Goal For The Green

A lot of families understand that the world is changing. With changes in weather, the environment, technology, and the growing population, it’s important to make a conscious effort to reduce our carbon footprints. While this may seem like an overwhelming concept, the truth is that going green is something any family can accomplish. It may take some time and some getting used to, but families can learn to gradually change from being highly dependent on energy to being more comfortable with unconventional oil. 

English: The carbon footprint. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

First off, if you’re going to go green, you need to talk with your family about it. Never expect that your family will simply understand or go along with your plans until you’ve discussed it. After all, sometimes changes can be scary, especially for children. Instead of dropping the idea of a drastic change on your children, let them know that you’ll be making some gradual adjustments in the way your family lives your life. Explain to your little ones that change can be a good thing. In this case, you’re making changes that will impact and better the world around you in order to make it a more beautiful place for your children’s children to live.

Next, make a plan. How will your family start living greener? Maybe you want to do something extreme and move off the grid. That’s great! Most families, however, will opt for more realistic and gradual adjustments that they can accomplish while living in the same location. For example, maybe you want to reduce the amount of energy your family uses, maybe you want to start cooking with less plastic, or maybe you simply want to replace your light bulbs with energy-efficient ones. Make a list with your family and figure out how you can accomplish each item on it.

It’s also important that you understand making changes can take time. Even though you might be emotionally ready to go green, it may take time to physically accomplish all of the changes. For example, maybe your family wants to start using reusable grocery bags instead of disposable ones. That’s a noteworthy goal. It may take you a few weeks to get all of the bags you’ll need. If you’re on a limited income, it may take a few months. Similarly, your family might take some time to install solar panels or other green changes you want to make to your home. While this shouldn’t stop you, it should help put things in perspective. It’s vital that you remain content and encouraged even while you work on your personal goals toward living a greener, more ecologically friendly lifestyle.

Finally, encourage your children for the efforts that they make in changing the world around them. Your kids might have friends who make fun of them or tease them for the way your family chooses to live, but it’s fantastic that your kids want to make the world a better place for the people around them and for their future children. Remind your kids that if each person starts to make just a few changes, the world will quickly become a better, more beautiful place.

For two months in a row, the jobs report has gotten better.  I don’t know about you, but I have been wondering what’s behind the sudden turn around?  Then it occurred to me a few days, after last months jobs announcement, that there seemed to be a NEW secret, that most of the rest of the nation didn’t know about. Energy can fuel the economy!

I saw this story on the news (NBC), about three days after last months jobs report. You may have thought that America’s shale oil and gas boom couldn’t get any bigger than the one made public in the Bakken formation, of North Dakota. If you haven’t heard of that, well, they have been Bringing Home the Bacon From The Bakken for about three years now.

But NOW, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimates, there is a a newly-emerging shale deposit that most likely contains about 38 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas,  about 940 million barrels of oil, and nine million barrels of natural gas liquids such as, ethane and propane. It’s simply huge, and a very rich and shallow deposit.

It’s called the Utica Shale formation. The USGS, provided its first assessment of the Utica shale deposit, recently(about three weeks ago). It found the reserve, which lies underneath the Marcellus shale play, to potentially contain the deposits and massive reserves mentioned above. The fields are part of the Appalachian Basin, which the USGS  has said is the longest-producing petroleum play in the United States.

Rectangular joints in siltstone and black shale within the Utica Shale (Ordovician) near Fort Plain, New York. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Understanding our domestic oil and gas resource potential is important, which is why we assess emerging shale plays like the Utica, as well as areas that have been in production for some time,” Brenda Pierce, USGS energy resources program coordinator, said in a statement.

Anadarko Petroleum, one of the more active energy companies in Ohio, claims to have already delivered 9,500 barrels of crude oil and 12 million cubic feet of natural gas from one well in the Utica shale play.

DTE  Energy, a  Michigan utility company  signed a memorandum of understanding in September, with Canadian pipeline company Enbridge and natural gas infrastructure company Spectra Energy Corp. The agreement calls for the development of about 250 miles of pipeline meant to carry as much as 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas PER DAY, from the Utica  shale play in Ohio.  So, it seems that there will be jobs working on and building this pipeline.

As oil and gas drilling production in this newly found formation picks up speed, it could become the third-largest deposit in the United States.  The Marcellus and Utica shale deposits have the potential to greatly improve the economies of eight states, and set us on the path to energy independence within 15 years.

Massive oil and gas development

For investors, these areas are where energy companies are scrambling to get a piece of the action.  No, we haven’t really heard much on the topic, but this has been a relatively quiet secret for the last 2 1/2 years. During this time frame, the big oil and gas producers such as BP (NYSE: BP), Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) are already getting more involved in these areas, setting the stage and digging in their claws. All of this has been going on for about the same amount of time as the North Dakota boom.

But the most active driller currently in Ohio, is a Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK).

They are Utica Shale’s top energy stock holder. Over the last few years years, Chesapeake Energy, has quietly acquired more than one million acres in the Utica Shale deposit, with a total of 87 wells, in operation. That is more than any other energy company investment, at this time.  In Ohio, they are considered the No. 1 player that is currently in the  best position, to gain from the area’s growing Utica Shale exposure.

When I was a child, the common thing was to head West to find good paying jobs.  That is what my family did.  Now, if you need a job, head East! While there is a plus side to all of this, it has greatly changed many quiet rural farming communities. Fracking(breaking apart the shale to release the gases) is still part of the extraction process.  The best thing about the shale in these newer formations, is that it is much closer to the surface, than in the Bakken (Williston, N.D.) region. It is good to know we are moving and working toward better and greener tomorrows.

Related articles

• Utica shale, below the Marcellus, contains large gas, oil reserves, study shows

Image via Wikipedia

Friends and colleagues of mine over at Automotive.com, recently finished developing a cool Facebook application.

It’s just for fun, and it scores drivers on how “green” they are, based on driving habits and a few other things.  Then, it spits out a witty analysis of the results.

Go ahead and head on over to this link below, and have some fun!

You can see (and check your score) here: https://www.facebook.com/automotivecom?sk=app_12645635410897o

Here are my results: