RJA #10

10a: The three sources I have are the internet is from google. The second is from a newspaper article from the Daily Sentinal, and the third source is from a book called Natural Gas in Nontechnical Language. From Rebecca L. Busby, Pennwell (1999)
10b: I have listed a bunch of different sides of the argument, I have not decided how I want to go with it yet but I have a good idea. I will probably write a good amount of it this weekend. 4/9/10.
10c: I think I would like to do an editorial. My four ideas would be the cost effectiveness of drilling on the western slope, environment policies on which oil and gas companies must do to increase drilling, how drilling will help the struggling economy, how the gas bust killed a certain business, or how the gas bust helped a certain business.

RJA#9

9a: Thesis Statement: When Will Another Natural Gas Boom Take Place In Western Colorado.
9b: My argument would be all the things that factor in the Gas Boom coming back in Western Colorado such as environmental concerns, land rights, supply and demand, and other such things like that.
9c: I. The Natural Gas Industry And What It Does
A. What Is Natural Gas?
B. What has Natural Gas done for America?
II. What Reasons Could or Could Not The Natural Gas Boom Come Back To Western Colorado.
A. Interviews From Some Experts ( Their Thoughts Put Into Words.)
B. Research on The History Of The Reasons Natural Gas Has Came And Went In Western, CO.
C. What The Experts Say About The Future Of The Industry In The Area
III. Why Do Towns On The Western Slope Need Or Don't Need The Natural Gas Fields
A. Environmental Concerns
B. Land Use
C. Boost The Economy

Journal#8

What Is Natural Gas and History of Use

Natural gas is generally considered a nonrenewable fossil fuel. (There are some renewable sources of natural gas; we'll discuss these later.) Natural gas is called a fossil fuel because most scientists believe that natural gas was formed from the remains of tiny sea animals and plants that died 200-400 million years ago.

When these tiny sea animals and plants died, they sank to the bottom of the oceans where they were buried by layers of sand and silt. Over the years, the layers of sand and silt became thousands of feet thick, subjecting the energy-rich plant and animal remains to enormous pressure. Most scientists believe that the pressure, combined with the heat of the earth, changed this organic mixture into petroleum and natural gas. Eventually, concentrations of natural gas became trapped in the rock layers much like a wet household sponge traps water.

Raw natural gas is a mixture of different gases. Its main ingredient is methane, a natural compound that is formed whenever plant and animal matter decays. By itself, methane is odorless, colorless, and tasteless. As a safety measure, natural gas companies add a chemical odorant (it smells like rotten eggs) so escaping gas can be detected. Natural gas should not be confused with gasoline, which is made from petroleum.

History of Natural Gas

The ancient peoples of Greece, Persia, and India discovered natural gas many centuries ago. The people were mystified by the burning springs created when natural gas seeping from cracks in the ground was ignited by lightning. They sometimes built temples around these eternal flames so they could worship the fire.

About 2,500 years ago, the Chinese recognized that natural gas could be put to work. The Chinese piped the gas from shallow wells and burned it under large pans to evaporate sea water for salt.

Natural gas was first used in America to illuminate the streets of Baltimore in 1816. Soon after, in 1821, William Hart dug the first successful American natural gas well in Fredonia, New York. His well was 27 feet deep, quite shallow compared to today's wells. The Fredonia Gas Light Company opened its doors in 1858 as the nation's first natural gas company. By 1900, natural gas had been discovered in 17 states. In the past 40 years, the use of natural gas has grown dramatically. Today, natural gas accounts for about a quarter of the energy we use.

8a: Natural gas in a nonrenewable source. It is a fossil fuel because it is made from tiny sea animals. These animals over 200-400 million years turn into this fossil fuel and produce natural gas main ingrediant which is methane gas. That is the reason for the smell of rotten eggs. About 2,500 years ago the Chinese found that it could be put to use. Natural gas was first used in America to illuminate the street of Baltimore in 1816. Today natural gas accounts for about a quarter of the energy we use.

8b: Posted on two classmates posts.

Journal #7

Journal #7
7a: The four sources I found was google which I rated a 4. The Auroria Library was another source I found which I gave a 3. The other was a book from the Metro State Library which was called Natural Gas Fields in Wyoming I gave it a 1. It was a government document. The fourth source was In Suggest. I could not get the site running so I gave it a 0.
7b: I gave Steven and Sally suggestions for their topics I hope it they went through.

Journal #6
6a:I researched my topic on google. I decided to go general to see what I could come up with. I found thousands of hits on the topic but then I made it more of a specialized search I came up with hundreds of hits. The keywords I used were Natural Gas Fields in Western Colorado the Rise and Decline over several years. The date of the search was 3/2/2010. I would give it a 4 on how much I found and the information was quite recent. But I would still like to try to look up more sites that you suggested.
6b: I looked up under the Auroria Library search site. I found all kinds of good articles on my topic. Although they were a couple of years old the research and information. The date of the search was on 3/3/2010. I had also a couple of hundred hits. On the scale I would give it a 3. Good information but not recent enough, but still I can use it.
6c: What I plan on doing is interviewing Don Littleton he is a Landman in the state of Colorado. Getting the legitimate information from him to start a basis on paper. Then if I can set up a quick interview with Josh Penry and find out what the future is with drilling for natural gas in the future. Then doing more research on what the sites that the instructor has given the class.

