Hydraulic Fracture Drilling-Part 7

Increased Seismicity due to injection wells





Within the central and eastern United States, the number of earthquakes has increased dramatically over the past few years. Between the years 1973–2008, there was an average of 21 earthquakes of magnitude three and larger in the central and eastern United States. This rate jumped to an average of 99 M3+ earthquakes per year in 2009–2013, and the rate continues to rise. In 2014, alone, there were 659 M3 and larger earthquakes . Most of these earthquakes are in the magnitude 3–4 range, large enough to have been felt by many people, yet small enough to rarely cause damage. There were reports of damage from some of the larger events, including the M5.6 Prague, Oklahoma earthquake and the M5.3 Trinidad, Colorado earthquake.
This increase in earthquakes prompts two important questions:

• Are they natural, or man-made?
• What should be done in the future as we address the causes and consequences of these events to reduce associated risks?

Preliminary Findings

Cumulative number of earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.0 or larger in the central and eastern United States, 1970–2014. The dashed line corresponds to the long-term rate of 29 earthquakes per year, with an increase in the rate of earthquakes starting around 2009.

A team of USGS scientists led by Bill Ellsworth analyzed changes in the rate of earthquake occurrence using large USGS databases of earthquakes recorded since 1970. The increase in seismicity has been found to coincide with the injection of wastewater in deep disposal wells in several locations, including Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Ohio. Much of this wastewater is a byproduct of oil and gas production and is routinely disposed of by injection into wells specifically designed and approved for this purpose.
Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking,” does not appear to be linked to the increased rate of magnitude 3 and larger earthquakes.
Although wastewater injection has not yet been linked to large earthquakes (M6+), scientists cannot eliminate the possibility. It does appear that wastewater disposal induced the M5.3 Raton Basin, Colorado earthquake in 2011 as well as the M5.6 quake that struck Prague, Oklahoma in 2011, leading to a few injuries and damage to more than a dozen homes.

Hydraulic Fracture Drilling-Part 6

Major Federal Fracking Legislation Introduced -- Return of the FRAC

Posted by Maggie Clarke on March 16, 2011

Yesterday, the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act was re-introduced in both the House and Senate.  The House bill (H.R. 1084) was introduced by Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), and Jared Polis (D-CO) and has 31 co-sponsors to date.  Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) introduced the companion Senate bill (S. 587), with Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) as original co-sponsors.  Congresswoman DeGette and Senator Casey were the lead sponsors of the FRAC Act in the previous Congress.

The legislation would repeal the current exemption for hydraulic fracturing under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).  The Energy Policy Act of 2005 amended the SDWA to preclude EPA from regulating the underground injection of fluids (other than diesel fuel) for hydraulic fracturing purposes.  In repealing the exemption, the FRAC Act would require disclosure of the chemical constituents used in the fracking process, but not the proprietary chemical formula (an emergency provision is included requiring disclosure of the proprietary chemical formula if the information is needed for the provision of medical treatment).  Under both bills, disclosure would be to the State regulatory agencies (or to EPA, if EPA has primary enforcement responsibility in the State) and the chemical additives would be made publicly-available online.

Senator Casey introduced two other drilling-related bills on Tuesday, commenting, "[n]atural gas drilling offers Pennsylvania tremendous economic opportunities if we do it right."  Senator Casey's S. 589, the Faster Action Safety Team Emergency Response (FASTER) Act authorizes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to draft regulations to strengthen emergency response procedures at oil and gas wells.  S. 588, the Marcellus Shale On-the-Job Training Act, authorizes grants to strengthen on-site training programs for the natural gas drilling and production industry to "ensure the jobs are going to Pennsylvanians."

Overview: H.R.1084 
 

Sponsor:	Rep. DeGette, Diana [D-CO-1] (Introduced 03/15/2011)
Cosponsors:	73
Latest Action:	03/21/2011 Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy.
Major Recorded Votes:	There are no Roll Call votes for this bill

Hydraulic Fracture Drilling-Part 5

Halliburton and Cheney: An Undeniable Connection

Former vice president Dick Cheney was never very popular with the people. This was proven even more evident from a poll conducted right before Cheney’s retirement, which put the former VP’s approval rate at an all time low, at just 13%.

