http://rssbinghamton.com/natural-gas-leases/

A hat-tip of thanks to the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin for information on landowners’ groups (see this page), and to Al Czervic who writes The Catskill Commentator blog for a list of energy companies (see this page).

I concur with Al’s views on this: Keep your powder dry. No need to rush and sign a lease right now. Get plugged in with a group and see how it all develops, then make a decision. Right now the “going rate” seems to be around $2,500 per acre as a one-time fee to explore and drill on your property, and if any natural gas is found and extracted, a 15% royalty of all production. A few years back this happened in Texas–only the prices there shot up to $15,000-$20,000 per acre.

We also need to see how New York State handles the issue of water supply and disposal. Drillers need lots of water to drill, and when the water comes back out of the ground it’s contaminated and needs to be properly disposed of. Having said that, I believe we’ll get this figured out and move forward–so be prepared!

Full disclosure: I do not own a significant amount of land that can be drilled, nor do I own any interest in any of the energy companies. I am merely an interested American citizen observer who hopes we can find and use this home-grown energy source. I’m also a cheerleader for my fellow Greater Binghamtonians–hoping landowners can put some serious money in their pockets. After being taxed near to death for years, they deserve a break!

If you have any recommendations or revisions for the Natural Gas Leases page, please email them to: jim@rssbinghamton.com.

Technorati Tags: Binghamton, Broome County, Central New York, gas leasing, Marcellus Shale Formation, landowners groups, natural gas drilling, energy companies

I don’t agree 100% with everything in the blogs I link to. No two people agree 100% on anything! But I deem them a good read and worthy of your time, which is why I link to them.

One blog that I monitor is called “Right on the Left Coast: Views From a Conservative Teacher”. It’s written by a math teacher in California. His posts are short, to the point, and contain some great truths. I just read one today that I really like: How Generous That Government Is.

Here’s a line from that post that grabbed my attention. I don’t know off-hand, perhaps this is a famous one-liner from some long ago political philosopher. If not, it’s certainly a “new classic” and should be enshrined for all to see:

When government becomes the granter of privileges and not the guarantor of rights, tyranny exists.

That’s one of the best definitions of tyranny I’ve ever read or heard. Thanks Darren, for making me think!

Technorati Tags: conservative blogs, tyranny, political philosophy

1. Printable versions of articles. From time to time when I read blogs and websites, I want to print something out so I could read it over later, or perhaps pass it on to someone else. With blog sites, it’s often difficult to print directly from the regular screen as the categories and others links along the side take up much of the printed page. I’ve added a new feature that allows you to create a printable version of an article without all of the “extra stuff” that runs down the right side of the page. At the top of each article, underneath the title there are a series of links. One of the links is called Printable Version. Just click on that link and a new page appears with the article in a more suitable format for printing. Use your browser’s “print” button and that’s it! Let me know if you find this feature helpful.

2. List of articles. On the right of every page is a list of categories so it’s easy to find an article on a particular topic you may have an interest in. But until today, there has not been an easy way to simply view a list of headlines of all articles. I’ve now added such a feature. At the very top of every page are links to the Home and About pages. Now joining those two is List of Articles. When you click on it, you will see a list of all articles I’ve written on any topic, grouped by month and listed in descending order (from the newest articles to the oldest, for that particular month).

If you have any suggestions or feedback, let me know!

Technorati Tags: blog features, print blog posts, list of blog post headlines

1. New/different categories. You’ll notice the categories on the right sometimes change. Not a lot…but as I write about new topics I have not previously written about, or compile a list of articles (henceforth called “posts”) around a given topic, I change the lineup. For example, this week I’ve dropped a category for Rick Blythe (County Clerk) as the issue I was following for him is thankfully (for now) dead: drivers’ licenses for illegal aliens. The post is still on the site listed under the general category of “Government & Politics”.

I discovered I was writing quite a bit on taxes and the gross misuse of our tax money, so I’ve created a new category called “Taxes & Spending” and have tagged all relevant posts with that category.

By the way, posts can appear in more than one category. The categories are just a quick way of zeroing in on a topic you may have an interest in. Don’t forget you can always do a keyword search in the Search box at the top/right of any page.

2. Recent comments now appear on the right. Blogs are about conversations. They usually start with one person’s viewpoint (mine, in this case), but spread as people leave comments. It is amazingly easy to leave a comment and I want to encourage you to do just that! As you’ll notice when reading the comments on my blog, some agree with me, and some disagree. I have no problem with disagreement. Just keep it polite and civil–that’s all I ask.

Comments, like conversations, can and do get heated sometimes as these are often issues about which people are passionate (or you wouldn’t be reading a blog like this one). You’ll see in the right sidebar the 10 most recent comments, with the newest one at the top. The comments in the list are cut off after 140 characters, so you need to click the Commenter’s name to read the full comment. I have elected to keep my own responses to others out of that list to give you an idea of who else is “talking” on my blog besides me. Comments are one of the biggest pleasures of doing this blog. So please, talk to me–and others! It’s really easy–provide your name (or an alias) along with an email address. The email address is not publicized, and I never use it for spam, so there’s no risk in leaving a few thoughts if you’re so moved.

By the way, in order to read comments left by myself or others for a particular post, click on the Comments link at the top of the post, or click on the title of the post, in order to see the “full post” at its permanent web address. Only then will you see the comments (at the bottom) along with a box where you can leave your own comments.

3. Subscribe to comments for a particular post. When leaving a comment, if you want to see if I or others respond, you can now check a little box underneath the comment box before you hit “Submit” and you will be notified by email when a new comment has been added to that particular post. That way you don’t have to remember to come back and look. This feature makes having a “conversation” online a little easier.

If you have suggestions for new features, or topics you would like to see me write about, send me an email at: jim@rssbinghamton.com. Thanks for reading my blog!

- Jim Willis

There’s much to say about the skulduggery going on in Albany and even locally. So check back for my take on what’s happening.

- Jim

Technorati Tags: Binghamton, Upstate New York, New York State