What could possibly go wrong?
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Thursday announced a group of environmental, industry and state regulatory experts who will make recommendations to improve the safety and environmental performance of natural gas hydraulic fracturing from shale formations. President Obama directed Secretary Chu to convene this group as part of the President’s “Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future” plan to reduce America’s oil dependence, save consumers money, and make the U.S. the leader in clean energy industries.
h/t Adrian
Take a look at that line up. What could go wrong? I am guessing just about everything.
well Kate, with a slate (pun intended!) of academics and politicians, what colud psosisbly go worng?
The environmentalists on that list, who are opposed to hydrocarbon development, are going to make sure that there isn’t any consensus.
Their entire careers are about shutting down energy resource development.
The time line for reaching consensus is 9 months away.
Does this mean no drilling for NG or other carbon energy can be done until the report recommendations arrive 9 months from now?
They have been fracking for years up in Northern Alberta and I haven’t heard of any problems, so why the big panic now? There is a moratorium on it right now in NS but as usual the naysayers are the same crowd that were against indoor plumbing back in the day. And yes, I did infer that some Maritimers are reluctant to change.
Considering the process has been used over 2 million times over the last 50 years, what exactly are they looking for?
http://www.gov.ns.ca/nse/pollutionprevention/docs/Consultation.Hydraulic.Fracturing.FACTs.pdf
“plan to reduce America’s oil dependence, save consumers money, and make the U.S. the leader in clean energy industries”
A three-headed oxymoron.
I look forward to many new and exciting regulatory proposals from this august group. Proposals which will make it impossible to legally extract gas from the ground in US territory.
Or indeed to extract gas from anywhere including your butt. Jars will be issued.
That’s what the panel is for, after all. Fart catching.
Hopefully someone will show that list of fracking professors this video on fracking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4aOMKhkhSc&feature=player_embedded
Let’s see, they could do to fraking what they did to offshore drilling.
That will help America solve its energy deficit problem . . . oh wait, maybe not so much.
He’s voting present again. What else is new.
We would already be colonizing planets in other star systems if the government would just stay out of our faces. Sheeesh!
Geez, they could even set up their version of the PCT (Pacific Carbon Trust) and charge schools, hospitals, municipalities for carbon-offset credits, just like in BC! Just think how many jobs that would provide!
Or they could determine that producing natural gas from shale is just too CO2 intensive and shelve the whole thing. What to do? What to do?
Lawfare: the use of law to damage your opponent.
Ron in Kelowna; for shame, you sent me to a video that was sponsored by state television. What the frack was that about? But, it was funny…
Two more years.
My prediction is that the EPA will shut it down entirely.
“They have been fracking for years up in Northern Alberta and I haven’t heard of any problems, so why the big panic now?”
Because someone made
a documentary about it.
Don’t you know that government policy is now priortized according to the number jury prizes awarded at independent film festivals?
Fracking takes place thousands of feet underground unless it is being used to extract coal bed methane. There may be question on the impact on a local aquifer due to the amount of water needed. Barring accidents, and loss of water for drinking water and disposal of produced water the main accomplishment of an investigation would be to assure the paychecks of the investigators.
I love it: “highly respected experts” (respected by each other); “consensus recommended advice” (the fix is in, in case you didn’t know it) etc.
The only person who might be a little difficult is John Deutsch, who when he was Chair of MIT Chemistry
supposedly described himself as, “socially, a liberal; fiscally, a conservative; and in departmental affairs, a homicidal maniac”.
But people who know him fairly well say he wasn’t tough enough for the Directorship of the CIA.
What’s interesting about this group is there’s not one single representative of the industry itself. Not one single person representing a company which actually does gas drilling, processing or production.
Failure is guaranteed.
You’re right, Phantom. There are only two possible outcomes. The first is that the panel makes recommendations essentially impossible to implement, or second that it makes an outright prohibition. In the case of the first, it serves to draw out any agreement over terms and conditions of drilling beyond the next election.
This is simply election fodder for the Dems to say, “We have a process and it is working.”
I hope they ban the practice in the whole USA.
we can kick it up a notch in Canada . need to run that export pipeline a little harder at a higher price.
That’s like when the Canadian government talked to many stakeholders about gun control changes: anti-gun groups, police, social agencies, women’s groups, politicians, prisoner’s rights advocates, gun control organizations, and anybody else they could talk to EXCEPT shooters and hunters.
Sheesh! Even Rigzone has fallen into the filthy habit of putting a superfluous “k” into “fracing”.
There is no “k” in “fracture”, and there is no “k” in “frac”, as in, “We will be doing a 6-stage frac.”