There have been very few political figures who have been so continuously loathed throughout their career. For anyone who slept through the heart of the Iraq war or spent an entire decade with a slow internet connection, here’s a reminder of just why Dick Cheney is such a despised figure.

What is Halliburton?  Halliburton is the worlds single largest oilfield service company currently operating in over 80 different countries. The company itself was created in 1919 but wasn’t named the Halliburton Company until 1961. In the early 1990’s Dick Cheney served as the Pentagons defense secretary until 1995, when he became CEO of Halliburton.

Halliburton absorbed Dresser Industries in 1998. At the time, Dresser Industries was under the control of Prescott Bush. Even George H.W. Bush worked under Dresser Industries for several years until he founded the Zapata Corporation, which is also an oil company. And for anyone who needs reminding of how malevolent Prescott Bush can be, he was accused of doing finances for Nazi’s in New York City just after the end of the second world war. So all of this tells us two things: The Cheney and the Bush family really loved oil, and the only thing that could make their oil empire larger and more profitable would be: Access to more oil. 

Hydraulic Fracture Drilling-Part 4

Public debate

 

Poster against fracking in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, October 2012

Politics and public policy

To control the hydraulic fracturing industry, some governments are developing legislation and some municipalities are developing local zoning limitations. In 2011, France became the first nation to ban hydraulic fracturing. Some other countries have placed a temporary moratorium on the practice. The US has the longest history with hydraulic fracturing, so its approach to hydraulic fracturing may be modeled by other countries.

The considerable opposition against hydraulic fracturing activities in local townships has led companies to adopt a variety of public relations measures to assuage fears about hydraulic fracturing, including the admitted use of "mil­i­tary tac­tics to counter drilling oppo­nents". At a conference where public relations measures were discussed, a senior executive at Anadarko Petroleum was recorded on tape saying, "Download the US Army / Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual, because we are dealing with an insurgency", while referring to hydraulic fracturing opponents. Matt Pitzarella, spokesman for Range Resources also told other conference attendees that Range employed psychological warfare operations veterans. According to Pitzarella, the experience learned in the Middle East has been valuable to Range Resources in Pennsylvania, when dealing with emotionally charged township meetings and advising townships on zoning and local ordinances dealing with hydraulic fracturing.

Police officers have recently been forced, however, to deal with intentionally disruptive and even potentially violent opposition to oil and gas development. In March 2013, ten people were arrested  during an "anti-fracking protest" near New Matamoras, Ohio, after they illegally entered a development zone and latched themselves to drilling equipment. In northwest Pennsylvania, there was a drive-by shooting at a well site, in which an individual shot two rounds of a small-caliber rifle in the direction of a drilling rig, just before shouting profanities at the site and fleeing the scene. And in Washington County, Pa., a contractor working on a gas pipeline found a pipe bomb that had been placed where a pipeline was to be constructed, which local authorities said would have caused a “catastrophe” had they not discovered and detonated it.

Hydraulic Fracture Drilling-Part 3

Water Consumption

The large volumes of water required have raised concerns about hydraulic fracturing in arid areas, such as Karoo in South Africa and drought prone areas of North America. During periods of low stream flow it may affect water supplies for municipalities and industries such as power generation, as well as recreation and aquatic life. It may also require water overland piping from distant sources.

Hydraulic fracturing uses between 1.2 and 3.5 million US gallons (4.5 and 13 Ml) of water per well, with large projects using up to 5 million US gallons (19 Ml). Additional water is used when wells are refractured. An average well requires 3 to 8 million US gallons (11,000 to 30,000 m³) of water over its lifetime. Using the case of the Marcellus Shale as an example, as of 2008 hydraulic fracturing accounted for 650 million US gallons per year (2,500,000 m³/a) or less than 0.8% of annual water use in the area overlying the Marcellus Shale. The annual number of well permits, however, increased by a factor of five and the number of well starts increased by a factor of over 17 from 2008 to 2011. According to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, greater volumes of fracturing fluids are required in Europe, where the shale depths average 1.5 times greater than in the U.S. To minimize water consumption, recycling is one possible option. In the Spring of 2013, new hydraulic fracturing water recycling rules were adopted in the state of Texas by the Railroad Commission of Texas. The Water Recycling Rules are intended to encourage Texas hydraulic fracturing operators to conserve water used in the hydraulic fracturing process for oil and gas wells. Another possible option is to use carbon dioxide instead of water.

