in the face (pun intended): Natural gas is not a *bridge* to the future of energy, natural gas is THE DESTINATION. We have enough gas supplies for at least 100 years, likely much longer. Natgas is low emissions. It’s not harming Mom Earth. What’s not to love about extracting and BURNING natural gas? It seems others are now embracing this view. An editorial in the Wall Street Journal asks the question, if Warren Buffett is willing to invest $10 billion to help Occidental Petroleum buy Anadarko Petroleum, what does old Warren know that we don’t? Here’s the better question: What if renewables don’t pan out after all? What if renewables can’t supply all of our energy needs? Is that what old Warren is thinking?
One of the false allegations made against shale drilling is that it somehow pollutes the air–of particular concern near schools. A new independent two-year study commissioned by Range Resources at one of their drilling sites, located about a mile from a local school, thoroughly debunks that allegation. A first-of-its kind public health and long-term ambient air monitoring report (full copy below) provides analysis from nearly two years of continuous data from an unconventional Marcellus Shale well site nearby a high school and elementary school campus in Washington County, PA. The study found no health impacts from shale drilling.
Yesterday New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo dropped an economic atom bomb on New York City by rejecting a natural gas pipeline to bring more supplies of clean-burning natgas to NYC and Long Island (see