"Fueling Pittsburgh" to Air June 21st on WPXI (Penn: living, assess)

[Johnny C]

Channel 11 To Air 'Fueling Pittsburgh' Program - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH -- Western Pennsylvania is about to enter its second energy boom. Like the oil industry pioneers of the 19th century, people who see the potential fortune are racing to get in on the action

This will air June 21st at 8 pm on WPXI. Looks like it will discuss Pittsburgh's role as an energy hub, including nuclear and natural gas.

[bradjl2009]

It was an interesting program that I watched. Pittsburgh has great potential in this but there needs to be regulation to keep the environment and waterways in check.

[101112=213]

One big commercial for energy companies. How do you do a show like this and call it "news". A story about nuclear energy and then never mention that one little drawback---what to do with the nuclear waste? Could it be because a sponser was Westinghouse. Do a story about gas drilling and not address the really negative effects on people and animals living near the sites. Or questions the number of jobs supposedly being created. Seems the producer just accepted what he was told and never dug any deeper. If you are going to do a show like this don't put your news people in it. It ruins their credibility.

[rugerjitsu]

Originally Posted by 101112=213

One big commercial for energy companies. How do you do a show like this and call it "news". A story about nuclear energy and then never mention that one little drawback---what to do with the nuclear waste? Could it be because a sponser was Westinghouse. Do a story about gas drilling and not address the really negative effects on people and animals living near the sites. Or questions the number of jobs supposedly being created. Seems the producer just accepted what he was told and never dug any deeper. If you are going to do a show like this don't put your news people in it. It ruins their credibility.

i think the Gas Companies, in this case Range Resources, are doing their part in trying to educate the area about Natural Gas Drilling...

with that being said, unless you're living under a rock, the news broadcasters have done their part to highlight the negative impacts, accidents, and lack of regulation by the gov't...but for the most part, they tend to just slam the Gas Companies for sake of creating drama, which is what drives their business...

[BrianTH]

With so many people with agendas on all sides of these issues, it is basically impossible to get an unbiased assessment. It doesn't help that modern mass-media news is more about entertainment than providing in-depth information and serious analysis.

I think the best we as individuals can do is understand that everyone has an angle, but look for the admissions against interest, verifiable claims, and so forth to assemble a reasonably well-grounded picture.

And having done that--I'm still more or less of the opinion that done right, there isn't an unacceptable risk associated with shale gas, and that it is economically feasible to exploit Marcellus in particular while still doing things right. The problem is making sure the relevant companies are doing things right, and not cutting corners to increase their profit margins. That is going to take not only smart regulations (with respect to both casings and waste water handling and treatment), but also the political will and funding necessary to make sure those regulations are enforced. And ultimately the industry should be responsible for funding those efforts.

Again, I think all that is doable--provided the political will is there.

[rugerjitsu]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

With so many people with agendas on all sides of these issues, it is basically impossible to get an unbiased assessment. It doesn't help that modern mass-media news is more about entertainment than providing in-depth information and serious analysis.

I think the best we as individuals can do is understand that everyone has an angle, but look for the admissions against interest, verifiable claims, and so forth to assemble a reasonably well-grounded picture.

And having done that--I'm still more or less of the opinion that done right, there isn't an unacceptable risk associated with shale gas, and that it is economically feasible to exploit Marcellus in particular while still doing things right. The problem is making sure the relevant companies are doing things right, and not cutting corners to increase their profit margins. That is going to take not only smart regulations (with respect to both casings and waste water handling and treatment), but also the political will and funding necessary to make sure those regulations are enforced. And ultimately the industry should be responsible for funding those efforts.

Again, I think all that is doable--provided the political will is there.

agreed, i think it's crucial that the people in those areas involved are "hands on", and being active in doing their due dillegence...the Marcellus is still very young in it's exploration, still plenty of time to do things right...

[creepsinc]

This was awful. A 1 hour commercial for Consol. The energy bigwigs had nicely-set, uninterrupted "interviews", while the person who is critical of the industry had a harsh green screen and the camera cut to the interviewer glaring at him 20/20 style. Everything else was a soft-focus love letter to the natural gas and coal industries. Anyone who didn't see this for what it was has been hypnotized by the TV set and learned nothing from the last 150 years of this region.

[rugerjitsu]

Originally Posted by creepsinc

This was awful. A 1 hour commercial for Consol. The energy bigwigs had nicely-set, uninterrupted "interviews", while the person who is critical of the industry had a harsh green screen and the camera cut to the interviewer glaring at him 20/20 style. Everything else was a soft-focus love letter to the natural gas and coal industries. Anyone who didn't see this for what it was has been hypnotized by the TV set and learned nothing from the last 150 years of this region.

umm, did you happen to catch the HBO program called "GasLand"? if you haven't noticed, energy bigwigs are getting beat up on a daily basis...

if you don't mind, what's your stance on Natural Gas Drilling? for or against? and why?

[101112=213]

PA does not have a good track record for overseeing this type of thing. Just look at the fly ash issue or mountain top mining and you can see the future for marcellus shale. I do not think the political will is there to make sure proper regulation is done. Just take a look at the oil spill in the Gulf or the huge coal ash slide down south. Please one small documentary is not "beating up" big wigs. We have to be smart about our energy choices. Nuclear may not be a bad option if we can figure out what to do with waste. Almost all options have negatives. we have to figure out how to deal with them. I think our political systems is broke. Just look at who is donating money to political candidates and then look at their voting record on regulation. Perhaps campaign financing reform would help.

[BrianTH]

It is indeed true that all options have their negatives. And that is quite an important thing to keep in mind--cheap natural gas would partially substitute for petroleum and coal. And all the other notable alternatives won't be capable of fully substituting for petroleum and coal for a long time to come.

So that is why I lean toward trying to do this right, as opposed to not doing at all. I'm fully aware that no regulatory system will be perfect, and all the more so in a highly imperfect political system. But since the alternative is more use of petroleum and coal, you have the same basic regulatory issues on all sides. Accordingly, I see no real choice but to allow shale gas, then do our best to keep it as well-regulated as we can.