Hydraulic Fracture Drilling-Part 2

Fracturing fluids

Water tanks preparing 

for a frac job

Note detailed list of fluids used in fracking below.

High-pressure fracture fluid is injected into the wellbore, with the pressure above the fracture gradient of the rock. The two main purposes of fracturing fluid is to extend fractures, add lubrication, change gel strength and to carry proppant into the formation, the purpose of which is to stay there without damaging the formation or production of the well. Two methods of transporting the proppant in the fluid are used – high-rate and high-viscosity. High-viscosity fracturing tends to cause large dominant fractures, while high-rate (slickwater) fracturing causes small spread-out micro-fractures.


This fracture fluid contains water-soluble gelling agents (such as guar gum) which increase viscosity and efficiently deliver the proppant into the formation.

Process of mixing water with

fracking fluids to be injected into

the ground

The fluid injected into the rock is typically a slurry of water, proppants, and chemical additives. Additionally, gels, foams, and compressed gases, including nitrogen, carbon dioxide and air can be injected. Typically, of the fracturing fluid 90% is water and 9.5% is sand with the chemical additives accounting to about 0.5%. However, fracturing fluids have been developed in which the use of water has been made unnecessary, using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and propane.

A proppant is a material that will keep an induced hydraulic fracture open, during or following a fracturing treatment, and can be gel, foam, or slickwater-based. Fluids make tradeoffs in such material properties as viscosity, where more viscous fluids can carry more concentrated proppant; the energy or pressure demands to maintain a certain flux pump rate (flow velocity) that will conduct the proppant appropriately; pH, various rheological factors, among others. Types of proppant include silica sand, resin-coated sand, and man-made ceramics. These vary depending on the type of permeability or grain strength needed. The most commonly used proppant is silica sand, though proppants of uniform size and shape, such as a ceramic proppant, is believed to be more effective. Due to a higher porosity within the fracture, a greater amount of oil and natural gas is liberated.

The fracturing fluid varies in composition depending on the type of fracturing used, the conditions of the specific well being fractured, and the water characteristics. A typical fracture treatment uses between 3 and 12 additive chemicals. Although there may be unconventional fracturing fluids, the more typically used chemical additives can include one or more of the following:

• Acids—hydrochloric acid (usually 5%-28%), or acetic acid is used in the pre-fracturing stage for cleaning the perforations and initiating fissure in the near-wellbore rock.
• Sodium chloride (salt)—delays breakdown of the gel polymer chains.
• Polyacrylamide and other friction reducers—minimizes the friction between fluid and pipe, thus allowing the pumps to pump at a higher rate without having greater pressure on the surface.
• Ethylene glycol—prevents formation of scale deposits in the pipe.
• Borate salts—used for maintaining fluid viscosity during the temperature increase.
• Sodium and potassium carbonates—used for maintaining effectiveness of crosslinkers.
• Glutaraldehyde—used as disinfectant of the water (bacteria elimination).
• Guar gum and other water-soluble gelling agents—increases viscosity of the fracturing fluid to deliver more efficiently the proppant into the formation.
• Citric acid—used for corrosion prevention.
• Isopropanol—increases the viscosity of the fracture fluid.

Hydraulic Fracture Drilling-Part 1

The "Fracking" of America

 

The process of "fracking," a natural gas well

Typical Well site

 

Typical distribution of individual well sites within several square mile area

 

Well density in Weld County, Colorado

 

 

Well density distribution in the United States

This is an enormous issue! 

