One of the treats in my first reporting job, at the Houston Business Journal, came in learning about geological maps. Using sonar and great creativity, engineers in the "oilpatch" mapped where potential oilfields might lie. The maps determined the value of potential oilfields, and told wildcatters where they should drill.
With businessmen now taking The War Against Oil seriously, we need new maps.
Such maps might indicate:
- How much sunlight falls.
- How deep you must drill to reach usable geothermal resources.
- How reliable is the wind.
- Where is a stream capable of taking a water wheel?
From such maps we can determine the potential alternative energy value of any place in the country.
In the short run it’s the wind maps that would be most interesting.
Windmills are relatively inexpensive to build. They are cost-effective
energy generators. In most applications solar panels are not, although
there are many places where even now they could be useful running water
heaters.
Best of all, this is something everyone can participate in. How much
does it cost to erect and monitor a windsock? A small solar panel could
give you the potential of the larger field around it.
This is the kind of project any school child can do. The Web site which ran this project could be the biggest thing since SETI @ Home.
Imagine if, say, Google sponsored such a project. Make it open source. Seek corporate sponsors to defray the costs. I’d take Shell’s money. Integrate it with Google Maps as an overlay.
What do you say?
This is a very good idea. Given the tools that Google provides, can’t it be done much more on the cheap?
This is a very good idea. Given the tools that Google provides, can’t it be done much more on the cheap?
truTV’s Thrilling New Original Series BLACK GOLD
Digs into the High-Stakes World of Texas Oil Drilling
Roughnecks Risk Life and Limb to Tap Into America’s Most Crucial Energy Resource
Gripping Series about Life on an Oil Rig Premieres Wednesday, June 18, 10 p.m. (ET)
From the creator of Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers comes one of the most explosive, relevant and thrilling original series of the year. truTV’s BLACK GOLD, premiering Wednesday, June 18, at 10 p.m. (ET), follows the high-stakes world of drilling for oil in west Texas. With the ever-increasing tensions from rising gas prices and dependency on foreign oil, BLACK GOLD goes inside the world of men who risk their lives drilling for American crude. It’s a multimillion-dollar race to tap into the nation’s last remaining reserves, and BLACK GOLD presents an unfiltered look at lives on the line.
It costs oil men millions of dollars to drill two miles into the Earth in search of crude, and every second can lead to boom or bust. Each one-hour episode of BLACK GOLD focuses on oil rigs and the men who hope to strike it rich. With only 50 days to successfully locate and retrieve the precious commodity, the roughnecks, as they are called on the rig, endure exhausting, dangerous work demands and face losing something more valuable than the money of the oil men. They risk losing their own lives. It all adds up to big risk, big reward, big characters and most of all big business.
BLACK GOLD gives viewers front-row seats to three different rigs – Longhorn, Viking and Big Dog – funded by two oilmen who have risked their fortunes in hopes of striking it big and keeping the drill bits turning. In the end is the moment of truth – was it all worth it? It’s a multi-million dollar roll of the dice. With enough time to drill only three wells, they have to contend not only with such elements as scorching heat and sudden lightning storms, but also the danger of working on the rig itself, where anything can go wrong at any moment and at every turn.
Each rig is led by the driller, who takes care of everything from mechanical issues to manpower problems. The most challenging part for drillers is finding men brave enough to lift and move tons of iron and trying to ensure that these hard-partying roughnecks will actually show up for work. For many drillers, most of their time is spent trying to teach their most inexperienced roughnecks – or worms as they’re called in the oilfield – how to survive on a rig and how to avoid getting hit with iron pipes flying around. Drillers know that just one wrong move can cost a man his finger, his arm or even his life.
The oil boom has brought the 60-year-old Longhorn rig out of retirement. Gerald, an old-school driller, with 32 years of experience and a hand missing half a thumb from a long ago mishap, leads the rig and expects a lot from his crew. He isn’t afraid to tell them when they’re not cutting it.
