A Conversation with Jerry Horton
by Steve Smith
A Conversation With Jerry Horton – West and Clear from James M. Johnston on Vimeo.
When you knock on Jerry Horton’s front door on Carter Avenue, you’ll notice that there’s a horseshoe above it. It’s obviously been there a long time — it’s painted the same color of white as her 100-year-old house. But any luck that horseshoe brought to the house or the rest of Carter Avenue appears to be running out — Ms. Horton has a court date scheduled for Thursday as Chesapeake Energy’s pipeline subsidiary, Texas Midstream, is moving ahead with its condemnation proceedings. On Monday evening, she and her neighbors will meet with Texas Midstream to try and reach a last-minute compromise. If that fails and Ms. Horton has to go to court, the odds aren’t in her favor. She can’t afford a lawyer and the laws of this state don’t offer much protection for property owners against entities like Texas Midstream that have eminent domain powers.
Above is a short film that West and Clear collaborated on with Fort Worth filmmaker James M. Johnston. Eminent domain abuse is an abstract problem, but Ms. Horton’s plight puts a very human face on this issue. James and I wanted Ms. Horton to be able to tell her story in her own words and show you what it is like to have a pipeline literally coming to your front porch.
It may be too late for Ms. Horton and her neighbors on Carter Avenue. But how many more Jerry Hortons and Carter Avenues will there be all across Fort Worth? Eminent domain laws in the State of Texas are broken and Texans must demand that the Legislature and Governor Perry fix them. But Fort Worth’s gas drilling ordinance is also broken. Mayor Moncrief is resisting a Master Plan that could fix the problem and prevent future Carter Avenues. But he won’t.
Fort Worth is a test case for the entire country. People in Arkansas, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania and other states will look to Fort Worth to see what we’ve done right and what we’ve done wrong. When people look behind the dollar signs, the slogans and the billboards, the results aren’t encouraging. The protections for citizens, neighborhoods and quality of life are non-existent.
Want to do something about eminent domain abuse? First, email your state legislators and Governor Perry and demand that they address the problem. Second, email Mayor Moncrief and city council representative and demand a Master Plan for gas drilling in Fort Worth. Third, email Julie Wilson at Chesapeake Energy and ask her to find way to transport gas that doesn’t involve taking people’s property and destroying Fort Worth homes.
Tags: Barnett Shale, Carter Avenue, Chesapeake Energy, Jerry Horton, Julie Wilson, Mike Moncrief
82 Comments, Comments or Pings
Don Young
Wow! What a powerful little film about a big ugly topic. It’s a goddam tour de force. My hat is off to James and Steve-O. Ever since Dirty Ol’ Town was produced in ‘06, I’ve been waiting for someone to follow up with a film doc worthy of this complex web of a story. You all have created something special that will resonate all over the country. You say more in 8.5 minutes than is said in a month of council meetings. I can’t wait to start spreading the news. Congrats to all involved. You should be proud. Take that, Shale TV!
Aug 17th, 2008
Greg
Holy Cow! Steve: Excellent!
New York will eat this up: “Start spreadin’ the news…”
Aug 17th, 2008
Txsharon
If you make this into a YouTube video we can make it viral.
Aug 17th, 2008
charlie murphy
Jerry Horton is Fort Worth. Our Mayor is NOT!
Your video was excellent. It protrays the reality of Fort Worth today — our city has been high jacked – the gate was opened by the “blessing” of our Mayor and he has seen to it that no
one robs him from being the “go to” guy for the gas drillers. The Mayor’s eyes are on “his
prize” the BLESSING of Chesapeak and XTO – WHY? What does it take to ignore every single obligation you have to the people that elected you ???????????
Aug 17th, 2008
Beverly
Don Young, do you realize how many times you have said:
” I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO DO SOMETHING”
it’s getting old pal, try leaving it out or get a new mantra.
I am also sick of you referring to Fort Worth as “DIRTY OLD TOWN’.
get a new slogan, that doesn’t make our city sound like a total cesspool.
Aug 18th, 2008
John MacFarlane
Excellent job!! What a great mini-doc! I agree with TXSHARON that this should go viral on YouTube.
It’s sad to see what’s happening all over FW in regards to gas drilling. Like Jerry says, go to city council meetings and email your council members and tell them we need a moratorium on drilling and a master plan. This can’t go on!
I’m sure you will keep us up to date on Jerry’s plight.
Aug 18th, 2008
Steve-O
Anyone who wants a link or embed code can just click the headline at the top of the video frame. Vimeo works just like YouTube.
Aug 18th, 2008
Pete G
Simply placing a video on YouTube (or Vimeo) doesn’t make it go viral…you as the viewer have to share it with anyone you think might want to see it.
Aug 18th, 2008
Ramsey
Excellent Job! Please Produce More Videos!
