About Air and Water

Saturday, January 19, 2008

WHERE TO BUY YOUR USA-GAS

by Steven Blair - DFWRCC - Sat Jan 19, 2008
Some of you may already have seen this, but it has a certain potential -- SB

WHERE TO BUY YOUR USA-GAS

The Saudis are boycotting American goods.

We should return the favor.
An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS.
Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia Just buy from gas companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis.

Nothing is more frustrating than
the feeling that every time I fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family, and my friends.
I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil.

These companies import Middle Eastern oil:

Shell....... ......... ......... .
205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco. ........ 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil...... ......... 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway. .. 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco....... ......... ......... ...62,231, 000 barrels
Citgo....... ......... ......comes
from South America, from a Dictator who hates Americans.
If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION! (Oil is now $90-$95 a barrel)

Here are some large companies that DO NOT import
Middle Eastern oil:

Sunoco...... ......... ....0 barrels
Conoco...... ......... ...0 barrels
Sinclair.... ......... ...0 barrels
BP/Phillips. ......... ..0 barrels
Hess........ ......... ......0 barrels
ARC0........ ......... ...0 barrels

All of this information is available from the Department of
Energy and each is required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing.

Friday, January 18, 2008

http://www.star-telegram.com/arlington_news/story/418259.html

By JIM FUQUAY - Star-Telegram Staff Writer - Jan. 18, 2008
A sizable yellow flame at Interstate 30 and Beach Street in east Fort Worth is the result of natural gas being burned, or "flared," from a well operated by Fort Worth-based Finley Resources. Chairman Jim Finley said the company has completed two wells at the site since late December and has been flaring the gas as it prepares to connect the wells to a pipeline. He expects the flaring to end soon.

What is flaring, and how it is regulated? Some answers:

When it happens: After a gas well in the Barnett Shale is "fractured" by pumping in water and sand that breaks the rock containing the gas, much of that water flows back out under pressure from the gas. As the gas begins to flow, if the water can't be separated sufficiently, the gas can't be moved to a pipeline. Instead, it can be vented or flared until it has dried sufficiently. The resulting flame can flare 50 feet.


STAR-TELEGRAM/RON T. ENNIS
A natural gas flare from a Finley Resources well off Beach Street in east Fort Worth is seen burning beyond a row of trees Wednesday.

Not all wells are flared: The largest operators in the Barnett Shale, such as Devon Energy, say they can usually avoid flaring by having equipment on site that can handle the large volume of water that initially flows out of a well and still dry the gas enough to ship it to a pipeline.

How it's controlled:
The Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the Texas petroleum industry, allows the safe release of gas for 10 days after a well is completed, longer with a special exception. It also allows short-term releases under several other circumstances. No permit is needed for routine flaring and venting. Producers also prefer not to vent or flare gas because they lose the revenue it would have brought if sold into a pipeline.

Is it safe? Flaring is considered safer than venting, which is unburned gas released under pressure. Natural gas, which is mostly methane, is the cleanest-burning hydrocarbon, but it still introduces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere and also contributes to the formation of ozone, a pollutant and health hazard, said Brian Boerner, environmental management director for the city of Fort Worth.

Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Texas expands wind-energy capacity 57%

By JOHN PORRETTO - The Associated Press - Jan. 18, 2008
HOUSTON -- Texas expanded its wind-energy capacity by 57 percent in 2007, solidifying the state's position as the nation's leader in wind-generated power, a trade group said Thursday.

Nationally, more than $9 billion in investment helped U.S. capacity grow by 45 percent last year, and 2008 is poised to match those levels, the American Wind Energy Association said.

Texas' installed capacity jumped to 4,356 megawatts at the end of 2007 from 2,768 megawatts a year earlier, the association said. That placed it far ahead of the next four states: California (2,439 installed megawatts), Minnesota (1,299), Iowa (1,273) and Washington (1,163).

Texas has 1,238 megawatts under construction, tops in the U.S.
Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Thursday, January 17, 2008

ACTION ALERT: Tx House of Representative Land & Resource Committee announces Public Hearing

House Hearing Notice - Jan. 16, 2008
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING


COMMITTEE: Land & Resource Management
TIME & DATE: 10:00 AM, Monday, May 05, 2008
PLACE: E2.014
CHAIR: Rep. Rob Orr


The Committee will meet to take testimony on the following Interim Charges:

Charge #1 (regarding real estate transactions engaged in by the General
Land Office, the School Land Board, and similar state agencies);

Charge #7 (regarding monitoring those agencies and programs under the
Committee's jurisidiction); and,

Charge #3 (regarding annexation practices in the state).


The Committee will take invited testimony only on Charges #1 and #7, and
will take both invited and public testimony on Charge #3.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Tx House of Rep PUBLIC NOTICE: NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARING

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
COMMITTEE: Natural Resources

TIME & DATE: 10:00 AM, Tuesday, January 15, 2008
PLACE: Capitol Extension, E2.012
CHAIR: Rep. Robert Puente

The committee will meet in a public hearing to consider testimony on the following interim charges:

Monitor ongoing efforts related to joint planning in groundwater management areas, including progress toward setting desired future conditions for aquifers. Examine and evaluate the process relating to an appeal challenging the approval of desired future conditions.

Examine "resign to run" rules for soil and water conservation district members in comparison to groundwater district members.

Evaluate creating a uniform template for the creation of Municipal Utility Districts or other special districts with addendums for special powers to expedite the creation of new districts.

The committe will take invited and public testimony.

Travel to other worlds ... UTA Planetarium

Immersive full-dome 3-D Digital planetarium show narrated by Ewan McGregor (Obi wan Kepobi from Star Wars) - Astronaut takes you exporing the worlds of inner and outer space. The movie is projected all around you. You recline in specially constructed chairs which enables you to comfortably view the immersive full-dome planetarium show. Astronaut! (produced from the National Space Centre in England) goes beyond the stereotypical space movie. Experience a rocket launch from inside the body of the astronaut. Float around the international Space Station moving thorugh the microscopic regions of the human body! Discover the beauty and perils as "Chad", the test astronaut experiences everything thrown at him.




Summer Schedule (June 2-August 26):

Astronaut!


shows at the UTA Planetarium.


Wed. through Saturdays at 11 a.m.
and Thursday at 7:00 p.m.




Cosmic CSI

shows at the UTA Planetarium 3-D Digital Dome.


Wed. through Saturdays at 2 p.m.




Rock Hall of Fame 1 (The Original)


shows at the UTA Planetarium.


Thursday at 8:00 p.m.




Read more (Warning their flat dull website doesn't give much of a glimmer of the multi-dimensional experience you'll have once you enter the dome of the UTA Planetarium!)


Admission: Adults: $5.00


Seniors, Students, Children: $4.00


UTA Faculty, Staff & Alumni (with ID): $3.00


UTA Studens (with ID): $2.00


Groups of 10 or more with reservation: $3.00


Call 817 272-1183 or e-mail planetarium@uta.edu