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Permalink Reply by craig on April 26, 2014 at 12:27pm

Knowing Allegheny County, I'll wager that they will come up with their own standards which will eventually lead to a doomsday scenario from them.

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Permalink Reply by Mark McGrail on April 27, 2014 at 12:50am

Jim,

This is a great point.Studies show that emissions have dropped to 1990s levels nationwide. This is also true of PA. Of course the question is why ? You hit the nail on the head, "Fracing".

After reading that all of the fractivists just spit their morning coffee through their noses.

But it's true.

Over the last twenty years many power plants across the country have converted to natural gas. the reason for the conversion has been the abundance of affordable, clean burning natural gas.

And why have the supplies of natural gas become abundant and affordable? Wait for it fractivists................. FRACKING. Until hydraulic fracturing was combined with horizontal drilling shale development was not economical.

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Permalink Reply by Mark McGrail on April 27, 2014 at 12:54am

Jim,

Once shale development ramps up in Allegheny Co. the fractivists will have an air study done and low and behold they will find air pollution. Then they will claim that the pollution is due to shale development. Of course what they won't tell people is that the air pollution existed prior to shale development. And as you point out that pollution has been there for many years.

I use to live in Coraopolis and I can remember all of the houses having marble window sills. Why ? Because the wooden ones became worn due to the constant wiping to clean off the soot from the steel mills.

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Permalink Reply by Frank Walker on April 27, 2014 at 1:01am

I'd bet my next paycheck Allegheny County fractivists would happily go back to the old air pollution levels if doing so meant cessation of fracking.  These people do not care about air quality half as much as they care about halting fossil fuel use.

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Permalink Reply by Mark McGrail on April 27, 2014 at 1:46am

Frank,

Amen.

I wish more people understood the true agenda of the fractivists, the extreme environmentalists.

Which is: reduction and then the end of fossil fuel use. The increased use of alternatives (which are a pipe dream right now).

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Permalink Reply by Thomas Malcolm Pendergast on April 27, 2014 at 7:50am

Here in Ohio, I note the following three power-generating projects that will use natural gas:

1.  NTE Energy, Middleton, Butler county; 500 MW and $550 million investment

2.  Carroll County Energy; 700 MW and $800 million investment

3.  NRG Energy converting and existing coal-fired plant to a 753 MW plant (near Cleveland)

Then, another power generating plant using natural gas is planned for Moundsville, WV.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Litwinowicz on April 27, 2014 at 3:11pm

There is plant near Bessemer that will be online son.  The old coal plant in West Pittsburgh is being studied for conversion to gas.

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