Drilling, baby, drilling

Behold the lead story in today's Cleveland Plain Dealer Metro section: Oil and gas drilling in Ohio sinks to low level, but boom expected soon.

For many of us in Ohio, the boom has already begun. Here's what it looked like yesterday about a half mile from my house:



All of the houses in that video were built when municipal laws prohibited drilling in residential areas. A few years ago, state legislation usurped home rule and now you can erect an oil derrick just about anywhere in Ohio.

The regulations governing the wells are strange and convoluted. You have to amass 20 acres of mineral rights (for most wells) in a collective "pool." They have to be contiguous, but that's about it. Hence, a property owner may have no say about a well going in 100 feet from their property line while someone a half mile away is in on the royalty pool. Add the phenomenon of horizontal drilling and things get really twisted. I was obliged to learn about all of it for this in depth feature I wrote in September 2009.

A voice enters the vid at about 1:20, but it's not the fellow walking towards me in the frame. It was a man who pulled up to the intersection of the side street next to where I was recording. The man pictured in the vid, however, seemed a bit miffed by my presence. As I was leaving he yelled this at me:

"This is good for everyone. This benefits everyone."

An operating well a few miles from the one in today's embedded video.

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Righties love the gov

The righties say they don't want any gov or that they want smaller gov. They like the word freedom.

Oh really? That freedom will stop ringing as soon as their neighbor starts doing something they don't like.

Truth: Righties hate governmental laws and regulations when they apply to them, but they love those same laws and regulations when they apply to someone else. Just go to a local zoning board meeting. The righties will be there, pounding their fists. I know, I covered local gov for years.

They don't like their neighbors shed. They don't want any hunting next door. They don't want any drilling next door. Red red righties will turn green green Bambi-loving tree-huggers in an instant--I've seen it. They want laws. They want protection.

Something must be done!

The righties on the other side of the table are just as red-faced and spittle-flecked.

It's my property and I'll do what I want!

The residents of the house in the photo below do not own the property underneath that well. They don't get a dime in royalties from it. They moved in when residential drilling was not allowed in this city. Then the state changed the law and one day a crew came along with trucks and chemicals and a big-ass oil derrick. Finally, when the generators stopped roaring and the Klieg lights stopped glaring, a pumpjack and tank battery established themselves as the new neighbors.

Did somebody say property values?


As Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins."

So then, dear conservative contingent, where exactly does that homeowners nose begin?

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The edge of hubris

Dear righties,

Get ready for LOTS of this as the midterms near:



Not withstanding the thousands of gallons of oil pumping into the coast, there are precious few places left to drill, babies. US oil production peaked in the 1970s and has been declining ever since. The low hanging fruit is all but gone. You want to drill, you're going to do it in densely populated or environmentally sensitive areas or in deep off-shore water.

We've arrived at the edge of our hubris. We either get ourselves into oil rehab or drown in our addiction.

When will you realize that?

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Ten things you CAN do

Go ahead and get mad and protest BP if makes you feel better, but if you really want to make a difference, here's a few suggestions:

1. Take the bus.

2. Carpool.

3. Walk.

4. Ride your bike.

5. Reread numbers one through four. And then read this, because baby, you and me is a-pollutin' a-plenty every time we step on the gas.

6. Use a canteen (because you can't blame BP for this.)

7. Watch this (particularly starting around the 2:55 mark):



8. Turn off the air conditioning (I mean COME ON. What are you? A candy-ass?)

9. Use those piggy-tail light bulbs.

10. You get the idea: Conserve, conserve, conserve. Conserve like you mean it.

And one more thing ... pray for the Gulf.

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Under pressure

Because of my longtime involvement with the oil industry, I have profoundly conflicting emotions about this God-awful situation down in the Gulf Coast, but I keep marveling over one thing: the pressure.

Think of diving to the bottom of a swimming pool. You feel the pressure and weight of the water above you. BP's leaking pipe is under 5000 feet of water. The ocean floor is a mystery for a reason. A human body would be instantaneously crushed at that depth, which is one reason the BP leak is so difficult--you can't send in a crew to fix it.

Now think of the oil. That oil and gas plume isn't just trickling out against that massive pressure, it's blasting like a fire hydrant.



What sort of pressure was the oil and gas under if it can overcome the force of 5000 feet of sea water?

Holy shit.

Then I think of just how angry that oily primordial ooze was before we went and starting poking it. This was an exploratory well. We sure did find something. First comes a murderous blast of methane to blow the shit out of everything, then the endless spewing fury that is more powerful than the weight of an entire ocean.

HOLY SHIT.

I understand the power and danger of oil and gas, which is one reason why I'm so maniacal about conserving them. You have to respect this stuff. It's angry. It has a temper. Sure, we control it most of the time, but when we fail, watch out. Mother Earth is boss and at the end of the day, she'll get our respect even if she has to force it out of us.

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Oil dispersion

Isn't that just darling?

Now for a few observations:

-The truest statement you will hear today regarding large-scale accidents involving oil and gas: They are rare, but they DO happen.

-There are some 30,000 oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Just one of them blows up and look at what a stink it causes. Sheesh.

-If you own a car, you own part of that spill. Yes, that's what I believe. No, you don't have to agree.

Your humble hostess has a long history with the oil industry. I've written plenty about it, so in the interest of full disclosure, here's a list of links:

A complex feature I wrote on drilling in residential areas and a companion blog post.

Edward Burtynsky on Oil.

Reminiscing on my years at BP.

Gas station redux with Jesus Christ.

All politics and opinions aside, Godspeed to the families of those killed in the explosion, and prayers for the Coast.

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Gassing on

A couple of months ago, I wrote an in-depth feature about natural gas and oil well drilling in Ohio for Cleveland Scene and a companion blog entry. For anyone who's interested in keeping up with the serious side of Erin, I've written a follow up story to "Drill Baby Drill" for today's paper.

This issue is also garnering attention from other sectors of the media. Our local NPR radio station featured Oil and Gas Drilling in Ohio: Not in My Backyard? this morning on "The Sound of Ideas."

My readers come from far and near, but what is happening here in densely populated areas of Ohio is truly stunning. I urge anyone who's interested in drilling or land owner rights to give this story a read.

Drill Baby Drill

I've written an in-depth feature for this week's Scene: Drill Baby Drill.

I've previously noted on these pages that I worked for BP for years and that my husband is a pipeline operator. I put gas in my car and heat my home with natural gas. Most of us do; and many of us take gas and oil for granted. That changes when an oil derrick is erected next to your house.

Ohio is home to a great deal of oil and gas drilling. There were some 64,000 wells operating in Ohio in 2008. Courtesy of a practice known as "urban drilling" the wells are getting closer and closer and closer to the people--particularly where I live. The Cuyahoga Valley area has long been known for its rich pockets of oil and gas.

My family has lived in and around the Cuyahoga Valley for six generations. My great grandfather's farmland is now part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, so I feel a certain way about this place, from the natural habitats to the industrial underbelly of the city. After all, Dad was a machinist. I grew up surrounded by milling machines and lathes. But the wells? The wells are new.

When you purchase an older home next to an asphalt plant, you know what you're getting into; but when you purchase a brand new home in a suburban neighborhood and someone plops a tank battery and a wellhead next to it, that's a different story. You may hate it; or you may love it--particularly if you're reaping monthly royalties from that hole in the earth.

I urge every Ohioan to read my feature and the companion blog. The same goes for those in other states that condone urban drilling. I'm interested in everyone's thoughts on this topic. You can comment here or on the Scene pages (registration is a breeze), or you may email my editor Frank Lewis.