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Texas Commodities And The World
By: Alan Nelson Posted: Monday, December 27, 2010 12:02 am
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Yes. The year’s over. There’s a lot of oil in the Gulf not there this time last year. And fracking. Not Battlestar Galactica expletive frak, but the fracking used to deliver natural gas in wells in Texas, and may pollute water wells. The EPA took over the TEQC air permitting program after a long game of legal chicken, and it’s not clear what will happen though this year supposedly is the hottest so far on record.
Yet the world’s economic pressures have come to play with the commodities of Texas. Demand from without Texas puts pressure on the supplies within Texas. Despite the glop of oil in the Gulf sea bottom, and the departure of much of the oil drilling in the Gulf, petroleum and natural gas assets of Texas are in great play. OPEC reportedly says the world can handle $100 barrel oil. Gasoline prices hover at $3 a gallon.
The scramble for Texas energy assets will continue into this next year. And yes, alternate energy infrastructure continues to rise in the state. Wind farms continue to spread across West Texas and elsewhere despite bat mortality and Boone Pickens withdrawing his support. Austin is one of the target markets for the Chevy Volt. But the real story that no one notices is the amount of coal mined in Texas. Texas is a coal mining state. Texas ranks third in the nation in coal-fired power production. Texas ranks at the top of carbon dioxide emissions. Thus, while most Texans don’t think of Texas as a mining state, it is.
The cotton harvests are at records, and China’s desire for cotton is at a record. China, of course, is scrambling to buy energy assets in Texas like the rest of the world, and Texas plants are buying manufacturing facilities in China.
Despite the promise of technologies in development in Texas and elsewhere (see, for example, the research on graphene in Austin), the substances underground, the crops on the ground and the wind blowing over the ground are what’s making life interesting in an economic recession.
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The Texas News Scrawl is a handy reference to stories Texas Business recommends from other news sources. Some of the stories that Texas Business currently suggests include: Freedom Communication sells off 6 Texas newspapers; Mexico's peso falls against US dollar; Patterson, Combs F1 spat unresolved; Colorado Community Bank sold to Texas owner; Southwest takes cautious approach, deferring plane orders; Aquarena Springs makes way for restoration of Spring Lake; Two Austin companies raise a combined $15.6 million; For Sale: Major Player in Fight Against Coal Company Bows Out; The Practice Piano That Made Van Cliburn Perfect; H-E-B shelved route as logistics costs rose; Did Amazon deal to settle dispute over taxes mess with Texas law?; Animal chiropractor stakes claim in DFW; Three Texas winemakers open 4.0 Cellars; Carroll Shelby, Car Builder Who Added Muscle to American Racing, Dies at 89; American Airlines Considers Change in Oldest Jet Livery; British rocker Phil Collins touring Texas to talk about Alamo book; All-Terrain Vehicle Company Moves To Sherman; American Airlines to overhaul premium seats; Dallas-based Hilltop to acquire PlainsCapital; The frequent fliers who flew too much; Hawker Beechcraft announces first flight of 400 XPR in Texas; Rumor: New Microsoft Xbox Console Being Manufactured in Texas; Company asks court to reinstate $459 million judgment;Company named for Green Ridge street eyes bid for Avon; Dallas Museum Simmers in a Neighbor’s Glare; Dallas pipeline company set to acquire Sunoco; Northwest Texas Suing Insurance Company for Millions Austin pair planning to offer barbecue, country music to international fans of F1; State’s largest fishery, near Wichita Falls, can’t raise fish without water; Trampoline sports park coming to Frisco; Bloomingdale’s Outlet opens at the Shops at Park Lane; Knapp Medical Center sale halted; Source: North Texas, UT-San Antonio To Conference USA; West Texas Wildfires Burn Again; Texas Business School Teaching Door-to-Door Sales; Firms at War Over $10 Million Contingent Fee in Patent Suit; Lubbock pet store set to leave mall after 40 years; owner blames animal rights intervention; Title fight fallout: El Paso's reputation sullied after boxing snub; Calpine to add 550 MW in Texas as reserve shrinks; Amazon, State Settle Sales Tax Fight by Ross Ramsey; Texas Army Bases Go Green, but Challenges Remain; Latham & Watkins to Represent UT in Racial Preference Case; Experts: State universities can do better at turning research into revenue; El Paso officials denounce Chavez-Lee fight cancellation, damage to city's reputation; Hobby lobby: Dueling airlines' political operations take off; and more. Full Story » |
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| According to physicist Bryan Greene there are infinite numbers of Texas, infinite numbers of Texas exactly the same, and infinite numbers of Texas with slight to radical variations. So how come you live in this one? Full Story » |
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