Journal Assingnment #5

JA 5a: I got a book from the aurioria libarary. I could not find any books on Natural Gas Fields in Colorado this one was in Wyoming. The name is Petroleum And Natural-Gas Fields In Wyoming. It was written by Ralph H. Espach and H. Dale Nichols. It was from the University of Wyoming. There were some maps but the book did not really give me that great of information on my topic. The internet would probably be my best resource. The only thing that it did offer was a good general idea of how the gas fields work. The place it was printed was in Washington in 1941. It was also a government document. The book just mainly went over where they were going to drill in Wyoming it is a little out dated but that was all I could really find in the Libarary.


JA 5b: Arrandale T (1981) Western Oil Boom, In Editorial research reports 1981 Washington CQ press. This was better than the book I checked out from the libarary. It had such things like the time line of the natural gas industry in America. I think it would be a good idea to incorporate that into my research paper and maybe use charts and graphs in certain areas and compare it to Western, CO.

JA 5c: I could not really find any articles on my topic, I did not have access to the Daily Sentinal. The Mesa Libarary might be a better place to look. Which I will look more into as I get further into my research.

Journal Assignment #4 Eng. 1020

I finally came up with a title for my reseach paper. The title is going to be "The Decline of Driling In Western Colorado." I took out a bunch of words by using the FOREST LOG scheme.

My search strings for this week I uses on the Auroria libarary.

-Natural Gas history in Western, CO

-The future of Drilling in Western, CO beyond 2008

#4c I commented on the pine beetle infestation and how it was a good research subject. You can actually see the effects the pine beetles have done to the pines from I-70. I think the scientist are coming up with something where there is a dead tree scent to drive the beetles away. It could cause severe effects on the environment if they are not driven out. Like mudslides which would destroy plant life and animal life. Then the cycle just keeps going and going.

I also commented on trash in the oceans. I added that you might also want to mention that most of the pollution comes from the rivers. Like the river in Ohio in the 80's and how there was so much pollution that it caught fire. I also like this topic because there is probably a lot of research on it to find.

Journal #3

1. Journal #3

I think the best way to explain my research for this topic is narrow down it to a plan. To as who and where I'm going to interview and what articles, and facts I'm going to find out during my research. My motivation for doing this writing assignment is that I'm really curious of why natural gas companies really move away from the region for which is drilling and doing really well from. Then I'm focusing on one town in particular; Grand Junction, CO. This is what affects my understanding for my research, is it politics that come into play? Is it the gas rights? Could it be wildlife and more of an environmental issue? Could there be other things that come into play like new fuel alternatives?
What has happened in the past is Grand Junction had really good gas pockets, and I think they still do. But way back in the 1980's the same thing happened as it did now. The present is that there is still drilling but it has declined dramatically by at least 65 to 70 percent in the past year and a half. The future is I think it all comes down to cost effectiveness and how deep the gas pockets really are. Politics such as state may have a little to do with it, but I predict with my research that it will come down to.

Journal Assignment #2

I'm going to explore the reasons why the natural gas fields of the Western Slope of Colorado began diminishing in 2009. Some explanations maybe the downfall of the economy, recent tax increases, or political struggles. I'm going to consult many experts on the subject including state senate minority leader Josh Penry. Some of the people and organizations I'm going to consult with is Colorado Oil and Gas Association, Tisha Conoly Schuller, president of Colorado oil gas associaton. I'm also going also consult with Don Littleton he is the Landman specializing in negotation business and legal agreement for minerals, and also the energy policy act of 2005.

My hope is to gather research from a variety of business, economic, legal, and political resources.
I lived in Grand Junction, CO for 19 years, and I saw the positive effects on the economy. I did see the negative effects also while I worked out there. Such as meth use, and some negative effects on the environment. But the environment will be back to the way it once was in a few years compared to how much natural gas was coming out of the town. There were laws in putting the natural environment the way it once was before drilling. Like on March 5th 2009 when 300 employees got laid off just that day. So it leaves a feeling of like it was in the 80's.

So concluding what is to blame in the recent deflation? If the economy in this country is struggling then why not drill and create more jobs. If it is about the environment then why is that not said in all the news articles? These are the questions and issues I intend to research and find out. And hopefully in the end draw some kind of conclusion, and maybe determine that I might be wrong and there could be serious reasons for drilling.

Journal #1

A few ideas that I have for my research paper is:

-Will the natural gas boom come back to the Western Slope of Colorado

-Environmental concerns such as global warming and the unusual cool winter in 2009-2010

-The new majiuana laws in Colorado how will the federal laws intervine with state laws

-The reason why 2009-2010 Toyota is having a recall on their automobiles, and why it is replaced w/ GM automobiles and a $1000 rebate

-Security in U.S. airports pros and cons