Part 3-Dominion

 

When God Shows Up


If you are at the right place, with the right information, with the right heart to practice exercising God's dominion, there will be evidence of supernatural activity. God wants you to succeed! This is especially true when you have some ancestral connection to what is being prayed over through the authority of dominion. You can at times feel you are being "possessed," by something other than what is a normal life's experience. This is not something to fear, but it should always be coached with seasoned intercessors.  When you attempt to engage strategic intercession at any level (See Dominion part 2) work together as a team. Representational anointing is the Holy Spirit allowing you to truly see, hear and feel the issue before you. It may feel like "channeling" but this is a Holy Spirit experience not a new age phenomenon. To represent something beyond superficial religious attitudes God will allow you to participate in perhaps a startling real way. However, when the issue is dropped at the feet of the cross, then your part is finished. We do not "carry" issues longer than it takes to bring reconciliation and repentance before the throne of Grace.


I have seen real "fire works" on the 250 strategic assignments I have participated in. God always shows up when we do! The Spirit will facilitate the presence of God as issues are resolved before the Father. Dominion is a tangible experience.  It is undeniable fact. When there aren't fireworks then I back up and examine what we are doing as a team. God wants desperately to reconcile our past.

Worldly sorrow is a experience similar to travail. It is a deep feeling of regret that allow us to truly bring our hearts to the table. However, worldly sorrow can have some hooks for the untrained initiative. Once we deliver the issue to the cross, our job is finished. If there is some lingering feelings of sadness, sorrow or regret among any of participants, the team should immediately take steps to pray over the team member. We never leave our wounded behind on any prayer battlefield.

Part 2-Dominion

Understanding the Kingdom

Matthew 24:14 -Signs of Christ's Return- And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come. Lets take a minute and discuss the "Kingdom gospel," verse the other messages being preached. The best analogy I can think of is the simple use of something we see every day. Our highways are full of billboards. The "salvation gospel," billboard asks a question if you were to die tomorrow where would you go. The "kingdom gospel" billboard would ask the same question from a different perspective. The Kingdom Gospel would ask if you live tomorrow who will you serve? Each billboard represents two very different approaches to Christianity. Some promote that being saved is the primary focus from a purely selfish motive. While the other promotes a living, vibrant relationship with a God who loves us. This kind of "now" relationship has the added benefit of eternal Salvation.
 
Do you know the role of the kingdom? Have we allowed the convenient theologies of man to override our understand what the kingdom message is all about. In the Kingdom gospel, we focus not just on one personality of God while ignoring the others. Jesus is the door through we each know a relationship with our heavenly Father. Having opened this door to salvation, in walks the person of God to dwell within us through the Holy Spirit. Missing any one side of the trinity means our lives are being only partially fulfilled.  Only when we worship the God head as one can we know the meaning of the kingdom gospel. Salvation is not just a destination but a reconciliation of immense proportions.

We here in America have a not so subtle god of independence. This god promotes itself by demanding we having a "vote" in everything that goes on. The startling news is that heaven is not a republic nor a democracy. God is a benevolent King who listens to each of us but ultimately has the final say in all that happens. In other words we don't get a vote in what heaven does or doesn't do. I have for one renounced my spiritual "declaration of independence." While the real one helped give birth to a nation, it can also create within us a "independent," spirit that is not healthy. To some degree we need to "re-monarch" ourselves by declaring we indeed have a King.

Part 1-Dominion

 

 

 

Exercising Kingdom Authority on Earth as it is in Heaven

 

Psalms 98:7-8  Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord
 
This study assumes a working knowledge of basic intercessory skills. These skills include understanding terms like lay lines, spiritual mapping, prophetic intercession, and gifts of the spirit. Anyone who is not generally free from institutional mindsets will probably find this teaching hard to follow.
 
This is not a basic course in prayer. This level of intercession is most always a team effort. By joining together with others there is a amplification of prayer that overcomes even the most stubborn obstacles.   
 