Aug 18th, 2008
Eastsider
Like Jerry requests, “Flood the City Council Chambers every Tuesday.” Tommorrow 10am. You can do Citizens Presentation, fill out card at front desk and ask the 9 member City Council (that includes the Mayor) to do their job and protect its citizens and neighborhoods.
Aug 18th, 2008
garth vazquez
Anyone tried to get the pipeline company’s take on this ?
Aug 18th, 2008
Horatio Handy
Jerry Horton and TMGS in this story, http://fwbusinesspress.com/display.php?id=8226
Aug 18th, 2008
James M. Johnston
Anybody interested in getting the pipeline company’s take on this can enjoy any number of their multi-million dollar media blitz outlets. Citizens of the Shale TV, billboards, bus ads, etc.
Aug 18th, 2008
garth vazquez
I’ve heard that Horton has a history of these ploys. The pipeline will be buried over 30 feet below the ground. Everyone else on the street has signed those agreements and have been paid very well for them. Once these wells start producing, each home on the street will get from$200 to $300 per month on royalties. But all this disappears once Jerry starts crying for the cameras.
Aug 18th, 2008
Steve-O
Garth, you are welcome to share your opinions. However, I think in the interest of full disclosure you should reveal your affiliation.
Aug 18th, 2008
Kevin Buchanan
I would say it’s not worth it if it means destroying the yard, trees, and porch of that house. We ought to be preserving the character of these sorts of vintage urban neighborhoods (because they actually have some, unlike the typical cul-de-sac’d subdivision of today), not plowing it down so we can suckle at Chesapeake’s teat for some cash.
Aug 18th, 2008
garth vazquez
Steve, I own a convenience store in west fort worth. I have a pipeline on my east side.
I’m getting $435 a month for about 1/3 of an acre. The emails to this site are so one-sided that I thought I’d add my experience with the pipeline company. I read that 40,000 jobs have been created by the Barnett Shale. Does this affect your opinions ?
Aug 18th, 2008
Chris H
Garth,
Not throwing gas on the fire here, but do you honestly think most of us will see $200-$300 per month?
It’s doubtful any of us will receive that amount. No one will even come forth with an estimate of what to expect, but I’d be willing to bet that it’s about half that amount.
Also, do you know without a doubt that you’ll see that cash? Will it go into your personal account, or will it go straight to your mortgage company? Nothing wrong with that, be nice to pay off the house sooner. Of course, if that is the case you’ll still get a 1099 for money that you’re not really seeing. Means you’ll have to pay taxes on it in addition to your income. Might start saving some extra money for that now just in case. Might be worth looking into.
Of course I could be completely wrong. In fact nothing would make me happier. I’d love to see Fort Worth full of millionaires, especially on the South and East sides of Fort Worth. The regrowth it would spawn would be incredible!
Aug 18th, 2008
Chris H
Looks like we responded at the same time.
Just so you know, I’m not necessarily against gas drilling. Heck, I grew up in West Texas. Gas and oil are a way of life out there. I love cooking on my gas stovetop, I love staying warm all winter with my gas heating system. If I said I was against gas drilling I’d be a hypocrite.
It just seems so unorganized here, and the greed is incredible. I think putting a master plan in place, and being more open about the whole process would make things much easier for everyone involved.
This isn’t 10,000 acres of scrub brush in the high desert… it’s a densely populated Urban area. Seems to be something that’s forgotten.
Aug 18th, 2008
garth vazquez
Chris, I don’t know exactly what people will get. But a little of something is worth more that alot of nothing. I’m just saying that both sides should be looked at, don’t you ?
I’ll be handing the store over to my son in about three years and it’s nice to know that the addtional wells being drilled around here may add to the small monthly amount we recieve. The pipeline is 4 feet deep and they buried it under the pavement, so I can still use it for parking. Anyway, just keep an open mind and beware of misinformation.
Aug 18th, 2008
Adam S.
Garth – What is the Ms. Horton’s history with these ploys? Could you expand on that, please? Even though the pipeline will be 30 feet below the ground, her trees will still be killed and accidents happen. Do we want 16″ pipelines like that under our homes if we have a choice?
The most telling section of the film was the map of the pipeline cutting down the residential street, when there’s plenty of room along the interstate. That map speaks the loudest.
Aug 18th, 2008
Steve-O
Garth, if you own a convenience store on the West Fort Worth, how come your Internet access comes off of a Chesapeake Energy server in Oklahoma City?
Aug 18th, 2008
Greg
Maybe Internet Service is part of a modern gas lease. Why are you so suspicious, Steve?
ROFL
Aug 18th, 2008
Pete Wann
Also, just as a tip for the future — the current company line is “85,000″ jobs created by the Barnett Shale.
