Texas Railroad Commissioner Barry Smitherman fails basic math and science

This week I attended the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute’s (TCCRI) Irving Energy Summit. The headliners of the summit were T.Boone Pickens and Texas Railroad Commission Chairman, Barry Smitherman. Their publicized topic was “A Conversation on Energy & the Environment.” The conversation I heard consisted of an old man bragging, telling stories and trying to sell his “Pickens Plan” while a younger man tried to keep him on track. There was zero discussion about anything to do with the environment.

I’m still reeling from the data cherry picking and disinformation they dished out. Here’s one example: Did you know that, according to Pickens, we actually have 200 years worth of natural gas and there is 20 to 80 TCF of natural gas remaining in the Barnett Shale? That’s according to Pickens. According to actual mathematical modeling that’s quite an exaggeration. Seeking Alpha uses mathematical calculations and data to make a prediction about the longevity of natural gas:

I see grave danger in the US NG industry. They told us the shale gas boom story for years. It is time for the investors and the NG industry to wake up to the reality. The industry has survived so far by keep begging banks for more money to keep drilling. For example, CHK earned $1.068B in gas and oil revenue in Q1 of 2012 while spent $4.4B in capital expenditures.

The TCCRI Summit did not address Global Warming which is not surprising because in their world it does not exist. But it’s another area where Smitherman needs a math lesson. Again, he cherry picks some data (in red) to support his claim that Global Warming is “trumped up.”

Barry Smitherman: “Global Warming,” which is not grounded in science, is a political agenda trumped up by those who want to end the use of oil, natural gas and coal. There is no scientific consensus that manmade CO2 causes the earth to warm. In fact, there is no consensus that the earth is warming. According to satellite data, November temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere were only .08 degree C above normal, an amount which is considered statistically insignificant. February 2012 was the coldest month, globally, in four years. The Obama EPA has been trying to pass new CO2 regulations on Texas that would harm our economy and put the reliability of our electric grid at risk. I have worked with Attorney General Greg Abbott and we have sued the EPA to block these regulations that would harm our Texas jobs. So far, we have prevailed in court on every EPA rule that has made it to a Judge. International governments have no authority to pass rules applying to activities on sovereign Texas soil, and I will fight any attempt to do so, just as I continue to fight the Obama administration’s efforts. Source: Dallas Morning News

One or two months do not a climate make.

Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math gives a more complete look at our planet’s warming.

June broke or tied 3,215 high-temperature records across the United States. That followed the warmest May on record for the Northern Hemisphere – the 327th consecutive month in which the temperature of the entire globe exceeded the 20th-century average, the odds of which occurring by simple chance were 3.7 x 10-99, a number considerably larger than the number of stars in the universe.

Meteorologists reported that this spring was the warmest ever recorded for our nation – in fact, it crushed the old record by so much that it represented the “largest temperature departure from average of any season on record.” The same week, Saudi authorities reported that it had rained in Mecca despite a temperature of 109 degrees, the hottest downpour in the planet’s history.

And that’s just a beginning.

EDITed to add:  Even Rex Tillerson admits that fossil fuel use is warming the planet. Try to keep up, Barry.

I’m proud to say that I made it through the summit without a vomit bag. I desperately wanted to ask one question: Raise your hand if you live within 1,000 feet of a shale oil or gas well, compressor station or processing facility. But I already knew the answer and had already determined that the TCCRI and most of those in attendance do not know jack.

About Sharon Wilson

Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.

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