Nextec Blog

Nextec Energy is a proud supporter of small business and sustainable practices, whether this is with regards to energy, the environment, or supporting the arts and local like minded creatives.  To this effect, Nextec will be sponsoring blogs, music, film and art from individuals who are helping to create a better place to live.  With that said, I would like to introduce Russ Ham’s South Austin blog.

The unifying theme of Russ’ blog is “How has it come to this?”  Take a look and let us know your thoughts.

If you would like your blog, artwork, music, film or other creative enterprise to be featured on the Nextec Energy site, reply to this post with your information and the webmaster will contact you. Please click on the link below, to be redirected to Russ’ blog.

Russ’ South Austin Blog

Russ Ham is an attorney in Austin, Texas who is trying to change his ways.  Interests include live music, photography, travel, Mexico, dogs, sports cars and auto racing but also environmentalism, cosmology, and a total bewilderment with what passes for modern culture.

He was born in Kansas City where his family ran a true one-cash-register corner grocery, until it ended in a trail of blood from an armed robbery.  He attended the University of Kansas on Pell Grants and National Direct Student Loans, which were repaid before they were due.

Immediately upon finishing law school in Lawrence, he headed south on I-35 for the promised land of Austin.  His law career included antitrust enforcement for the Texas Attorney General, suing much of the insurance industry as well as big pharma.

The experience has left him skeptical, cynical, and curmudgeonly.  Still, he finds pure joy in tranquil moments with his beloved wife, the thrill of a band feeding off the energy of a crowd that itself is feeding off the energy of the music, the wonder of the night sky, the miracle of life, the creativity of artists, and the compassion that humans can occasionally exhibit.

Echotone is a documentary film shot in Austin, Tx. which explores the concept of preserving the cities culture in the face of advancing development.  It’s underlying message of sustainable growth working harmoniously with the existing environment makes Echotone this months movie of the month.  For show times and tickets visit

http://www.echotonefilm.com/

So I am really torn on this issue.  For those of you who don’t know what fracking is, I will provide a brief explanation before posing my question.  Keep in mind that I am by no means an expert on the subject, just someone trying to create a dialogue in hopes of finding solutions.  Natural gas fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a process taking place mostly in North America whereby natural gas can be extracted from the earth by blasting water, sand and other particulates and chemicals into rock formations deep within the earth.  This process makes it possible to extract NG that would not normally be accessible, such as gas held within shale.

I am torn on this issue because natural gas is significantly cleaner burning than coal or oil, which to me seems to be a step in the right direction because, lets face it, fossil fuels aren’t going away anytime soon.  However, on the flip side, opponents of fracking claim that there are terrible environmental consequences that are generated by fracking.  This can be seen in the documentary “gasland” where a farmer who lives near a hydraulic fracturing borhead is able to light his well water on fire.

So, as I said I am torn between the desire to help advance a cleaner burning fuel than the ones that are being used for electrical generation in North America today (predominantly coal), and my desire to protect the environment from being destroyed in the name of progress.  The problem as I see it is that the verdict is still out on whether or not fracturing is causing environmental problems, or whether these “anomalies” like flammable well water may be attributed to other sources.  With little scientific research to form conclusions like this on, NG companies are rapidly expanding the use of hydraulic fracturing with a “shoot first ask questions later” kind of approach, and per usual, the studies on the processes’ safety are taking a long time to compile.

So what do you think?  Should we halt all fracturing until consensus can be reached on its environmental impact? Or should we keep doing it based upon the known and conclusive reduction on carbon emissions that NG can provide?

This is the first of Nextec’s blog topics.  I wanted to start this thing off with a topic that is meaningful currently to every American.  Feel free to post responses to this or any other topic, or to create your own topic.

The topic question for this section is, is drilling for oil in ANWAR and offshore in America the solution to our current problem with high gas prices?

As usual I believe that the answer is yes and no.  From my understanding of the situation, analysts predict that getting crude oil through these methods to the gas pumps in American cities will take approximately 7 years.  Once this has happened we have enough oil from these supplies to provide the country with gas for 2 years, after which it is all gone.  My first thought is that this is not the best option, because it will not provide short term or long term benefits to anyone.  However it is my resounding belief that there is not one answer to every question.  While alone, drilling may not be the answer, abandoning oil as a fuel source will certainly lead to energy shortages, and likewise abandoning drilling all together will most likely cause the price of gas to increase.

So I think that this is part of the solution.  We can drill in responsible areas (not ANWAR) and help to ease the strain on American families while we transition into a energy envirnmoent that does not use oil.  This allows us the time needed to fully develope the renewable resources needed to eliminate oil without making the switch off fosil fuels so sudden and jaring that the economy suffers.  While we cannot control the price of crude, because it is a supply and demand issue, and the supply is limited, we can reduce the amount of oil needed to power our vehicles and homes through increased efficiancy.  In effect if the price of oil remains the same, but we need half as much to run our car, we have achieved the same result as if we cut oil prices in half.  Please weigh in and let me know what you think about this issue.