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Permalink Reply by essay on February 11, 2011 at 9:15

Who needs logic, reason, facts or science when we have the federal government?  Clearly more regulation is needed.  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110211/tr_ac/7833762_are_americas_natu...

 

You can't debunk people dying in their homes, somebody needs to do something.  Like, build us some bullet trains, that way, people don't die in their cars either.  That would be sweet.  Then maybe after that we can save the whales, and if there's enough time left, free Tibet.

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Permalink Reply by Clyde Fanta on February 11, 2011 at 11:02

Or maybe invade a few countries looking for phantom WMD while we claim that oil revenue would pay for it? Who needs logic, reason, facts or science when we have the NEO CONs? I think you have a point there.

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Permalink Reply by essay on February 12, 2011 at 8:29

Some people also have coulrophobia, but they don't come to public message boards and harass others trying to have a conversation about something else.  Go start your own thread in the political forum about these beastly NEO CONs, I'll be more than happy to make further fun of you in the proper setting.

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Permalink Reply by Clyde Fanta on February 12, 2011 at 11:20

Thanks for the thoughts, Essay, seriously. I would not mean to harass one with such a high opinion of their contribution to mankind. However, whining about the attitudes of the majority of Americans concerning the numerous problems with natural gas and the overall sleazy quality of the industry's pitchmen will not change things. That is the bottom line. Now, continue to hold hands with your soulmates. This is a proper setting, no doubt. 

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Permalink Reply by essay on February 12, 2011 at 13:36

If soulmates means at least making something of an effort to stay on topic rather than proudly displaying sophomoric understanding of internet forums by blurting completely random and unrelated stuff like OMG WMD, then yes, it is the proper setting.  Continue keeping your thumb in your butt, where it belongs, since that is my bottom line.  So to speak.

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Permalink Reply by Clyde Fanta on February 12, 2011 at 13:59

I am not into your habits, though it does not come as a shocker that would be included in your polemic. If you do not work for T. Boone, you must be trying! You continue to rant; I cannot wait to hear back. Oh by the way, from the plants exploding on the experts in Houston to the numerous other disasters, including the attempt to minimize the aquifer risk, the industry has a problem. Sorry! 

The Halliburton exemption is all the public needs to know. Believe me, they will hear about it constantly. Plenty of us will make sure of it.

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Permalink Reply by essay on February 12, 2011 at 21:18

At least Halliburton is a little more on topic than neocons and wmd, you must have a really big bed for all those scary monsters to hide under.

 

And really, thanks for pointing out that "plenty of us" will be banging the drum on inane things like the "Halliburton exemption" as scarecrows to accomplish whatever agenda it is "plenty of us" would like to see.

 

Since that has really been my point all along.

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Permalink Reply by olddog573 on February 11, 2011 at 10:03

Had another one explode today if I heard the news correctly. What's the possibility that these are man made failures? Wasn't a gas line blown up that supplied isreal? So it is possible?

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Permalink Reply by essay on February 11, 2011 at 11:16

olddog the pipes had been in place for 80+ years, there apparently was not even a shut off valve nearby.

 

Further, i can't get past the feeling that somehow extremely cold weather + brittle, old cast iron pipe = bad news waiting to happen.  Without more details that's all I've got.  I also have no idea whether or not it is common practice to use pipes that old, in PA or elsewhere.

 

As I've said any number of times, some people just don't like hydrocarbons, period.  Like sesport says if it's not an environmental isuse, it'll be a safety issue, and in my opinion if it's not either of those they'll find something else about natural gas to distort in order to inflame further bad sentiment in the public forum.

 

Here's a little bit of Louisiana trivia, a 1965 natural gas explosion north of Natchitoches killed 17 people and was the incident which convinced President Johnson there should be a federal regulatory body to help the states oversee such things.  Looks like they're doing a real bang-up job at it, too.

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Permalink Reply by essay on February 12, 2011 at 8:32

I would only say one should be careful about who they get into bed with.  Does anybody remember what happened to the forest acreage given over to "enviros" back when the pine beetles were a big problem?  From what I recall they refused to follow responsible management techniques that involved some timber cutting and wound up killing even more trees.

 

Also, "renewable energy" is a code word for "subsidies."

 

Oh and ask someone who's lived near an industrial wind farm what they think about it, some people can't take it and end up trying to sell their homes.

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Permalink Reply by essay on February 12, 2011 at 13:39

Of course anybody who is anybody has a lobby.

 

Here's a quick search for issues with wind:  http://www.google.com/search?q=problems+associated+with+living+near...

 

Of course you don't hear much about any of it in the national media, wind is a favored industry of the left.

 

What are the issues with living near a compressor station?  Noise?

 

 

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Permalink Reply by essay on February 12, 2011 at 22:09

 

Well I'm not talking about a little racket on a clear night or even just being irritated at having to look at giant spinning windmills for the rest of your life, I'm talking about physical symptoms like tachychardia, high blood pressure, persistent headaches, permanent hearing loss, seizures, nervous system disorders, I could go on.

 

I know what you're getting at but nothing is going to make this go away, about all you can do is point out how silly the argument is but it won't do much good.  All the pro-natural gas PR in the world isn't going to win the fight when the media game is already rigged. It is also my feeling that piling on more federal regulations will only make things more costly and time intensive.  Localities must hold their own natural gas utilities and transport industry responsible, otherwise if we do enter a trend of more and more accidents (or even the popular perception thereof) the feds will step in again with their typical "one size fits all" approach and make their usual hamfisted mess.

 

Beyond positive propaganda and regulation, and local responsibility, I'm not sure what it is that needs to be done.  Has Johnson's bureaucracy made us any safer since '65?  Looking at your list on first glance it sure doesn't seem like it, I tend to think all we've gotten out of the deal is somebody to record the accidents.  However, without detailed historical statistics it is almost impossible to support this hypothesis given that the number of incidents has remained so small in relation to the ever increasing mileage of pipe in service, much the same way that claiming we are inordinately at threat from natural gas pipelines to begin with is impossible to prove from a handful of incidents.

 

The next float in the parade I think might be the idea that the "energy security" impetus for drilling gas is bogus because plans are being made to export our oversupply.  Unless Democratic leadership steps in and makes a serious attempt to work with GOP on the issue we'll just keep going around and around capturing only marginal gains in generation demand, with export the only real option for the majority of the torrent of gas available.

 

In short, I am fresh out of spin for how to deal with this emerging angle, and I had best leave it at that lest anybody else get the idea that I think highly of myself from the manner in which I string my poor words together.

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