No one has yet been able to tell me if any of those jobs will still be here in 5 years, but considering how little thought has been put into any of this process, I’d be surprised if anyone knows or gives a shit, so long as we get our money NOW!
Also, I don’t care who you work for, but I’d like it if you could expound on your claim that Ms. Horton has a history of “these ploys.” She has protested gas pipeline companies condemning her property in the past? I don’t understand what about her situation could be classified as a “ploy.” Please enlighten us.
Aug 18th, 2008
TXsharon
Garth!
You are so unfaithful! Normally you spend all day every day on my blog, but I see you get the action wherever you can. You unfaithful dirty dog, you!
Aug 18th, 2008
TXsharon
Garth is a perfect example of how low Chesapeake will go to make more money. They pay a troll to monitor the blogs and post negative messages trying to sully the name of a good citizen like Mrs. Horton.
SHAME ON YOU CHESAPEAKE!!!!
Aug 18th, 2008
M Whittier
This video is blatantly misleading and therefore nothing more than inflammatory propaganda.
Based on the inaccurate story telling here, the viewer is left to believe that Jerry’s front yard will be destroyed, trees will be removed, and her handicap ramp and porch will be taken out. Is the producer of this so-called documentary aware that the pipeline proposed for Carter Avenue will be bored – not trenched? Are you people educated on the difference and how this technology works?
In case you aren’t – you need to take the time to learn. The surface area that Jerry shows you in the video will never be disturbed. So, all those trees in the video? None will be removed. Ms. Horton’s porch and ramp? They will never be touched. Jerry leads you to believe that her entire front yard is going to be dug up. That’s not how boring works. Jerry (and the producer of the mock-umentary who didn’t check his facts) are telling a story that’s entirely different from the reality.
And she probably already has pipelines running up to her house anyway. Did anyone check to see if her stove runs on gas?
Aug 18th, 2008
Adam S.
Whittier, don’t act like a gas line running to the house is even remotely close to the same thing as a 16″ pipeline under a person’s front yard.
It seems to me that Ms. Horton is under the impression that her front yard is going to be taken over. Her legal advice gave her the same impression. Also, what’s wrong with a citizen of Fort Worth not wanting a large pipeline that could leak running underneith her property? Can’t Cheasapeake be a good corporate citizen of the shale? Their decision to run the pipeline in a residential area instead of boring through a commercial area speaks volumes. That’s why I feel Ms. Horton has far more credibility at this point.
Aug 18th, 2008
TXsharon
Don’t forget what happened in McAllen, TX. http://txsharon.blogspot.com/2008/05/texas-railroad-commission-ignores-33.html
“Hundreds of McAllen families are sitting on top of a highly toxic, highly explosive substance. The toxic substance is floating on top of groundwater under 23rd Street. NEWSCHANNEL 5 took a sample from the ground. With one spark, it went up in flames.”
At least part of this came from leaking XTO pipelines.
Aug 18th, 2008
sirius_girl
Mitchell Schnurman’s July 16, 2008 editorial titled “Chesapeake facts may not be ones we need” states that in the past seven years, only 7400 jobs were added in the oil and gas business in the Metroplex, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.
That’s less than 1 percent of the workforce.
(course to see it on the buses, you’d think the Barnett Shale was the only game in town.)
and it seems to me that Ms. Horton is most concerned by the language in the contract which stated that the companies COULD remove trees, permanent structures,etc, including her wheelchair ramp, if so needed, ultimately giving her little control of her family property.
Aug 18th, 2008
James M. Johnston
Whittier, you are also ignoring the entire concept that the situations pointed out in the video are scenarios based on the fact that Chesapeake, seizing the land through Eminent Domain, can do whatever they want. She will no longer have control of her front yard. If they deem it necessary they can take out all her trees and anything else in their easement.
Aug 18th, 2008
Greg
Not to mention: What would you offer to buy a residential property with that kind of easement on it? She is being offered a little over $12,000 for that easement.
What discount will a buyer expect after looking at a survey giving Chesapeake, it’s heirs and assigns permenent unfettered access to most of the front yard? Probably a lot more than $12k off a comparable unencumbered property. I know I would.
The end result is these property owners are giving up more value than what ehy are receiving. Over time the City will also see a decline in property tax receipts as the properties turn over and their values decline at TAD (and yes, they actually will decline as new buyers contest the apraisals with real purchase amounts). What we don’t have yet is the exact amounts because there aren’t enough comparable sales to allow appraisers to give us the answers. But it will come.
Aug 18th, 2008
Curtis
The 5th Amendment to the Constitution states, “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Yeah she’ll get 12k and yeah the pipeline will be trenched and not bored. But the point of the video seemed to be that:
1.) Chesapeake is taking the property for private profit, not public use.
2.) Chesapeake obscured the truth to Jerry when disclosing their intentions.
3.) Tommy Lee Jones is a skilled actor but can’t protect Jerry from gas explosions.
