Councilman Doug Sheilds wants to ban drilling in the city (Pittsburgh: rental car, rentals)

[Honest Bob]

There is one thing here that nobody seem's to understand.

I think that the person that doesn't understand it the most is Hempfield Mania.

90% of the natural gas produced in Pennsylvania does not stay in Pennsylvania. 90%

[BrianTH]

Exporting something means you are getting money from outside your locale which you can then convert into something useful for your locale.

Also, being the point of origin will drive down local gas prices, regardless of how much we use. Basically, you'll be able to subtract most of the transport costs from the prices we pay.

All that said--I think we should be thinking ahead about how to use more natural gas locally, particularly in vehicles.

[Honest Bob]

From as far north as you can go to as far south as you can go, you will see something called a PUMP STATION.

The purpose of the pump station is to push as much natural gas as possible inside of the pipe and transport that gas as far as you can push it to the next pump station. Some towns are even called a PUMP STATION - such as Heath Pump Station near Sigel PA.

When these people comes on television and tells us that we need this gas production, they are not saying that the people who lives in Pennsylvania and heats their homes with natural gas needs this gas - they are saying that they need this gas.

The gas that you heat your home with - might not even come from Pennsylvania due to the fact that a lot of natural gas is being imported from Tennessee into Pennsylvania. These people were so smart that they even figured a way to charge us for the pipe and for transporting the gas from Tenn to Pennsylvania. Just look at your bill sometimes.

Natural gas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[rhondee]

Originally Posted by DaBurgh

I have first-hand knowledge that companies that are coming to PA to engage in marcellus shale drilling are bringing more than half of their workforce from other states. On the other hand, I know that they are looking to hire workers from around here, and are having trouble finding qualified people. Some companies have stolen employees from other companies by offering pay, bonuses, etc. that can't be refused. So anyone looking for a job may want to look into the trades involved in this industry.

Not sure where I was going with that, but there it is.

RIGHT ON Da Burgh! I don't have a real problem with this industry except I'm not seeing Pennsylvanians getting first dibs on the jobs with the industry. Pennsylvania - and Pittsburgh- has been waiting way too long for its' ship to come in and now that it has-because 3/4 of this state is covered with natural gas- we're going to let them ship in carpetbaggers from Texas and Oklahoma? Something smells very rotten here.
They should be recruiting Pennsylvania workers alot more heavily than they currently are.
I know Tom Ridge is heading up the Marcellus Shale Industry committee -we should be putting mighty pressure on him to give the jobs to Pennsylvanians-even if it means they have to wait before drilling.

As far as the environmental impact that the drilling causes I do think we need to make sure every safety is in place and hold drillers to strict, high standards.
I remember growing up in Central Pa and walking along bright orange water in creeks that smelled like rotten eggs d/t sulfur content from strip mining.
Some people are quick to call someone a Tree Hugger but have never seen for themselves and never had to be exposed to a destroyed environment made by a careless industry.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by rhondee

RIGHT ON Da Burgh! I don't have a real problem with this industry except I'm not seeing Pennsylvanians getting first dibs on the jobs with the industry. Pennsylvania - and Pittsburgh- has been waiting way too long for its' ship to come in and now that it has-because 3/4 of this state is covered with natural gas- we're going to let them ship in carpetbaggers from Texas and Oklahoma? Something smells very rotten here.
They should be recruiting Pennsylvania workers alot more heavily than they currently are.
I know Tom Ridge is heading up the Marcellus Shale Industry committee -we should be putting mighty pressure on him to give the jobs to Pennsylvanians-even if it means they have to wait before drilling.

As far as the environmental impact that the drilling causes I do think we need to make sure every safety is in place and hold drillers to strict, high standards.
I remember growing up in Central Pa and walking along bright orange water in creeks that smelled like rotten eggs d/t sulfur content from strip mining.
Some people are quick to call someone a Tree Hugger but have never seen for themselves and never had to be exposed to a destroyed environment made by a careless industry.

Define thses "carpetbaggers" I have to admit that what you said about people from Texas and Oklahoma (two of the last places I want to see people from here to be honest) I have seen a decent bit of Texas license plates around here. BTW these are junk cars from Texas but people who seemed to have made out well in Texas.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Exporting something means you are getting money from outside your locale which you can then convert into something useful for your locale.