For the purposes of this study, I will be using the New American Standard translation of the Bible. In particular, the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible published by AMG Publishers in Chattanooga, Tennessee

Suggested reading list:

Twilight Labyrinth, Otis
Informed Intercession, Otis 
Living in the Supernatural, Goll
The lifestyle of the Prophet, Goll
Prophetic Intercession, Goll
Possessing the Gates of the Enemy, Jacobs
Shaking the Heavens, Mendez
Rees Howells Intercessor, Grubb
Dutch Sheets Intercessor, Sheets
Releasing Heaven on Earth, Petrie
Can you Feel the Mountains Tremble?, Suuqiina
One Church Many Tribes, Twiss
Waiting on God, Murray
Healing the Land, Pratney
Redemptive Gifts of Cities, Burk

Wise Council-Before its to late....

Infrastructure Building programs-Boom or Bust?

Many people believe they are positioned to initiate major building projects as part of either a Private Placement program or some kind of public exchange of foreign currency. There are indeed a lot of great ideas floating around various sources, but most of the people involved have never worked with an architect, selected a contractor or ever been involved in the decision making required with such efforts. This lack of experience all but guarantees difficulties on multiple levels. 

To begin with keep in mind that what ever you build you have to maintain, staff and pay all the operational bills including utility costs. That means that you have to “endow” its operations or be saddled with fund raising efforts for ever. As much as 75% of your money needs to be set aside for investments that yield 5-10% safely. You need to have a handle on this before you ever attempt to build anything. Other wise you find yourself in bankruptcy even if you successfully run the design/construction gauntlet. You have to develop your endowment plans as you design your infrastructure project. Otherwise it simply will not work. 

The Disturbing Truth

 

“And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?"

 

 Let me begin by stating clearly that this article is not a condemnation of the church as it exists today.  After all there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ.  However it is my fear that many confuse convection with condemnation.  God convicts us of sin while he never condemns us.  Convection at times can feel a lot like condemnation.  However with condemnation there is no recourse with convection there is always an open door for both change and forgiveness.  Let's proceed further not out of condemnation but convection. 

By this time most of us have seen Fiddler On The Roof, and will remember how Tevye, the leading character, opens with the song, Tradition! The whole Jewish community was built upon and governed by the long-standing, unbreakable traditions of the past. The unspoken thesis of that play and movie is the way these traditions were being challenged by the unrest and uprootings of the day, and that to have tradition violated causes grief and hardship to many. This is suggestive of the scene we will view today in Mark's Gospel, as Mark brings before us the stark contrast between the ministry of Jesus, who is reaching out in healing love to men and women all over the region, and the hindering work of the scribes and the Pharisees, who attempt, armed with tradition, to halt that ministry of love.

Thomas Dickson, one of the great preachers of the last century, once said, "Tradition was the most constant, the most persistent, the most dogged, the most utterly devilish opposition the Master encountered. It openly attacked him on every hand, and silently repulsed his teaching.

Part 3- Cane Ridge Revival: The Scot-Irish Phenomenon

Following the demise of the Bangor Abby, the Scot-Irish remained passionate about their primary Presbyterian faith. Their continued quest for freedom lead to many conflicts including their support of King William III who offered some measure of independence apart from the Church of England. Keep in mind that the Church of England was formed by King Henry VIII because the Catholic Church refused to grant him an annulment to a marriage that failed to produce a male air to his throne. When the Pope refused, Henry VIII decided to form his own church so that he could find another wife.

Presbyterian history is part of the history of Christianity, but the beginning of Presbyterianism as a distinct movement occurred during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. As the Catholic Church resisted the reformers, the Church split and different theological movements bore different denominations.

Presbyterianism was especially influenced by the French theologian John Calvin, who is credited with the development of Reformed theology, and the work of John Knox, a Scotsman who studied with Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland and brought his teachings back to Scotland. The Presbyterian church traces its ancestry back primarily to England and Scotland. In August 1560 the Parliament of Scotland adopted the Scots Confession as the creed of the Scottish Kingdom. In December 1560, the First Book of Discipline was published, outlining important doctrinal issues but also establishing regulations for church government, including the creation of ten ecclesiastical districts with appointed superintendents which later became known as presbyteries. In time, the Scots Confession would be supplanted by the Westminster Confession of Faith, and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, which were formulated by the Westminster Assembly between 1643 and 1649.

