RBN Energy: Part 5 in a continuing series of articles on reversing flow in natural gas pipelines, taking natural gas from northeast United States (Marcellus, Utica) to Canada or to western, southern United States
WSJ Links
Section D (Personal Journal):
Section C (Money & Investing):
U.S. oil prices posted their biggest gain of 2013 on Tuesday, spurred by signs of economic improvement in the world's biggest oil consumer.
"The market is embracing the fact that the U.S. economy is doing better," said Phil Flynn, broker and analyst at Price Futures.
A U.S. stock-market rally aided the push in crude-oil futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Nymex futures for May delivery finished $1.53, or 1.6%, higher at $96.34 a barrel, a five-week high. The gain is the biggest single-day rise in both outright and percentage terms since Dec. 26.Section B (Marketplace):
Section A:
- Supreme Court still hearing arguments on same-sex marriage; no link; I have no dog in the fight and I really don't care, but early signals as reported from LA Times suggests Court may say California law banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, but they won't ban such laws across the US; more signs of states' rights, but in this case, will result in lots of confusion; what to do if a California-legally married same-sex couple moves to a state where same sex marriage is illegal? Supreme court will be hearing a lot of cases going forward if they aren't definitive on this one way or the other.
- Boom times on the tracks: rail capacity, spending soar; I remember the comments I got from folks a couple of years ago suggesting track designed for occasional loads of wheat would not hold up to all the oil trains. I love the by-line for the linked article: Epping, ND:
EPPING, N.D.—On a recent subzero day at a rail station here on the plains, a giant tank train stretches like a black belt across the horizon—as far as the eye can see. Soon it will be filled to the brim with light, sweet crude oil and headed to a refinery on Puget Sound. Another mile-long train will pull in right behind it, and another after that.Increasingly, scenes like this are being played throughout the country. "Hot Trains" dedicated to high-priority customers like United Parcel Service Inc. roar across the country to deliver everything from microwaves to tennis shoes and Amazon.com packages. FedEx Corp., known for its huge fleet of aircraft, is using more trains, too.Welcome to the revival of the Railroad Age. North America's major freight railroads are in the midst of a building boom unlike anything since the industry's Gilded Age heyday in the 19th century—this year pouring $14 billion into rail yards, refueling stations, additional track. With enhanced speed and efficiency, rail is fast becoming a dominant player in the nation's commercial transport system and a vital cog in its economic recovery.
- Court says authorities can't bring drug-sniffing dogs to one's porch without a search warrant; no link; easily found; good call. Hard to believe it had to go all the way to the Supreme Court. A lot of porches are enclosed in North Dakota due to harsh winters. A man's porch is his castle.
- State Court allows taxpayer funds to support voucher programs in Indiana; another good call but will probably end up before US Supreme Court.
Indiana's Supreme Court upheld a law that lets taxpayer funds pay for private schools, boosting an effort to expand what is already the broadest such voucher program in the U.S. and rebuffing critics who say it undermines public education.
The court's five judges unanimously rejected the argument of the state's largest teachers union and other plaintiffs that the Indiana voucher program violates the state Constitution because it uses public funds to support religious education. Most of the voucher funding goes to parochial schools. The judges, upholding an earlier trial-court decision, ruled that as long as the state maintains a public-education system, using Indiana tax dollars to help fund the private-school educations of low- and middle-income children doesn't violate the state Constitution.
- Woman to direct Secret Service; no link; I have no dog in this fight, but maybe she will find the funds to open the White House to tours again; she could start with $500 million earmarked for Palestinians; that's enough for more than 150 years of White House tours.
- Op-ed: race and the gun debate, by Juan Williams; no link; didn't read; I can guess his stance; wouldn't want folks to be able to protect themselves; only outlaws will have guns if guns outlawed;
- The Keystone converts: seventeen Senate Democrats vote for the pipeline.
An evolving political consensus persuaded President Obama to come out for same-sex marriage last year. Here's hoping the shifting political tides will also inspire a personal evolution on the Keystone XL pipeline.Last week 17 Senate Democrats voted with all 45 Republicans for a budget amendment supporting the TransCanada pipeline, which would transport crude from the Alberta oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries (oil from North Dakota's Bakken Shale would hop along for a ride). A similar measure last year garnered support from 11 Democrats but fell short of the 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.They can vote all they want in these symbolic votes. It's all up to the State Department (John Kerry) and the President. The latter has already made up his mind; and when push comes to shove, Harry Reid will manage the bill.
The opinion piece continues:More noteworthy are the six Keystone converts, which include South Dakota's Tim Johnson, Virginia's Mark Warner, Colorado's Michael Bennet, Florida's Bill Nelson and Delaware's Chris Coons and Tom Carper. Mr. Warner, who fancies himself a pro-business moderate but usually votes left, has evidently learned in the last year that the pipeline enjoys huge public backing: 70% of registered voters support its construction, according to a recent Fox News poll.Four government environmental impact statements in the last five years have concluded that the 1,700-mile pipeline would present no significant harm to the environment. The Alberta oil sands produce a mere 0.01% of the world's carbon emissions, and the crude will find its way to foreign markets one way or another. If not via pipeline, then by tanker or rail, whose emissions could exceed Keystone's.