Also, being the point of origin will drive down local gas prices, regardless of how much we use. Basically, you'll be able to subtract most of the transport costs from the prices we pay.

All that said--I think we should be thinking ahead about how to use more natural gas locally, particularly in vehicles.

While I would like to see more of this natural gas stay here locally, putting the natural gas that is drilled here will do much more to keep prices down nationally which benefits everyone in the end. Plus how much natural gas could we need to use anyway.

[Honest Bob]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

Define thses "carpetbaggers" I have to admit that what you said about people from Texas and Oklahoma (two of the last places I want to see people from here to be honest) I have seen a decent bit of Texas license plates around here. BTW these are junk cars from Texas but people who seemed to have made out well in Texas.

Carpetbaggers - In The history of the USA, "carpetbaggers" was a negative term Southerners gave to Northerners who moved to the South during the reconstruction era, between 1865 and 1877. It was a derogatory term, suggesting opportunism and exploitation in the outsiders. The relocated northerners often formed alliances with freed slaves and southern whites who were Republicans... Together they are said to have politically manipulated and controlled former Confederate states for varying periods for their own financial and power gains. In sum, carpetbaggers were seen as insidious Northern outsiders with questionable objectives meddling in local politics, buying up plantations at fire-sale prices and taking advantage of Southerners.

Carpetbaggers - A negative term given to Texan's and Okie's who moved north to Pennsylvania and New York and West Virginia between 2005 and 2010 with the sole purpose to buy up as much land as possible, or buy up as many leases on natural gas reserves as possible or drill as many holes as quickly as possible - so as to remove the natural resources as quickly as possible. Fill their pockets with money, rape and pillage the land, leave it in ruins and laugh all the way to the bank!
I have already seen a half a dozen speculation companies go belly up.
I have seen hundreds of exploration checks bounce.
I have seen - Haliburton come into a Unemployment office - saying that they are hiring all positions - no experience necessary and then hire every experienced person that they could get their hands on and not one inexperienced person was hired. They go from office to office - promising a extra .50 cents a hour and people quit their jobs to go work for them.
They didn't get their name by being the best - they got their name by being the most ruthless. Just look at the mess they have left in the Gulf.

[Honest Bob]

I'll give you another example.

All you have to do is go on the forums and say - I am living in New Jersey and I hate it and the taxes are too much and I cut and burn my own firewood.
Does anyone know of a place in Pennsylvania where I can buy say - 20 acres real cheap. Then you play dumb and you get someone to sell you a piece of land and once you own the land you sell it again to your exploration company - which drills a well or three and leaves and you laugh all the way to the bank.

If you were honest and said - I would like to buy 20 acres for the purpose of drilling for gas - people would want top dollar. If you say you would like to cut firewood and build a house - people will think that you are just like them and will give you a deal on a piece of ground.

It all reverts back to what happened in Pithole PA.
You couldn't give the land away one day and the next it was worth $10,000 an acre.
Pithole, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[BrianTH]

Various entities are launching programs to train Pennsylvanians to do this work. We're talking decades of work--I'm not concerned if they have to ship in experienced people at the beginning.

[hempfield mania]

Originally Posted by rhondee

RIGHT ON Da Burgh! I don't have a real problem with this industry except I'm not seeing Pennsylvanians getting first dibs on the jobs with the industry. Pennsylvania - and Pittsburgh- has been waiting way too long for its' ship to come in and now that it has-because 3/4 of this state is covered with natural gas- we're going to let them ship in carpetbaggers from Texas and Oklahoma? Something smells very rotten here.
They should be recruiting Pennsylvania workers alot more heavily than they currently are.
I know Tom Ridge is heading up the Marcellus Shale Industry committee -we should be putting mighty pressure on him to give the jobs to Pennsylvanians-even if it means they have to wait before drilling.

As far as the environmental impact that the drilling causes I do think we need to make sure every safety is in place and hold drillers to strict, high standards.
I remember growing up in Central Pa and walking along bright orange water in creeks that smelled like rotten eggs d/t sulfur content from strip mining.
Some people are quick to call someone a Tree Hugger but have never seen for themselves and never had to be exposed to a destroyed environment made by a careless industry.

I guess you guys don't check out the classified ads in the paper much, then. Every week there have been multiple adds by Atlas, Cabot, Chesapeake and a few other companies looking for employees to support the drilling operations.