News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]

Well, it depends on how you do it, which energy company you use. Some are better than others. My state produces a lot of natural gas and we don't have those problems, yet they exist in places in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wyoming. None of the cases involve our local energy corporations, though. It's companies like Encana that are causing the problems. Just be careful who does the drilling and good overseeing by government agencies should help.

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]


Why rely on foreign energy firms?

And another thing...if all this is true, my state should be the richest state in the US when it's one of the poorest. We are the second largest producer of natural gas, so where's the money? We are doing alright, but we aren't a rich state by any stretch of the imagination. So what gives?

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]

What Poland needs is it's energy corporations based in Poland to get this shale gas out. That way Poland keeps most of the money. That is how we do it in the state I live and our energy corporations are the wealthiest. Keep the money at home!

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]

He hasn't mentioned any companies even though we are all wondering who is he with?

Btw, my state ranks second in the US for natural gas production, so we have a lot of that stuff around here.

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]


He is there drilling natural gas wells.

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]


Nah, we got plenty of them here. Of all the different energies, I'd take coal and nuclear over natural gas. There are plenty of people in West Virginia insisting the mining companies (who are also energy corporations) clean up their act, but the mines are not where I live, and I only have to be concerned with that. Fracking can become pandemic.

Another thing that's annoying is the government and industry clamping down on any information negating the fracking process. Why keep everything so secret? Only recently concerned citizens have been allowed access to basic information, like, what's in the fracking chemicals.

Energy corporations have this deep desire to drill every inch of land they can and they want nothing to stand in their way and they want to do it as cheaply as possible. Folks have a right to be concerned and demand these companies respect the environment and protect the water sheds.

Right now, information is being with held and that's criminal! Plaintiffs in law suits aren't allowed to tell their side of the story after settling. The public has a right to know what happened.

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]


That, and the fact the plant is old and the design could be a bit better. We would be better off if all the old plants were replaced with state of the art facilities, but it's not practical. Places with new plants should do just fine.

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]

I'm not saying don't frack. Just do it responsibly. Don't allow everything to be done on the cheap just to maximize profits.

Same goes with the nuclear reactors. I have no problem with state of the art, brand new reactors with all the latest technology gadgets and safety features. So long as they take the time and do it right, it's safe. So long as they go by safe design instead of $$$$$$ there won't be any problem. People will get their energy and still have a lovely place to call home. What is so bad about wanting that?

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]


He's chief oil and gas geologist, so he's not exactly going to be unbiased, is he? The question I have for him and others like him is simple:Would he volunteer to live five years at Line Creek Valley, Wyoming, without any bottled water, that is...

wvgazette.com/News/201103050508

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]


Never trust a PR department.

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]

As long as they are aware of what it entails before getting stuck in a situation like the folks in Wyoming. That's all the movie Gasland is about. Letting people know ahead of time what it might turn into so they can make informed choices.

What happens is someone owns the mineral rights while someone else owns the land. In Poland, the government would own the rights while private citizens own the land. The problem is, once the drilling starts, the property value goes down and it's very hard to sell. If you aren't making any money on the mineral rights, you are stuck with worthless property while someone else makes the decisions and profits. It's often impossible to move from such places unless the property owners have some money saved or can get a job elsewhere.

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]


Yep, those terrible regulations yet again...

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]


And that was when it was part of the communist Eastern Bloc, right?

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]


It's real people getting sick. Many of them live in western Wyoming, a place filled to the brim with natural gas wells..

propublica.org/article/wyoming-fracking-rules-would-disclose-drilling-chemicals

Monia, if your problems are worse, than why add to them? Why not insist the energy corporations do more to make the process cleaner? It's within their power and influence, they just don't want to be bothered unless someone makes them because it cuts into their precious profits.

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]


Watch the movieGasland the evidence is there. It's not a propaganda film. It is a documentary about real life people in places with a lot of frack wells on them. See what happens when a place gets fracked. I live north of FT worth, Texas, did you know our air quality is always above regulated levels because of all the fracking wells in west Texas? The pollution just blows up here and knocks our ozone levels off the chart. How's that for proof?

scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=shale-gas-and-hydraulic-fracturing

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]


Don't be surprised at how little you get paid. If you do plan to lease that land, have a back up plan. You'll want to move away, that is, if you can find a place to move to that doesn't have any gas wells on it.

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]


Okay, fine, we can put all the gas wells in your backyard. Okay with you? Since it's so safe and all.

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]


In which country? It sure has contaminated ground water.


That's kind of scary. It would be better if the gas was owned by private mineral rights owners with the government strictly regulating its harvesting. That way there is balance and less risk.


It is true, Adam. What about the settlements and gag orders? Sounds like industry is trying to hide the true nature of fracking. One or two fracks in the middle of nowhere might be sound, but what about thousands upon thousands of them all over the landscape. How do you know that's safe? Would you want to live among thousands of gas wells, in your back yard, 200 feet from your house?

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]

How do you know I don't do all that? Anyway, the topic is about Poland being perceived as a third world country and I offered a suggestion why that is. You disagree, and that's fine, but you are not going to change my opinion.

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]

Never heard of Huffy until now :)

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]

Do some research and you will realize what I have already acknowledged.

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]

Polish people should be careful of the fracking process. Other than that, it's great having all those mineral rights and getting money.
What are your thoughts on the fracking process, Adam? Do you think Poles should be wary before leasing their lands to energy corporations?
It's great to not rely on other places for energy, but is the fracking process completely safe if there is a fracking boom? Thousands of wells could appear virtually overnight, with all the waste water pits and condensate tanks. It's definitely something to consider.

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]


It's because government has done it's best to support a high standard of living. Government is committed to it. That is the fundamental difference, BB. How can it be denied?

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]


BB, do an inventory of the world. Governments who spend the most money on their people and are supportive of them are in the countries with the highest standards of living. Government spending is not bad.

The answer is, you keep growing and growing and the cow will always have enough to eat!!

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]

That's when the government will have to do a bit more spending...

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]


Call it what you will, but the biggest economies do it (US, Japan, Germany) except for China, but they can get away without doing it because they are a communist country.

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]


That is how it equals status, not just here, but in any country. Government has to prop up certain segments of the economy or very little growth occurs. That's just the way it goes. If government doesn't guide and support, the country doesn't experience growth. In all the big economies this happens. In every single one. If you want your country's economy to grow, you have to spend.

This is how it relates to the topic. If Poland wants to experience economic growth, it must spend a bit more.

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]


Since the government started supporting private industry, the economy has grown by leaps and bounds in the US!!! If it wasn't for the government helping them out, things would be much worse than they are now. You wouldn't see nearly as much growth.

If it wasn't for Medicare, which is like social welfare, even though we all pay for it with a huge a$$ tax, seniors wouldn't be able to afford health insurance. You would have millions of grannies spending their life savings on doctors visits, meds, hospital stays, etc.

So yeah, the social programs do help.

Restructuring and government supported growth in new sectors are the key, BB. With that, you can't go wrong!

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]

BB, Germany does the same thing, I bet, and it has a really strong economy. Government spending can help an economy.

Also, Germany is much smaller than the US. If it were as big as the US, it would probably be the largest economy in the world.

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]

I know what I'm talking about. Society benefits from those lucrative government contracts. The money goes right into the local economies (where ever the money is spent from the contracts.) It's a micro economy!