4.) If I put the wrong drapes on my home in the Historic District, I get fined. But Chesapeake can mow this shit down without penalty? What the hell? Seriously!
The schools here in Fairmount have rust coming out of the water fountains. I’ve seen it personally. Yet Chesapeake has the audacity to plaster a bus with the ad, “Better schools? Thanks Barnett Shale!”
Well… Chesapeake. Come fix the schools. De Zevala has no playground, air-conditioning that barely works, and a recess area filled with weeds, crackpipes and syringes.
Aug 18th, 2008
John MacFarlane
You won’t see another posting by Garth, he was called out!
Anyway, who cares if Jerry is at alot of council meetings and is a “media hog”. CHK is stil using ED to take ROW for a for profit pipeline. The map may be hand drawn and inaccurate, but CHK is using their heavy hand to take the ROW. The city just stand by and watches, with no regard to neighborhood safety, aesthetics, etc.
Whittier, you are not looking at the bigger picture. It’s about CHK doing whatever they want while our Mayor just sits by and collects his checks.
Aug 18th, 2008
Greg
The mayor and Council have not leaned forward to help a citizen of this city as she is bullied into submission. Some fellow citizens have tried to come to her aid… have we done enough?
I don’t think I have done all I could have, but I also hope elected officials will do their jobs. Looks like misplaced hope at this point.
Aug 18th, 2008
Don Young
Beverly-
I can’t tell if you are serious or just egging me on. This blog is about Jerry Horton. But I’ll take the bait. You are right, I’ve bitched too much about “waiting for someone to do something.” I’ll take that lump. But it was lonely out here for a long time. You can’t imagine how glad I am to have you on my team.
As for Dirty Ol’ Town, I think the moniker fits perfectly considering what Chesapeake, XTO, Devon, etc. and Moncrief have done to my hometown. FW used to be a nice place to live.
“Fort Worth: One of America’s Most Livable Cities”, has now become a sad joke. Those days have ended. Livable cities do not slash library hours, close tree farms and health departments, close swimming pools and they sure as hell don’t let places like Trinity Trees, Trinity Trails and Tandy Hills get compromised by gas drilling or allow pipelines like the subject of this blog.
Aug 18th, 2008
Eastsider
You can listen here and hear for yourself that there are other ways of routing the pipeline. However, it would involve time, money and working with State agencies which Chesapeake and our City Council don’t want to do, therefore they are selling the citizens of Ft. Worth a pile of lies. There is no reason other than weaknesses in our elected city politicians that the pipeline cannot run across I30 and on the NORTH side of the highway away from the neighborhoods.
Kathleen Hicks is the City Council person elected to represent Horton’s property and neighborhood, here are her comments regarding the pipeline http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb4kdyjnQLI
Here are State Representative Lon Burnam’s remarks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LJc4cKNePo
Here is Chesapeake’s remarks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4ZdCOHkGAI
Aug 18th, 2008
Wlliam
what a drama queen.
Jerry Horton, the Cindy Sheehan of energy.
there’s a quarter of million miles of buried pipelines in the state of Texas, most of it over 40 years old and you have a better chance of dying from a lightning strike.
another little fact, the surface rights have subservient to the minerals here for over a hundred years – maybe you should have thought this out a little better before you decided to try to stop progress.
Drill it an dget it to market; I have two kids in college – I could use the extra cash
Aug 18th, 2008
Pete Wann
Thanks William. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but you’ve perfectly illustrated exactly what’s wrong with not just the Barnett Shale boom, but also the kind of attitudes that have made the United States an increasingly less appealing place to live compared to other countries.
This “I’ve got mine, fuck the other guy” attitude is what will ultimately doom this “grand experiment” to failure. This attitude is not the one I signed up to protect while serving in the Marines. Your attitude is NOT America, but it’s been the national attitude of Texas for centuries. Go ahead and tell me to love it or leave it, call me a commie or a “liberal” — I’ve heard it all before, and as long as it’s coming from people with your attitude, I know I’m doing something right.
Aug 18th, 2008
buck
Tell me again what is so awful about a pipeline buried under your yard.
Somebody said it should run under business property. I don’t understand the distinction. Why should it run under the business owner’s property instead of this lady’s? Doesn’t the business owner have the same rights?
Seems like if we’re going to have gas, we gotta pipe it.
Aug 18th, 2008
sirius_girl
@ william who says” I have two kids in college – I could use the extra cash”
heh! they better get ready for community college, bubba, cause your extra loot ain’t gonna’ go far.
Aug 18th, 2008
sirius_girl
and to Buck – you miss the point.
it’s not that it should go under a business owner’s property, it’s that the company chooses not to fuss with the big business owner – or TXDOT. Both have big wallets and lawyers on stand-by and can push the “utility” companies back while widow home owners probably won’t have much money to fight to protect their property.
