“Scott Zarrow, a Tulsa attorney who as a member of one of the city’s most prominent oil-industry families not only served as legal counsel for many of its enterprises, but carried on its famous commitment to charity as well, died Sunday in Tulsa.”He was 54. …”A trustee of the Maxine and Jack Zarrow Family Foundation and the Zarrow Families Foundation, Scott Zarrow had also served on the boards of the Tulsa Housing Authority, Hillcrest HealthCare System, the Morningside Foundation and the Mental Health Association.”In his service to Tulsa’s Jewish community, Zarrow was a patron almost without peer.”My first memory of my friend Scott was when I was in 9th grade, in a student council meeting in the junior high cafeteria at Edison. Who was the smart-assed skinny 7th grader in the horn rimmed glasses? Scott stood out of the crowd because he was unafraid to argue a point with older smart-asses, like me.We became friends during my senior year at Edison, through our mutual friend Jeff Levinson. That friendship continued throughout my college years with a circle of friends that included at various times Wyatt Morgan, Steve Glazer and Doug Hott.For all the crazy and stupid things we kids did, these connections did shape my adult life. I’ll never forget the examples of kindness, hospitality and generosity displayed by Jack and Maxine Zarrow and Sil and Harriet Levinson. They might easily have perceived me as a bad influence from the wrong side of the tracks; if in fact they did, they never showed it. Their homes were always open to us, and their pantries always full of Dr. Pepper.We attended each others’ weddings. My favorite story from Scott and Hilary’s wedding was when the U of Texas crowd requested the (predominantly-Italian) orchestra play “The Eyes of Texas”. Everyone on the dance floor waved the “Hook ’em Horns” sign, which as a hand gesture has a totally different meaning in the Italian culture.We grew up, grew our families, and grew apart. The last time I saw Scott was in Tulsa, five years ago just before Jeff’s death.  We shared a few drinks (probably diet Dr. Pepper this time) and tried to remember the old stories as best we could.The boundless generosity of the remarkable Zarrow family has been a true blessing upon the City of Tulsa, and it is a legacy that will outlive all of us.Good bye, old friend.P.S. Somewhere among Scott’s personal effects someone may find an old cigar box. Inside are some 1970s-vintage Radio Shack switches and other electronic gizmos, crudely connected by amateur wiring. If you find it, don’t ask what it was used for. I’m sworn to secrecy.

http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2012/12/marcellus-shale-most-productive-gas-field-in-2012.html?cmpid=EnlWeeklyPetroDecember282012

Marcellus Shale most productive gas field in 2012

December 27, 2012
By PennEnergy Editorial Staff

“A recent report said the Marcellus could contain as much as nearly half of all current proven natural gas reserves in the United States. The high production of domestic gas coming from the development is helping to lower natural gas prices across the nation.

“The use of hydraulic fracturing has increased gas exploration in the Marcellus, but states have also created legislation that places tougher restrictions on the process of injecting water, sand and hazardous chemicals down a gas well. For example, in Pennsylvania, developers now have to pay an impact fee and adhere to tougher state safety standards regarding fracking, the AP reported.

“However, others say fracturing has made it possible for developers to increase domestic gas supplies, lowering prices across the nation.”

From The New York Times:

E.P.A. Chief to Step Down, With Climate Still Low Priority

http://nyti.ms/RjZUBd
“Lisa P. Jackson is stepping down as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency after a four-year tenure that began with high hopes of sweeping action to address climate change and other environmental ills but ended with a series of rear-guard actions to defend the agency against challenges from industry, Republicans in Congress and, at times, the Obama White House. …
“Ms. Jackson’s departure comes as many in the environmental movement are questioning Mr. Obama’s commitment to dealing with climate change and other environmental problems. After his re-election, and a campaign in which global warming was barely mentioned by either candidate, Mr. Obama said that his first priority would be jobs and the economy and that he intended only to foster a “conversation” on climate change in the coming months.
“That ambivalence is a far cry from the hopes that accompanied his early months in office, when he identified climate change as one of humanity’s defining challenges. Mr. Obama put the White House’s full lobbying power behind a House cap-and-trade bill that would have limited climate-altering emissions and brought profound changes in how the nation produces and consumes energy.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/us/26montana.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&hp&pagewanted=all&pagewanted=print

In the oilfield, a high school graduate can earn $40k+ while learning a trade and paying taxes. In college, many would spend (borrow) $40k/yr, learn no marketable skills and end up being a drag on the economy. Or join Occupy Wall Street.

Pay in Oil Fields, Not College, Is Luring Youths in Montana [“The horror!” – Ed.]

By JACK HEALY

“SIDNEY, Mont. — For most high school seniors, a college degree is the surest path to a decent job and a stable future. But here in oil country, some teenagers are choosing the oil fields over universities, forgoing higher education for jobs with salaries that can start at $50,000 a year.

“It is a lucrative but risky decision for any 18-year-old to make, one that could foreclose on his future if the frenzied pace of oil and gas drilling from here to North Dakota to Texas falters and work dries up. But with unemployment at more than 12 percent nationwide for young adults and college tuition soaring, students here on the snow-glazed plains of eastern Montana said they were ready to take their chances. …

“Nobody needed to recruit Shay Findlay. One day after he graduated from Sidney High School, he drove into town and started looking for work. He found a job on the first try, doing repair work on drilling pumps. …

“His mother, Stacy Gustafson, said she worried about exposing her son to the accidents, alcoholism and violence that haunt oil workers. She is glad he still comes home after each shift. Mr. Findlay said he had no complaints about the job. His family comes from the oil fields, and he said he liked the work and was good at it.

“Now, his friends are filtering back to Sidney after their first semesters at college, and their stories of dorm-room dramas and drunken scuffles with campus police officers are like reports from another world. He said he misses them sometimes, but would not trade places with them.”

So, too much drinking and fighting in the oilfield is deplorable, while in college it’s called “dorm life”.

Ringed, Bearded Seals Listed Under Endangered Species Act Due Partially To Climate Change Concerns

“ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Two types of ice seals joined polar bears Friday on the list of species threatened by the loss of sea ice, which scientists say reached record low levels this year due to climate warming.

“Ringed seals, the main prey of polar bears, and bearded seals in the Arctic Ocean will be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced.

“A species is threatened if it’s likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout a significant portion of its range. …

” ‘They concluded that a significant decrease in sea ice is probable later this century, and that these changes will likely cause these seal populations to decline,’ said Jon Kurland, protected resources director for NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska region.

“Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell late Friday called the science behind the decision speculative and said the state will consider legal action. The state unsuccessfully challenged the polar bear listing.

“The ringed seal population is in the millions and the bearded seal population is in the hundreds of thousands, Parnell said in a prepared statement. Neither is in decline nor will it be by mid-century, he said.

” ‘The ESA was not enacted to protect healthy animal populations,’ Parnell said. ‘Despite this fact, the NMFS continues the federal government’s misguided policy to list healthy species based mostly on speculated impacts from future climate change, adding additional regulatory burdens and costs upon the State of Alaska and its communities.’ “