2/12/2013: energy not the focus of State of the Union; Australia to begin drilling for shale

Tonight's State of the Union Address will likely focus on gun control and the economy, not energy - "In order to aid the president in his goal of banning the sales of semi-automatic weapons, Democratic members of Congress are supporting the president by bringing victims from the Newtown, Connecticut shootings as guests to the event, something that will draw attention and give both a face to the polarized debate....Yet, with the recent storms that have struck the East Coast, it seems as if the President may take the opportunity to discuss the importance of climate change, though analysts aren’t expecting a repeat of Obama’s January 2012 State of the Union Address, where the POTUS devoted a large portion of his speech to our nation’s shale resources."

 

West Virginia University and Ohio State University have partnered to research shale related energy - "The memorandum of understanding covers collaboration to "exchange information and jointly explore funding of shale energy and related environmental studies before, during and after the development of the Utica and Marcellus shale plays, including the possibility of developing shale energy field laboratories," according to the schools."

 

Australia opens the door to Queensland shale drilling - "The Newman Government's decision will allow one operator, Queensland Energy Resources, to progress its trial plant at Gladstone and seek approval for a full commercial operation.The shale oil industry has been in limbo since 2008 after a 20-year moratorium was placed over a major deposit in north Queensland and the industry told it must prove its technology before the Government would give the green light to proceed...The decision will mean the Government can count on new royalty revenue from shale oil, liquefied natural gas and uranium in the future.

 

Two environmental groups threaten with lawsuits over ban on fracking discussion during town board meetings - "'If people are silenced by their own elected representatives, how can they trust them to act in their best interests?" said Natural Resources Defense Council attorney Kate Sinding as her group announced the U.S. District Court lawsuit. NRDC and Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy filed the lawsuit on behalf of town residents who are members of their groups....The town board in Sanford, about 100 miles southwest of Albany in Broome County, passed a resolution in September saying there already had been hours of public comment for and against gas drilling and that no further discussion would be allowed during board meetings, although residents could still submit comments in writing."