It used to be easy to distinguish the morons in this matter, because they typically use the “k”, and industry insiders don’t. Rigzone has muddied the waters here.
Not sure where to put this Kate, so my apologies if this isn’t it:
A poll that needs some help:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2011/05/direct-per-vote-subsidy-should-it-be-scrapped.html
Ok so, as far as energy and Democrats are concerned Oil is bad, Coal is bad, Nuclear is bad, but Natural Gas is good ? And dayyam near the entire panel is Clinton leftovers ?
Nothing good will come of this, but if it shines a light on those liberal job-killing cockroaches I am all for it.
Aside from the composition of that panel, absolutely nothing useful will come from that panel. But they’ll be paid very well for all the nothing that they do.
I’d be shocked if any DC panel ever came up with any good ideas that reached implementation and achieved the stated objectives.
Whaaaaaat?
How is it that James Cameron didn’t get an official invite for this one?
http://www.slashfilm.com/james-cameron-consulted-on-bp-oil-spill-cleanup-ideas/
Gord, have tried twice to get to that poll and get “page not available”
Chu’s group is strictly a cover for closing down or severely restricting fracking.
In the end, the environmental movement will dictate the rule, and,then, goodbye, cheap natural gas.
OMG. I cannot and will not believe anything this “group” has to say,as Whoopie and the View gals aren’t part of it.
Let me guess, they will say that only with onerous regulations and insurance can this be allowed – even though frakking has been done for decades.
Why do these people hate America – OK rhetoirical question, they are socialists, that’s why.
Regarding the polll, the e link works. get over there and vote! The liberals are stuffing the answer, given they will die without our taxpayer money.
The reason for the big panic now is that the current administration does not want the US to develop its energy resources. It detests evil capitalists and oil companies.
Yup, a green America. No cars. No electricity nless you belong to the entitled. Like Cuba. Thats Obama’s model.
JMO
Anytime you see those two words in a sentence-
‘jobs’ ‘environmental.’
You know it has about as much to do for our economy as ‘pig’ ‘shit.’
They will ensure that it expensive, and that the correct pockets are lined.
‘Yup, a green America. No cars. No electricity nless you belong to the entitled. Like Cuba. Thats Obama’s model.’
JMO
Posted by: Revnant Dream at May 9, 2011 5:30 PM
Yup, that is my opinion of the 0’s model too. He hates to see anyone living well, he hates to think that people can live (or die and receive eternal salvation) without him, the great ‘one’. He is a ‘real piece of work’ as my Dad would say.
Holditch, head of the petroleum engineering department at Texas A&M, is an expert on fracking.
I think most of you have it all wrong. This panel is, indeed, cover, but it’s cover for Obama to move forward with support for natural gas drilling. He’s using the panel to thwart those opposed to fracking.
Who gives a frac?
It makes little or no difference.
America has a solid track record.
The more energy they get, and the cheaper it is, the quicker they will piss it away.
He missed Michael Noore?
I don’t think so, Texan. Not with Environmental Defense Fund’s President sitting on the panel.
Texan
cgh is right, the idea is to have a token member and some that look with a pass to have credentials, then of course the recommendations are made on the “consensus” of the committee, in this case its much a forgone on how that committee will recommend, and the sole or minority voices of dissent will have either quietly dropped out, or off the committee by the time its findings being published or there will be a small postscript to say that not all members agreed.
Remember this isn’t a high profile press release, all that matters is the eventual result, right now of course the masses are not going to jump up and down crying foul, and when the committee make their recommendations its not the members, methodology or the evidence that’ll be held up to inquisition, if it is, perhaps past examples of when this happened could be used as precedence, but then I won’t hold my breath.
Of course I could be wrong but the track record of this administration isn’t encouraging.
Look, I despise Obama. But my bias against the man isn’t going to cloud my appraisal of what is going on in the administration. Here’s what Obama said at the end of March:
“But the potential for natural gas is enormous. And this is an area where there’s actually been some broad bipartisan agreement. Last year, more than 150 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle produced legislation providing incentives to use clean-burning natural gas in our vehicles instead of oil. And that’s a big deal. Getting 150 members of Congress to agree on anything is a big deal. And they were even joined by T. Boone Pickens, a businessman who made his fortune on oil, but who is out there making the simple point that we can’t simply drill our way out of our energy problems.”
So, you think he’s going to say this and then shut down fracking? Throw thousands out of work in Pennsylvania? A swing state? Right before the 2012 election campaign?
Gordinkneehill, indeed…if I see it spelled ‘fracking’ a few more times I think my head will explode. ‘c’ only. Frackin spelling around here I tell ya, everyone’s frackin it up for frack’s sake…