Just 500 yards away is the brand-new Viking rig, where the technology and the men in charge are a very different sort. While Gerald, a tough leader who has only nine toes left, barks at his roughnecks, Viking driller Wayne treats his young crew like his family. Both Longhorn and Viking are drilling for oilman Mike LaMonica and his upstart company, ExL Petroleum. Mike’s eager to cash in on the high prices being paid for crude, but if this play doesn’t work out, it could put them under.
The final rig is the Big Dog. Its name fits since it’s larger than the competition and unlike the other rigs, Big Dog driller Tim, does not have decades of experience. Big Dog is drilling
for local legend Autry Stephens, who is one of the most successful independent
Jaime Yandolino truTV 212/692-7844 jaime.yandolino@turner.com
Jaime Yandolino
Public Relations Manager
truTV
600 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10016
212-692-7844
truTV’s Thrilling New Original Series BLACK GOLD
Digs into the High-Stakes World of Texas Oil Drilling
Roughnecks Risk Life and Limb to Tap Into America’s Most Crucial Energy Resource
Gripping Series about Life on an Oil Rig Premieres Wednesday, June 18, 10 p.m. (ET)
From the creator of Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers comes one of the most explosive, relevant and thrilling original series of the year. truTV’s BLACK GOLD, premiering Wednesday, June 18, at 10 p.m. (ET), follows the high-stakes world of drilling for oil in west Texas. With the ever-increasing tensions from rising gas prices and dependency on foreign oil, BLACK GOLD goes inside the world of men who risk their lives drilling for American crude. It’s a multimillion-dollar race to tap into the nation’s last remaining reserves, and BLACK GOLD presents an unfiltered look at lives on the line.
It costs oil men millions of dollars to drill two miles into the Earth in search of crude, and every second can lead to boom or bust. Each one-hour episode of BLACK GOLD focuses on oil rigs and the men who hope to strike it rich. With only 50 days to successfully locate and retrieve the precious commodity, the roughnecks, as they are called on the rig, endure exhausting, dangerous work demands and face losing something more valuable than the money of the oil men. They risk losing their own lives. It all adds up to big risk, big reward, big characters and most of all big business.
BLACK GOLD gives viewers front-row seats to three different rigs – Longhorn, Viking and Big Dog – funded by two oilmen who have risked their fortunes in hopes of striking it big and keeping the drill bits turning. In the end is the moment of truth – was it all worth it? It’s a multi-million dollar roll of the dice. With enough time to drill only three wells, they have to contend not only with such elements as scorching heat and sudden lightning storms, but also the danger of working on the rig itself, where anything can go wrong at any moment and at every turn.
Each rig is led by the driller, who takes care of everything from mechanical issues to manpower problems. The most challenging part for drillers is finding men brave enough to lift and move tons of iron and trying to ensure that these hard-partying roughnecks will actually show up for work. For many drillers, most of their time is spent trying to teach their most inexperienced roughnecks – or worms as they’re called in the oilfield – how to survive on a rig and how to avoid getting hit with iron pipes flying around. Drillers know that just one wrong move can cost a man his finger, his arm or even his life.
The oil boom has brought the 60-year-old Longhorn rig out of retirement. Gerald, an old-school driller, with 32 years of experience and a hand missing half a thumb from a long ago mishap, leads the rig and expects a lot from his crew. He isn’t afraid to tell them when they’re not cutting it.
Just 500 yards away is the brand-new Viking rig, where the technology and the men in charge are a very different sort. While Gerald, a tough leader who has only nine toes left, barks at his roughnecks, Viking driller Wayne treats his young crew like his family. Both Longhorn and Viking are drilling for oilman Mike LaMonica and his upstart company, ExL Petroleum. Mike’s eager to cash in on the high prices being paid for crude, but if this play doesn’t work out, it could put them under.
The final rig is the Big Dog. Its name fits since it’s larger than the competition and unlike the other rigs, Big Dog driller Tim, does not have decades of experience. Big Dog is drilling
for local legend Autry Stephens, who is one of the most successful independent
Jaime Yandolino truTV 212/692-7844 jaime.yandolino@turner.com
Jaime Yandolino
Public Relations Manager
truTV
600 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10016
212-692-7844