Catching Up

In Progress. Posting is being updated. Almost all of these links / stores were sent in by readers over the past few days.

1. Jobs. 

2.  New billion-dollar fertilizer plant being proposed, from the Grand Forks Herald:

Plans are moving along for a $1 billion nitrogen fertilizer plant that could make use of the natural gas now being flared off in western North Dakota’s Oil Patch.

The North Dakota Corn Growers Association announced Monday that a feasibility study has been completed for the plant, with the steering committee of corn growers and fertilizer industry consultants looking at building the facility in North Dakota, South Dakota or Minnesota.

I will be very, very surprised if it's built in Minnesota. I assume the promoters are looking to get the three states to compete for the project.

3. Bismarck Tribune reports on a "treasure map of the Bakken." Unfortunately, the Tribune does not provide a link. I will find it later.  It's been my experience, "print" media just hates to provide links to other sites.

4. RBN Energy: link to RBN Energy: coal to gas switching, Part I; Part II; 

5. A lot of dots to connect. If I have time, I may to it later, but regular readers will understand. It appears the Poles and our own President Obama have a lot in common when it comes to shale gas.

6. Link to Independent Stock Analysis.

7. "Collusion" appears to the "word du jour." This is a wrap-of regarding the inquiry of  Japan's Fukushima nuclear crisis. Yesterday, it was Countrywide, here in the US. And then there's a couple of natural gas companies.

8. I am posting / linking this link only for a bit of humor.  According to yet another computer model:

Since the late 1800s, the globe has warmed by about 1.33 degrees Fahrenheit (0.74 degrees Celsius). 

0.74 degrees Celsius change since 1800's -- let's make that 1812 -- a good year for a war and easier to subtract from 2012 -- 200 years -- and the earth has warmed up 0.74 degrees? Neither statistically significant nor reproducible. Exactly where were these thermometers placed in 1812? At least the study blames the Chinese for once and not the former president.

9. Key "Democrat" vote in North Carolina overrides the governor's veto: fracking to be allowed in North Carolina.

The oil and natural gas industry supports more than 135,000 jobs in North Carolina and a recent study shows that, with the right policies, more than 40,000 additional jobs can be created throughout the state by 2020. 

This story has been posted across the mainstream media for several days.  Apparently the deciding vote was cast by a representative that was either (choose one or more that fit): red-green color-blind, confused, duplicitous, or to use the "word du jour": in collusion with the oil and gas industry. 

10. Peak oil? What peak oil? More from SeekingAlpha.

11. Another one bites the dust. Another Obama-backed green energy project, Nevada Geothermal Power, pre-announced it is turning off the lights.