Comments by Silvio Marcacci Subscribe

On Costs and Hazards of Unconventional Natural Gas Extraction

Thanks for including us in your post, Rod. We're dedicated to exploring America's energy challenges and potential solutions, and felt shale gas was an important topic to cover. As you mention, we recieved our start-up funding from ACSF, and this is an important segment in demonstrating our editorial integrity. Our goal in this segment was to take a balanced look at both sides of the issue, discussing natural gas' role in the U.S. economy while bringing some of the serious health concerns of fracking to light. From your commentary, it seems we succeeded. 

On The U.S. Military Targets Fossil Fuel Addiction

Thanks for watching the clip and for your comment, Rick.

You're right that increased procurement by the military definitely represents a large market, and increased stability, for biofuels and renewables. Secretary Mabus alluded to this potential during the segment. While it may not be enough to fill the void left by comprehensive federal policy toward renewables, it could help establish a realistic market for clean fuels to plan against.

It's interesting to note the U.S. Agriculture Department recently predicted ethanol plants will overtake livestock farmers as the biggest domestic consumers of corn for the first time in 2011. http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFN1E76B08320110712

Perhaps this is the start of a larger trend?