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News about gas drilling has been hot and heavy the last 2 days.
Congressman Paul Kanjorski announced that he has secured a cool million in federal funding to start an Energy Institute run by Wilkes U, King's College and the Earth Conservancy.
The institute will provide research about natural gas drilling's impact on the local community and environment, help with problem solving for issues that arise, and enhance public outreach efforts in order to promote safe and environmentally responsible drilling in the Marcellus Shale that could aid in significant local economic development, he said in a press release.
I asked Kanjo about his position on the Frac Act introduced by Senator Casey but he was noncommittal.
The argument in Harrisburg has moved from if there should be a severance tax to how much it should be. The Republicans want 1.5% and Rapid Edward wants 5 %. I think it should be a lot higher along with Tim Mullen's idea of requiring the drilling companies to post an environmental bond. Dan Onorato is beating up Tom Corbett on this issue. A new Penn State study looks at the tax issue. I know many of my friends don't trust anything coming out of PSU on this issue after the last fiasco but it is worth a read.
Kayak Dude is reporting there are tiny bubbles of methane in the Susquehanna River.
Scott Cannon of Video Innovations has produced a short film featuring Dr. Tom Juinta of the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition and State Reps Eddie Day Pashinski and Phyllis Mundy. Some of it is "what if" these things blow up in our back yards but those "what if's" are serious concerns. The damage the heavy trucks will cause is indistibutable.
2 days ago
5 comments:
Why can't Kanjo do anything without the Earth Conservancy? Seems to me the EC is sort of a front for private interests to land bank property speculatively. What the heck do "they", whoever runs the EC like the realtor Rhea Simms from Lewith & Freeman, know about research and natural gas?
I too am astounded that PA is taking the "lead" from WVA with a weeney 5% tax. I think Wyoming's is 14%- and they have like NO people out there and lots of vacant land to tear up so the tax does benefit the state on the whole. A 10% or more PA tax will not, IMO, scare these multi-nationals away...they are paying billions (like the recent $42 billion purchase by ExxonMobil for a gas company). PA is the mother lode and while gas may migrate, shale will not. It is here to stay.
Students, what is it with the left and protesting?? It seems to me that even one of your little play friends could not even open a lemonade stand on the corner without someone being upset and ranting.
The greatest mistake that we as a people and more importantly, a community can make is to tax the life out of the drilling companies. High taxation only leads to discouragement for any potential businessman/investor to put down his tent.
We have such an enormous opportunity to erase the negative hillbilly image that SWB is so famous for. Yet, when it comes down to progress, the naysayers from the left are at it again. As a little child who is denied cotton candy at the amusement park the tantrums have come on solid and strong. So how do we deal with this, students??
Well, the answer is very simple, and very practical. Let us sit down with the drilling companies and negotiate the lowest tax possible for them to pay---in fact it would indeed be a surefire bonanza if we completely eliminated any tax, period.
Finally students, it is very easy to sit and pontificate through a telephone to some hippy degenerate radio host about the world you would like to see; it's quite another thing to actually create that world. And I will let you all in on a little secret, that new world does not involve "tree hugging", because students, hugging a tree in the dead of winter will not keep you warm; cutting it down and burning it will. Class dismissed!!!!!!
Love the idea of an environmental bond that would be available in the event unforeseen polution issues arise that would go back to the bond poster down the road.
Giving the state legislators more tax revenue to spend is like giving free crack to the addict. Everyone s/b against letting them spend another dime.
Hey, Prof - Back to OPA again? What's your story now? Your halting syntax reminds me of some other blogger's writing style...just can't quite place it yet.
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