Part 2- The Antiphonary of Bangor: The Scot-Irish Birthright of Peace

Our call to Ireland started in the Spring of 2001. We had no specific direction other than our trip was to begin in the fall. It was not until several months later that we first heard others were headed overseas as well. Over the subsequent months the details of our journey became more evident. There is a huge connection to Tennessee through the Scot-Irish. Our "Hillbilly," roots were enormous history shapers.   As a result, our focus would be in Ireland and Scotland. Many of our team have this heritage in our families. One of the most important stops of our trip was going to be the Abbey at Bangor, Ireland.
  
There is a legend told of St Patrick that he and his companions came one day to a certain valley to rest. Suddenly "they beheld the valley filled with a heavenly light and with a multitude of the host of heaven they heard, as chanted forth from the voice of angels, the psalmody of the celestial choir".They named the place "Vallis Angelorum" – the Valley of the Angels. In the process of time there was built in this valley a holy place – called Bangor.

Prior to leaving on our trip to Ireland a friend, Linda Folmer, had notified us that the only publicly accessible copy of the Antiphonary of Bangor was located at a University some 60 miles from our home. Our first question to Linda was “What is an Antiphonary?” She explained that the Antiphonary is a collection of the liturgical prayers from the Abbey of Bangor. The Abbey at Bangor was founded in 538 A.D. It was from Bangor that the Celtic Church and Christianity as a whole flourished in the dark ages. We knew immediately that these prayers from the Abbey would play a significant part in our journey.

Part 1- Giving Birth to a Nation: The Scot-Irish Flame of Freedom

The issue of slavery in the United States predates its conquest by Europeans as the result of the "Discovery," of America. It is a well documented fact that wars between tribal groups resulted in captives being made slaves of the victors. Slavery is not limited to stereotypical racial boundaries.

English nobility considered the Irish little more than white, good for nothing ignorant slaves. Although not bartered, they were treated as slaves by the landed gentry. Prejudice among people groups has always been founded in dehumanizing those of lower class standing. The English press portrayed the Irish as barefoot, ignorant, monkey like people unworthy of the rights of those of more noble blood.

The term Scotch-Irish is first known to have been used to refer to people living in Northeastern Ireland. In a letter of April 14, 1573, in reference to Ulster, Elizabeth I of England stated, "We are given to understand that a nobleman named 'Sorley Boy' [MacDonnel] and others, who be of the Scotch-Irish race”. This term continued in usage for over a century before the earliest known American reference appeared in a Maryland affidavit in 1689/90.

The Life of Nan-ye-hi

The life of Nan-ye-hi (Nancy Ward) 

Ghighau (Beloved Woman) of the Ani-Yunwiya (Principal People)

A fresh wind is blowing across many cultures. Across racial, religious and political lines the truth is being exposed. This exposure is showing many of us ways in which we have rewritten history out of convenience. Starting down this path of the revelation of our in humanity we encounter many paradigms. Paradigms for whatever reason, we may have chosen to ignore. Comfort in America is being displaced with a kind of holy unrest. It is in this place of holy unrest that we begin to collide with realities which are uncomfortable to look directly in the eye.

Whether or not we like to admit it, the cultures that most dramatically shaped our nation as we know it were those of the Greeks and Romans. Even in this modern era, their societies continue to influence government structures, health care delivery systems, educational institutions and perhaps most importantly, religious structures in America. It is the third century Roman church that is responsible for when we worship, where we worship, how we worship and with whom we worship. It is said that Christian faith conquered Rome and then Rome conquered Christianity. It is out of a conquering mindset that most people view American history. Perhaps a more inclusive way of viewing America is from something beyond the convenient lens of July 4,1776. Could it be that we should view the United States from a minority status as well as seeing the vast accomplishments that we now enjoy?

Over the millennia, European societies developed along the lines of artificially supported living environments. I use the phrase “artificially supported living environments” to describe a community that has to go outside the bounds of its territory for the basics of health and welfare. These societies exploited environmental conditions for the purpose of gaining greater wealth and opulence. Wealth represented power and power, in turn, controls.

