Oil speculators, this ones for you. The Legend of Coal Oil Johnny. Had a fortune and lost it. Died penniless.
An orphan, Johnny was taken in by his aunt, and lived on a farm in Titusville, PA. Oil was discovered under this sorry piece of dirt. Said aunt died & left everything to Johnny.
Johnny lived it up. Lost his fortune, but came back to live a regular life as a railroad agent in Nebraska.
Take a lesson here.
Shell is giving MIT $25 million for research. Goal: to find more efficient technologies to find and deliver oil and natural gas. Of course, Shell will have the option to license the tech stuff MIT develops, but that seems fair enough.
“The energy future is an uncertain one, where we need completely new solutions,’’ Gerald Schotman, the energy company’s chief technology officer, said. “It’s a very deliberate decision to step up.’’
Shell is not the only company donating to the MIT energy initiative. BP, Italian oil company, Eni, Lockheed-Martin. What’s not to like?
As Robert F. Kauffman, Boston University says,
“this is great for MIT,’’ Kaufmann said. “It’s always good to have smart people working on important problems.’’
You can’t coach speed.
The Obama Administration will be pleading its case to the Fifth Circuit appeals court today at 3:00 PM local time. According to Reuters:
The drilling companies have the backing of key local leaders including Louisiana Republican Governor Bobby Jindal and Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu, who have argued the ban should be lifted in part because the drilling industry is worth $3 billion annually to the state’s economy.
The timing could not be much worse for the Gulf coast because the communities were just starting to get back on their feet after the devastating 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
But the Obama administration has fired back that the ban was essential given the catastrophe unfolding, as millions of gallons (liters) of oil spew from the well. The administration also said the suspension was narrowly tailored and the Interior Department’s expertise should have carried more weight.
This means, of course, that the ruling we covered on June 23 may not hold up. The obvious consequence here: higher fuel prices for the consumer and tougher profit margins for fleet managers.
It could happen. Last week Pres. Obama & key House Dems agreed to include “Cash for Clunkers” in a new major energy bill.
The program would offer federal payments to those who scrapped their gas-guzzlers in favor of more energy efficient rides. Europe has already had success with something like this.
Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), a longtime champion of the auto industry, said the plan would “result in hundreds of thousands of new vehicles being purchased across the country.”