“seems like if we’re gonna have gas, we gotta’ pipe it” is right. But the right answer is “if we’re gonna have gas and a city to live in, we oughta’ restrict it to areas that make sense – out of neighborhoods, offa’ parks and in industrial zones with the right amount of protections and procedures for it to make sense.
Aug 18th, 2008
Chris H
Buck,
To me it’s not so much the pipeline in the yard. It’s the whole Eminent Domain that bothers me. I don’t like the idea of someone deciding what they can and can’t do on my property. Up to and including condemning my home.
Why should they have the ability and/or right to take away, on a whim, what I’ve worked hard to achieve?
Aug 18th, 2008
Adam S.
Thanks for helping me with my point Sirius Girl.
CHK is willing to route the pipeline longer through the residential neighborhood because the cost is cheaper. CHK is exploiting the fact that ordinary citizens don’t have as many resources to expend to figure out what access to their property really costs.
Also, one can only trust what is on the paper. If the contract says trees COULD be cleared, and the property owner doesn’t want that possibility to happen, they should have the right to say no.
Maybe this is a good reason why the city needs a master plan?
Aug 18th, 2008
Ben
I disagree this is a “i got mine” situation. This is mostly about the greater good! The principle William is describing has served Texas well for many years. You can debate about the fairness of it all, but even states that have enacted surface owners rights laws have kept this part unchanged. How else can you allow the interests of the state/general public from being subverted by a few who may just be pissed off? Do you really think that more money will make Ms. Horton happy at this point? Why should her interests take precedent over the majority of the people in her neighborhood that want this?
Aug 18th, 2008
sirius_girl
@ Ben who says
“Why should her interests take precedent over the majority of the people in her neighborhood that want this?”
be sure that you’re right on this target. many of those homeowners now say that they didn’t know what they were signing. And given the press in the Southlake Journal today
http://www.southlakejournal.com/home/story/2224.html
who ya’ gonna’ believe? the neighbors or the gilded tongue?
and I disagree with “This is mostly about the greater good!”
Are you kidding me? With the newest reports about the play peaking in 2009 and knowing that production falls off and nose dives after the peak, whose kids are going to college on the Shale scholarship?
Really??? Really!!!
Ben! think conservation! Think alternative energy. Think for the greater good.
Aug 18th, 2008
Ben
I read 2 articles this weekend about people opposed to wind turbines! One “heartwrenching” story from New York about a family torn apart because Dad sold out to the evil wind company. So it happens in alternative energy too!
Aug 18th, 2008
Don Young
The most obvious solution to this Rubiks cube is for the city to deny the permit to drill the Thomas well. Chesapeake has already violated the ordinance and state law by working on the site without a permit and using TXDot easement without permission. In the process, they also violated the FW Tree Ordinance. These violations may seem trivial to some, but if you or I did the same thing, we would land in the pokey. The city can and should use the violations to deny the permit.
With so much at stake, this is the correct solution for all concerned. If Chesapeake chooses, they can drill elsewhere, possibly north of I-30, to access the Thomas minerals. Thus, no need for a pipeline on Carter Ave. and no need to traverse narrow and historic Scott Avenue to access the proposed site which is also a rare and endangered remnant prairie. No need to disrupt the very real human lives and wildlife in the way of this trivial pursuit.
For godssake people, stand back and look at what is happening. I find it utterly ridiculous that a greedy, Oklahoma energy extractor can tear apart a community this way for a few weeks worth of natural gas, aka: minerals, so a Mr or Mrs. Thomas can make a few bucks.
This drama has been going on for weeks. A groundbreaking video has been produced, multiple blogs filled with emotional comments, dozens of neighborhood meetings, roomfuls of lawyers consulted, dirty money spread around, elected officials posturing and pontificating, national and local TV crews filming, yard signs, lawsuits, intimidation, fear and loathing, for what?
We are being manipulated like puppets. We are forced to react daily to an industrial shell-game concocted by a company that also pulls the strings at 1000 Throckmorton and overseen by an sadistic PR genius whose specialty is manipulation. There’s a hell of a lot more at stake here than Jerry Horton’s front yard. We cannot afford to lose this one. Whatever Jerry Horton does or does not do has and will continue to affect all of us sooner of later. Her yard is also in our neighborhood, in our city.
If this isn’t war, what is? The stakes are clearly defined. The players ID’d. The middle ground has already been yielded to the gas cartel. Now they want to push it further to see what happens. Moncrief’s gas cartel must be stopped and this is the line in the asphalt.
Aug 18th, 2008
CJ
“….Ben! think conservation! Think alternative energy.Think for the greater good..”
think rainbow powered hover cars and unicorns.
this whole thing for SirusGirl is about her unrealistic political and ecological mandate.
