Halloween Interactive Video

It is that time of year. Kids love Halloween and all the fun that goes with it.

We recently visited Oil Ranch in Hockley, Texas. Their Halloween decorations have turned the ranch into a home for pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns and scarecrows.

I made a video of the festive sights and then added a map, videos, an article and songs with Thinglink's interactive tags.

Enjoy the video and have a Happy Halloween!

 

 

Here is a link to the Halloween Interactive Video on Thinglink.

Here is a link to the Halloween at Oil Ranch video without the embedded links.

 

Here is another link to Halloween at Oil Ranch without the embedded links.

 

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.



Book Review: Boom by Tony Horwitz

BOOM: Oil, Money, Cowboys, Strippers, and the Energy Rush That Could Change America Forever (Kindle Single)

Author: Tony Horwitz

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Date: July 1, 2014

Print Length: 117 Pages


About The Author
Tony Horwitz is a native of Washington, D.C. and a graduate of Brown University and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. He spent a decade overseas as a foreign correspondent, mainly covering wars and conflicts for The Wall Street Journal. After returning to the U.S., he won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting and wrote for The New Yorker before becoming a full-time author.

A Journalist Looks at the Keystone XL Pipeline
Mr. Horwitz traveled the entire length of TransCanada's Keystone XL Pipeline and reported on the people, places and events that he encountered.

The journey began in Fort McMurray (Alberta, Canada)with a desire to explore the oil sands.  Mr. Horwitz interviewed oil field workers, truckers, managers and local people who have lived in the area for many years. The author was interested in meeting people who promoted the pipeline as well as environmentalist who were vehemently against it. The book is illustrated with color photos of some of the people and places along the way.

The oil field workers make good money but the boom towns are also prospering.
The owners of restaurants, bars, hotels, motels and even the strippers are making big bucks as a result of the pipeline.

The Keystone XL begins in Hardisty, Alberta Canada, and ends in Steele City, Nebraska. Mr. Horwitz drove over 3,700 hundred miles along the path of the Keystone XL.

Is the Keystone XL a good thing or bad thing for the economy, environment and the overall well-being of our country?
This book provides facts from the author's research and opinions from many people who were interviewed. You make the decision.

My Thoughts
This book is a good overview of the entire pipeline situation. It gives accounts of the financial considerations, the environmental concerns and the emotional opinions of people both in favor and against the Keystone XL.

I think the author went out of his way to talk to farmers, ranchers and local people who have been impacted by the building of this pipeline. The American people need to put politics aside and really educate themselves on what this pipeline means to the people.

Personally, I take the environmental concerns very seriously and I am glad that President Obama is taking a cautious stand on this issue. The environmental activists have been gaining national support and continue to fight the pipeline through the courts.

For many years, I lived in a suburban neighborhood near Houston, Texas. I had a natural gas easement running right through my back yard. This was only a few hundred feet from where I slept each night. At the time, I never thought about the possible dangers of living near one of these pipelines. Luckily, we never had a problem, but I understand the concerns of the people who live in close proximity of this "super pipeline".  

This book was an informative and entertaining read. Recommended!

My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I borrowed this ebook through my Amazon Kindle Unlimited membership.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Hydrofracked? A Kindle Single

Hydraulic fracturing is a process that results in the creation of fractures in rocks. The most important industrial use is in stimulating oil and gas wells, where hydraulic fracturing has been used for over 60 years in more than one million wells. Man-made fluid-driven fractures are formed at depth in a borehole and extend into targeted formations. Hydrofracked? One Man's Mystery Leads to a Backlash Against Natural Gas Drilling (Kindle Single), by Abrahm Lustgarten from ProPublica, tells the story of one man's fight to find the cause of the polluted water well on his Wyoming property. ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. This true story is offered as a FREE Kindle Singles book. The book is approximately 40 pages long and can be read in about an hour. 
Louis Meeks, a Vietnam War hero, has lived on his 40-acre plot of land near Pavillion, Wyoming, for over 35 years. In the spring of 2005, Meeks' water had turned bad. His tap ran cloudy, and the water shimmered with rainbow swirls across a filmy top. The scent was sharp, like gasoline.  Mr. Meeks suspected that environmental factors were to blame. Since the mid 1990's, more than 1000 gas wells had been drilled in the region.  Meeks learned that in hydraulic fracturing, a brew of chemicals is injected deep into the earth to lubricate the fracturing and work its way into the rock. How far it goes and where it ends up, no one really knows. Meeks wondered if that wasn't what ruined his well.

This is a heart-wrenching story about one man's struggle to fight big government agencies and the oil and gas industries. The Meeks family has endured endless financial and personal defeats but they continue to fight. They have joined forces with some of their neighbors who also have polluted water. In November, 2010, Mr. Meeks had a heart attack. His doctors told him it was probably caused by stress. Mr. and Mrs. Meeks are still living on their ranch near Pavillion. They are drinking bottled water but do not have clean water to bath in, or to water the garden or to feed the animals.  A realtor said that because of the water problems, the property is worthless and could not be sold.
This story makes me feel very angry. This could happen to anyone.  I live in a rural area and I am dependant on a water well.  How could you deal with something like this?  How would YOU feel if no one would accept responsibility for a disaster like this?  Why are government agencies that are supposed to protect us turning their backs?  How much influence do the big oil companies really have?

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.