One of my reasons for getting on here was simply to get my own unfiltered information on the exciting developments going on in the shale oil & gas areas of the country and see what jobs there may be lurking out there for an architect whose last position was principal in a civil engineering consulting firm.

In this area of the country, I encounter cohorts, work colleagues, and academics totally oblivious to the sea change taking place in the energy industry. I mention the ramifications of the Bakken Formation on the U.S.'s future leadership role in this sector and I might as well be describing a mountain on Mars! It's hilarious on the one hand, but depressing on the other, since I live in area that prides itself on "having more Ph.D's per capita than anywhere else in the U.S."

I'm sure those of you in the Haynesville, Marcellus/Utica, Barnett, etc., Shale regions could care less, but these smug academic types are the ones most involved-in the discusson that ultimately drives national energy policy, extolls everything with a green energy DNA, and gets irrationally shrill when the conversation works its way around to hydraulic fracturing. So, any ammunition that those of you have to help back me up in these areas would be most welcome. Since I worked my butt off the last half of 2012 getting our State of North Carolina's Republican Governor elected, and helped reinforce our majority in both State Houses (the first time in 120 years), I'm being listened-to from a policy formulation standpoint. Our Speaker of the House requested copies of my proposal, "How the 21st-Century Shale Oil & Gas Economy Would be a Boon to North Carolina.." and it would behoove you all in the industry to take note of our in-state discussion, as ours is now the 10th most-populous state in the country (& will pass Ohio in the next couple of years), so as we get cemented in to Swing State status, our leverage increases. There are those arriving from the northeast & overseas that want to affect our discussion away from promoting traditional industries and private-sector economic development, so be on alert that, even if it's not an issue in the state where you're seeing the benefits, it'll behoove you to know what forces are at work to thwart Louisiana's right to tap-into a resource that should be a given....