I need to make payroll. I have to worry about my 55 employees and their families. energy costs are tangible to me – they are the difference between making a profit and boarding up the storefront and calling it quits.
cutting nat gas costs a dollar per MMBtu is huge, drops $75K/mo straight to my bottom line.
please let me know when your perpetual motion machine hits the grid, in the meantime someone crank up the backhoe.
Aug 19th, 2008
Curtis
“rainbow powered hover cars and unicorns?” I’ve used wind energy to power my house for the last several years…. without any expensive equipment, large investment, or magical creatures. In fact, it saves money, and you’re breathing cleaner air because I’m not using coal.
How’s that for an “unrealistic political and ecological mandate.”
Aug 19th, 2008
Jacko
Don, just for the record, if you violate the city’s tree ordinance, you wont end up in the pokey. With code violations you can either stop what you’re doing or receive a citation. Then you can pay the ticket or contest it – either way, you wont go to jail.
Aug 19th, 2008
Kevin Buchanan
If it wasn’t for the incredibly short-sighted and misguided way this country developed post WWII, and the short-sighted attitude that tended to go with it, we wouldn’t be in such a need for energy that we’d be willing to tear up our neighborhoods just to get a little gas. But that’s another story, I suppose.
It’s ridiculous that any talk of alternative energy or alternative anything is met with derision and cries of “rainbows and unicorns.” I suppose the motto of these sorts is “status quo at all costs,” never mind that the status quo – of staggering energy dependency brought about by sprawl, auto-centric development, isolated pods of housing with people sealed up watching the tube while the public realm crumbles into the joke it is today – is not something we can keep building for very much longer.
The only “rainbows and unicorns” fantasy here is the belief that we can keep the status quo we’ve had for the last 50 years going indefinitely.
Aug 19th, 2008
sirius_girl
I much prefer rainbows and unicorns to unbreathable haze and jackasses
Aug 19th, 2008
sirius_girl
Don’s point is well taken and reminds me of the CHK strategy – fool everyone to think that we only have 2 choices in any given problem.
there’s likely a third or even fourth way to solve this problem and by thinking of only “either/or” we fall into a Sophie’s choice scenario.
Aug 19th, 2008
TXsharon
Rio Arriba County Board of County Commissioners Extends Countywide Drilling Moratorium for 180 Days
http://www.commongroundunited.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=322&Itemid=1&mosmsg=Item+successfully+saved
It’s possible…
Aug 19th, 2008
b kooistra
Does anyone REALLY think that the Barnett Shale will LOWER energy prices? Cummon. Chesapeake is in the business to make money, not lower or enery bills. If demand drops for product, Chesapeake will just throttle back production to maintain the price level.
I do feel sorry for Mrs. Horton, but apparently she’d already “got hers” and had sold her mineral rights for the Thomas well drilling. Now the gas company needs a pipeline to move the gas they’ve drilled for–and paid Mrs. Horton to access–to market. So, as a boss of mine once said, “there are no virgins here.”
I’m so disappointed in my fellow citizens of the Shale. I’m not a native Texan–I had to come here with my job when my employer moved us all here for tax breaks and lower operating costs. But I am a member of the community, and it dismays me to see the continued greed and “I got mine! Screw the rest of y’all” in this. This is the quality of life we’re talking about here. You want Fort Worth to be a nice, liveable city, or turn into another Youngstown, Ohio?
I hope this video will appear on Tracy Rowlett’s new news channel, though I won’t hold my breath.
Aug 19th, 2008
Ben
B – I guess you missed this yesterday?
http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/840294.html
Aug 19th, 2008
Txsharon
The rest of the story not reported by the Star-Telegram is that producers intend to “throtle back” production thereby keeping prices for natural gas, the methane producing, not so clean energy. high.
Aug 20th, 2008
b kooistra
Thanks Ben. I no longer get the Startlegram, except on Sundays. Kinda hate paying for the same story running twice–once on the section front, and once inside.
“”We see the overall total Barnett field gas production peaking in 2009″ at about 5 billion cubic feet per day, he told financial analysts on EOG’s second-quarter conference call. “Therefore, new resource plays will have to be the growth driver after 2009,” he said, and he doesn’t foresee new EOG sources, such as its play in Canada’s Horn River Basin, filling that gap until 2011 or later.”
Yep, before I had a chance to even get behind the Barnett, it appears to be peaking. I thought Tommy Lee Jones told us it was a boom that would never bust? Now, why would Chesapeake tell a distortion like that??
And did you see this one from the same story:
“Chesapeake’s McClendon briefly discussed the LNG market for U.S. gas during his Aug. 5 earnings call with analysts. Noting that natural gas was selling in Europe for roughly double its U.S. price, he said that “we’re trying to get it on a boat and get it to some overseas markets.”
