Post by Fire21 on Jan 22, 2016 12:09:01 GMT -5
Everyone is enjoying these low gasoline and diesel prices...except those who work in the energy industries. Yes, we're saving money every time we fill up...but those in the energy industries are losing money daily because of reduced work for them.
Here in NE Wyoming, the economy is really in a down turn because of the "war on energy". Coal and oil production are way down, coal because of the restrictions placed by the administration and the current low price of natural gas; and oil because of the global glut of the stuff. Natural gas work is also slowed because of so much automation of the processes these days.
If I worked in any of the energy industries (thank God I don't!), I would be upset and worried about my future. If I was young, I would be looking for another career path. And here's the kicker...because of that kind of thinking, some years from now when the industry recovers, there will then be a shortage of skilled workers to fill the open slots. In the case of oil field exploration especially, which is a dangerous occupation to begin with, there will be unskilled laborers who will not know the safety measures, so injuries and deaths will rise for a while until skills are learned.
We're told by the administration and the media that our economy is doing great. Not where I live! Not in oil-land North Dakota or coal-land Kentucky and West Virginia. Families who were better off are suddenly struggling daily to get by. And things look even more bleak in the near future for them.
Tying into my previous post on climate change, I don't question whether mankind has had an impact on the environment and climate. I merely question how much, especially regarding the weather. Man's records of climate go back extremely little on the clock of history, so we know very little what things were like 10,000 years ago, or 100,000. Maybe what we're seeing is just another earthly cycle. Maybe our excitement over climate change and energy's impacts are misguided.
I don't have any answers, just questions. But one thing's for sure, for now there are a lot of people suffering and worrying about their livelihoods, which even a year ago seemed pretty secure. And things appear that they will get worse before they get better. Whomever becomes our new President, I sure hope they have an economic and energy plan that will help us all, and not just a few.
Here in NE Wyoming, the economy is really in a down turn because of the "war on energy". Coal and oil production are way down, coal because of the restrictions placed by the administration and the current low price of natural gas; and oil because of the global glut of the stuff. Natural gas work is also slowed because of so much automation of the processes these days.
If I worked in any of the energy industries (thank God I don't!), I would be upset and worried about my future. If I was young, I would be looking for another career path. And here's the kicker...because of that kind of thinking, some years from now when the industry recovers, there will then be a shortage of skilled workers to fill the open slots. In the case of oil field exploration especially, which is a dangerous occupation to begin with, there will be unskilled laborers who will not know the safety measures, so injuries and deaths will rise for a while until skills are learned.
We're told by the administration and the media that our economy is doing great. Not where I live! Not in oil-land North Dakota or coal-land Kentucky and West Virginia. Families who were better off are suddenly struggling daily to get by. And things look even more bleak in the near future for them.
Tying into my previous post on climate change, I don't question whether mankind has had an impact on the environment and climate. I merely question how much, especially regarding the weather. Man's records of climate go back extremely little on the clock of history, so we know very little what things were like 10,000 years ago, or 100,000. Maybe what we're seeing is just another earthly cycle. Maybe our excitement over climate change and energy's impacts are misguided.
I don't have any answers, just questions. But one thing's for sure, for now there are a lot of people suffering and worrying about their livelihoods, which even a year ago seemed pretty secure. And things appear that they will get worse before they get better. Whomever becomes our new President, I sure hope they have an economic and energy plan that will help us all, and not just a few.