During this same time period, Native American societies lived in cooperation with their environment. This contrasts the ideals of exploitation versus stewardship. When Europeans arrived on the North American continent, they found a pristine environment with little impact from thousands of years of human habitation. European societies had a need for industrial revolution where Native Americans did not. Native America would never have found need for such endeavors since their society was empowered by the land in which they dwelled. Having been left to their own devices, Native American culture more than likely, would have continued on its path of environmental harmony. First nations people did not have philosophies or religious basics toward a concept of taking more from the land than they needed. Wealth and status achieved thru exploitation of the land was contrary to the fabric of their society. It is out of thousands of years of stewardship that we examine the life of one Native American we know as Nancy Ward.

The God particle

In the beginning 

Since the dawn of time, mankind has always looked for ways to understand and describe the universe around him. Science and physics have been fields of study through which we have sought language to describe the natural world.

In the early 1900's the scientific community discovered the atom. The atom consisted of three basic elements. These elements were photons, electrons and neutrons.  We understood that this basic building block was foundational to all molecular structures. By the 1960's physicists had discovered dozens of sub atomic particles but lacked the language of a unifying theory.

In the 1970's physicists developed what is called the "Standard Model." It is the Standard Model that has been used to bring order to mathematical explanations of the known universe. Central to the Standard Model is a particle that was theorized to be the key to all mater. First put forward by Peter Higgs, it became known as the Higgs particle. This particle is 1000 times smaller than a photon.  Without this central character in the equation of the Standard model, no matter of any kind stays together. It also became known as the "God Particle."

Equity for all

The value of lasting Infrastructure

Lets assume for a moment there is a real God out there in the cosmos. This entity is not the creation of a needy human mind as Sigmund Freud supposes. If such a force exists then it would necessarily be something of vast wisdom. Should this God of ours be relational based, then the vastness of a empty universe would not be a happy place to exist. Let's suppose that He chose to create something out of nothing to find some greater pleasure and meaning. Yet in so doing decided that true fellowship could only exist with a free will to chose to do so. The creation of mankind could have been two fold. First and foremost was to be a companion to the creator and second to be a steward of His creation.

Granting a choice to be a companion carries with it consequences. For the sake of further discussion lets assume that in mankind's process of making these choices that a breach occurred . This breach of mutual trust resulted in foundational shifts in how God and mankind relate to each other. This complicated their relationship profoundly. Something dramatic had to happen if there was ever going to be restoration of the relationship. Someone or something had to bridge the gap.

Which fork in the road are we going to take

To effectively reform the government of the United States will require a multi-front, multi-generational approach. Electing someone new from any party into the existing system will not have any lasting effect one way or the other. Contrary to what may believe, the real decisions about running the country are not made in the voting booth.

The Self-Righteous Finger | Its always someone else's fault.

Man's view of religion has been the source of wars and the needless slaughter of millions of people.  Humanity scorns Hitlers genocide in the concentration camps of Word War II, while justifying the unconstitutional enforcement of the US Indian removal act of 1830 that cost the lives of thousands of native people.  Genocide is given a blind eye if the end justifies the means.

The Red pill or the Blue....

One of the most "prophetic," films that I have seen come out of Hollywood is The Matrix.  In many ways this film is playing out in real time among us.  We truly are the "battery," to the fractional ponzi schemes of the FIAT world of banking.  Many of us have chosen the red pill in taking a stand for the restoration of freedom apart from the debt driven slavery being imposed on humanity.

Looking the truth squarely in the eye is not often a pleasant process.  Especially if part of that honest look involves a mirror at some point.  My first exposure to what I called "Blog Conspiracy Chatter," ended in disbelief.  Many people now prey on the unaware thru the proliferation of nonsense on the web.

Even though any common sense motivated individual would and should have doubts about some of the nonsense, something inside of me was unsettled.  Often times it is this unsettled feeling that causes enough discomfort to start to investigate what might truly be going on. Mixed among the deception may lie some measure of truth.

Basic Monetary Policy- What you don't know can and often will hurt you.