So, I guess that rather than keep our natural gas here at home, where it can help offset the rising energy costs and help us in our efforts to become energy independent, Chesapeake would, if they could, load it all into a boat and sell it where they can get a higher price. Now, THAT’s patriotic!
Aug 20th, 2008
George
Not true Sharon and where did you obtain those facts? As pertains to Boone Pickens what bothers you about his plan? Does it bother you that any business or businessman or woman is in business to make a profit. ADM is in business to make a profit on ethanol and has no problem in lobbying the democratic ticket for tax subsidies, and not importing ethanol from Brazil. Funny how your logic works at times.
Aug 20th, 2008
Ramsey
I’m a renter. I can’t even “get mine”.
Did you know that to ride The T bus “service”, it’ll cost you 6x the amount you would pay in Austin, and those damn things RUN on natural gas!
I thought I left a city of gross misconduct when I emigrated from Jerry Jones-land immediately to the east only to unwittingly enter Chesapeakville.
DFW is turning out to be a caricature of all that is wrong with political life in north america. With such tepid, self-serving resistance, we shouldn’t expect anything other than what we’ve been getting. As if those people are willing to negotiate…
Aug 20th, 2008
Txsharon
Ah…what facts,.George?
The fact that producers would cut back on production to keep prices from falling too low was on Reuters, Forbes and in an API news letter last week. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that gas prices HAVE to stay high or shale drilling will not br profitable. No high prices = no BS.
Or, are you referring to my comment about natural gas being not so clean? Please, OH PLEASE tell me that you are going to dispute those facts. =)
Go read this post on my blog, “Big Oil. HUGE Money. ENORMOUS Influence” and then read “Exxon is Immotral but Natives Die” then get back to me on the profit question, Garth…er…George.
Aug 20th, 2008
steve
Sharon,
What’s your car run on ? Like those plastic containers and medical supplies ? Heat your home in the winter with gas, do you ? Enjoy your cosmetics, airbags, computers and antibiotics ? Well, they all derive from or are aided by hydrocarbons. Vilify all you want. Don’t you have anything better to do than curse the commodity that enhances your life. An old hippie are you ? Maybe dissatisfied with other parts of your life ? Feeling the need to proclaim yourself as important by shouting at the public from below their feet ? Suggestion: learn to play golf. Better yet, search the internet for the evils of golf and find a website that cares. Big oil, Sharon ? How about Big Medication.
Aug 20th, 2008
George
What about your past candidate John Edwards and his so-called War on Poverty? Is using Pac money given to his campaign to keep a mistress considered ethical, from a guy who lives in a 28,000 SF house and made $40 Million off a Hedge Fund that was knee deep in sub-prime mortgages? Do you have an answer to that as well? Also, what do you do for a living besides constantly monitor the web sites and blogs to fill the airwaves with your viewpoints. I will not lower myself to your level and denigrate your name. Your maturity level is more than evident. Why argue with someone as hateful as you?
Aug 20th, 2008
George
Barnett Shale drilling is profitable at $6.00/mcf gas. Things did not stop over a year ago when prices dropped to under $6.00/mcf.
I am no big fan of big oil either. It is the independents in this country who have found the domestic fields, not big oil.
Aug 20th, 2008
George
I have nothing against old hippies. Just old hippies that never put for forth a plan.
To quote the great John Lennon
“You say you want a revolution
You say you’ve got a real solution
Well, you know
We’d all love to see the plan.”
Aug 20th, 2008
Txsharon
Ad hominem attacks are the last resort for those who can’t argue the facts.
Aug 20th, 2008
Don Young
George-
We do have plan.
Appoint a REAL Task Force.
Moratorium.
Master Plan.
Zoning rules enforced.
Case closed.
We got a revolution.
Are you with us?
Aug 20th, 2008
George
What so called facts Sharon? You never seem to be able to argue your point with any clarity. So it is “do as I say, not as I do.” I get it now. I have never attacked you personally Sharon. But the same cannot be said of you.
Aug 20th, 2008
George
Don, I am with you part of the way, but not totally. But I do appreciate the respectful reply and dialogue.
Aug 20th, 2008
George
I do not mean to be disrespectful Sharon. You are entitled to your viewpoints Sharon, but stating that anyone who does not agree with you is an idiot seems sort of out of bounds.
No one said the oil and gas industry is perfect. But neither is the ethanol business, wind, nuclear you name it. People are bitching about wind turbines in their backyards as well. But just because people have a beef with Chesapeake is no reason to throw everyone who works in the oil and gas business under the bus. I do not work for Chesapeake, but I do live within the Fort Worth City limits and have for the past 12 years. My wife was raised here, my kids go to school here. I understand why people are upset at times. I think energy companies do need to be held to a higher standard. I do like reading what you have to say. Have a nice week.
