Stuck At 38 -- January 28, 2017

Active rigs:

	1/28/2017	01/28/2016	01/28/2015	01/28/2014	01/28/2013
Active Rigs	38	46	148	191	190

Note of thanks: a big "thank you" to readers for not sending me e-mail or comments about typographical errors. There have been more than the usual number of typographical errors this past week. I will eventually get to most of them. If someone sees a major factual gaffe, or an "alternative fact" that simply seems wrong, please let me know.

Update On North Dakota's $2 Billion Fertilizer Plant -- January 28, 2017

Data points from The Grand Forks Herald:

• Northern Plains Nitrogen fertilizer plant
• Grand Forks, ND
• $2 billion
• path unclear
• "seed money" in place
• project first announced in 2013
• had hoped to have it up and running sometime this year
• low commodity prices driving farmers away from corn and wheat (use nitrogen)
• farmers moving to soybeans (don't use nitrogen)
• promoters remain optimistic
• other suppliers too far away: Iowa and Mexico

Maybe Mexico is a bit far, but Iowa? No, not really. Except you have to go through Minnesota on Warren's trains.

Having said that, this is the kind of project noveau riche Bakken mineral owners ( The Millionaires' Club) and the ND State Bank of North Dakota should support. 

South Dakota, For Raising A Family, Ranked #1 For "Family Fun" -- January 28, 2017

The link is here.

North Dakota: #1 State To Raise A Family; South Dakota Ranked #1 In "Family Fun" -- January 28, 2017

I assume the poll / study was commissioned by the North Dakota State Tourism Board and the American Petroleum Institute, funded by Oasis, Continental Resources, Halcon, et al, looking for a gazillion workers that will be needed over the next few decades, but here it is:

North Dakota was ranked #1 overall.

But this is the best part, look at the categories and North Dakota's ranking:

• family fun: 13 -- truly beyond the pale. I cannot imagine the "family fun" in ND being this high -- #13; but then, SOUTH DAKOTA was ranked #1 for family 1 -- I assume buffalo riding and the STURGIS MOTORCYCLE RALLY put the state #1;
• health and safety: 7 (if we keep the kids off the oil rigs, ND's ranking will improve)
• education and child care: 7 (about right, but most surprising, perennial #1 Iowa dropped to #13; #1 this year is New Jersey and #2 is Vermont)
• affordability:   6 (had it not been for the Bakken, ND would have ranked higher)
• socioeconomics: 2 ("everybody is the same")

That South Dakota rating for "family fun" is so off the chart, it deserves a stand-alone post. 

The Entire State Of California -- North And South -- Setting Rain/Snow Records -- January 28, 2017

Two global warming links today:

• record snowfall in northern California -- state of emergency declared
• record snowfall in southern California 

Data points from those two articles:

• Squaw Valley, CA: more than 8 feet of snow fell in five days
• Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, CA: more snow has fallen this January than any other month in the resort's recorded history -- that's any month, not just January, and the month is not yet over; as of January 24, 2017, 246 inches (20.5 feet) had fallen
• Mammoth Mountain: previous monthly record -- 209 inches set in December 2010
• Tahoe City, CA; snowiest January since 1952; again, the month is not over; 135 inches for the month, so far
• there is so much snow on the Sierra Nevada that some ski lifts had to close; chairs were buried
• a series of storms  have dumped more than 300% of normal January precipitation to most of the state

One wonders if Algore will change his slide presentation to reflect how the warmists so successfully predicted all of this.

By the way, some readers my have noted that I moved "global warming" links at the sidebar farther down. I am trying to gradually move away from posts on "global warming" -- Trump has just kept me too busy. So, a big "thank you" to a reader alerting me to these snow stories, and I assume the Kennedys were happy to see the notes, always looking for places to show their grandchildren what snow looks like.