Wealth is a nations most strategic asset

The quickest way to topple a government today is thru collapse of its financial markets. The collapse of the former Soviet Union was economic not militarily. As a result, some of the most secure facilities in the United States involve financial centers. Those who have access to them are scrutinized as thoroughly as an operator of a strategic missile silo containing nuclear war heads. Many of our security assets in the US are allocated to financial security along with its digital transfer base.

Salvaging America's Infrastructure Pt.3 | Approaches to problems from the vantage point of a clean sheet of paper

Back in the 60's the United States government decided that "urban blight," needed to be cleaned up in our inner cities.  The Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD as we know it was promoting massive funding for cities across the US to "clean up," their infrastructure.  In no small measure the problems stem back to the civil war and its social upheavals.  In reality what most people with wealth wanted to do is get the poor into a more palatable package.  They simply looked bad to everyone else.

Architects and Planners across the US began to explore options for what would "be best," for "those people," from their perspective.  The end result was a architectural Vietnam occurring within the inner cities.  The physical design did not take into account the social structures in place causing a kind of genocide to take place.  The architecture itself was the culprit.  No one bothered to involve the end user in the process.  By taking a "low rise," society and placing them in a "high rise," environment they took the existing mentor ship and security away from the community.

Salvaging America's Infrastructure Pt.2 | Powering down our collective lifestyle while empowering our individual freedom

Before you go screaming off in the night thinking there is no hope, lets look at some things we can all do that are at little cost or in some cases no cost to you as a consumer to have a big impact on the future of humanity!. We as individuals can devise plans now to do what government can not do. We can indeed power down our lifestyles and power up our individual freedoms.

Small steps we can each take today that can have huge collective impact on our individual futures and on society as a whole.

• Have a family meeting and make a conscience decision that enough is enough.  Its time for changes and each of us can make a difference.

• Replace all of your incandescent light bulbs with florescent or LED based luminaries

• Keep the lights turned off and install motion sensing switching in some applications.  Energy management systems can help with commercial applications.

• Connect all electronic devices to a power strip.  When you turn off the device then power down the strip.  Many devices continue to use power while in the "off," position.

• Install a programmable thermostat.  Turn down the system at night, when you are at work or away for business or holidays.

• Wrap your hot water heater in a blanket.  Turn down the thermostat on the tank for normal use and switch it off completely when you are away from home.  Take shorter showers while making sure the dish washer and washing machine are "full," before each use.

Salvaging America's Infrastructure Pt.1 | Are we in America the platform for the next third world environment?

Each of these photographs below could be from just about any community within the United States. It looks innocent enough, but let's take a peak into what lies just under the surface.

Observations about our typical infrastructure

• First we note that this kind of suburban environment is designed around an automobile not the people who live in the community. The form giver for this design is the normal turning radius of a car.

• True freedoms are homogenized into the same vanilla wrapping through zoning restrictions. This is our "legalized" way of enforcing economic segregation. In so doing, we neuter individual initiative in favor of more watered down and dumbed down society.

• We note the complete absence of the ability to produce sustainable volume's of food. This community depends on the availability of a grocery store somewhere within driving distance.

• This also means that the food they eat is most likely produced based on industrial techniques that is dependent on factory farms along with their fossil fuel contrivances.

• There is the absence of any educational facilities not associated with transportation dependent on fossil fuels.

• Health care facilities are not located within the communities boundaries. Local treatment centers are absent.

• Note the architecture is devoid of community activity space. Unless you use the sidewalk you are unlikely to be involved with a neighbor as this interaction has been design out of the community. It is by design an isolationist environment.

• More than likely each of these homes is lacking in the basics of energy conservation or alternative energy production in the context of its use. This factor leads the infrastructure to be dependent on large scale energy producers.

• There is no ability to generate or harvest water. Depending on the climate the waste water associated with rain would meet much of the needs of each household.

• Recreational facilities are absent.

• Jobs are found somewhere apart from the community more than likely dependent on several forms of carbon based transportation.

Is George Washington electable as president of the United States

Most patriotic Americans hold the founding fathers in high esteem. Many of us believe that if they could some how be resurrected back into power, they could help us get the nation back on its feet. Unfortunately for us the founding fathers are not electable within the current political system in the United States. Lets take a few minutes and look at a few of the facts.