Aug 20th, 2008
Ben
B – other industry people disagree:
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssOilGasExplorationProduction/idUSN1335858620080814?sp=true
In fact the DOE disagrees in their latest report:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=aCJ0p.zIeoZk&refer=energy
At least you have some quotes unlike the pure speculation coming out of Wise County!
Aug 20th, 2008
Txsharon
George, you make a lot of general statement here about me but nothing specific so it’s hard to address whatever it is to which you are objecting or what facts you feel are not being supplied. I am all about facts and I link to those all the time which is why Chesapeak, their PR firm and “Garth” stay on my blog 24/70 and why they attack me here. I thought you might be Garth because you use language similar to comments he has posted on my blog. I get attacked by them a lot just like Don does. My apologies on accusing you. However, you are attributing things to me that I have never said.
I have friends who work in the industry. Never have I said everyone in the industry is bad. In fact, I have written the opposite on my blog. I sold some of my land to a man who works for Chesapeake. He is my friend and neighbor. He is extremely concerned about the things that are occurring and he is desperate to not have drilling activity on the land he bought. I have assured him that he has nothing to worry about. I do not care to profit from another’s misery.
BTW, independant producers are far worse at polluting than the big operators. Chesapeake has many eyes on them to keep them in line where the smaller producers don’t.
I lived in FW all my life, i visit FW often and spend money there and I may move there again soon.
Aug 21st, 2008
George
No I am not Garth. I have only seen your blog a time or two, and have never made a comment there to date. There are a lot of independent producers that operate on a highly ethical level. And by independent producers I mean any company below the major level. Yes, I know the small operators have to be watched as well. A small independent operates a lease which my mother owns an interest in in Montaque County. We check on it periodically.
Aug 21st, 2008
TXsharon
To Ben:
Source: Wall Street Journal
“Natural-Gas Firms Seek Outlet For Growing Supplies
August 11, 2008
The Wall Street Journal
Industry Tries to Lift Demand to Keep Production Strong
…
As some analysts have begun to toss around terms like “gas glut,” natural-gas futures have tumbled 9.2% in the past two weeks, and they have brought producers’ stocks down with them. Shares of large natural-gas producers Chesapeake Energy Corp., XTO Energy Inc. and EOG Resources Inc. are all down 30% or more from their recent highs in late June and early July. By comparison, oil-focused Exxon Mobil Corp. is down 17% from its recent high May 20.
“I think that supply growth has become the 800-pound gorilla in the North American gas investing equation,” said Dan Pickering of Tudor Pickering Holt & Co., an energy-focused investment bank.
For consumers, increased supplies of natural gas could mean lower heating and cooling bills, as the fuel generates a fifth of the nation’s electricity and heats half of the U.S.’s homes. But any relief is likely to be limited. Analysts say that if natural-gas prices settle below $8 per million British thermal units, producers will cut back production — which will tighten supplies and drive prices up again.”
To George:
I don’t know where I have ever stated this: “stating that anyone who does not agree with you is an idiot seems sort of out of bounds.” or this “throw everyone who works in the oil and gas business under the bus”
I was born in FW as were my to children.
I apologized for accusing you of being Garth. You might want to go over some of the bizarre accusations you have made against me upthread.
Aug 21st, 2008
TXsharon
In addition, as stated previously, I quit using gas in my home about 3 years ago.
I drive a small, high mileage car, 33 to 38 mpg and I limit my trips as much as possible.
I no longer heat or cool my entire house–only the room I’m in.
I limit my energy use in my home and I unplug and turn off everything when not in use.
I recycle everything that can be recycled and I do that for my office.
I limit my purchasing and I try to purchase only from environmentally responsible companies, but that’s not always possible.
I do not use chemicals that harm the environment on my land or in my home.
Aug 21st, 2008
Jacko
Ms. Horton is getting $150,000 for the line to run under her property that is only worth $97,000? And she gets to keep her property? Even if she sold the house for half of its value, she’d still net twice what her house is worth. This all came from the Star-telegram article out today.
Is this battle a safety issue, a fairness issue or both? Money can’t fix the safety issue for Ms. Horton, but I think she has been more than fairly compensated.
Aug 22nd, 2008
sirius_girl
Jacko, how’d you come up with $150,000???
careful with what you put out there.
from the ST
Horton’s settlement guarantees a payment of $15,500, or $150 per linear foot. The right of way will stretch from her front fence to within a few feet of her front porch.
Aug 22nd, 2008
jacko
My bad. I thought that was odd. Plus I thought it was odd that she had a 1000 foot wide lot.
I retract my comments.
Aug 22nd, 2008
Adam S.
Looks like Ms. Horton settled with Texas Midstream.
http://startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/2008/08/carter-avenue-u.html
Aug 24th, 2008
Mike H.
I hope none of these wells have an accident with drilling mud:
http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/08/news080720_1.htm
Aug 24th, 2008
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