Monday, June 23, 2014

A Cracker and Some Sweets

Recent articles have noted what I think should have been obvious from the get-go regarding the proposed Shell Oil cracker natural gas cracker plant in Beaver County: that it will have a net additive effect to the region’s [the earth’s] air pollution.  C’mon folks, all you have to do is drive along Interstate 10 from Houston to New Orleans to get an idea of what fossil fuel processing facilities can do to the environment.  The good news, as stated by Shell spokespeople, is that we know a lot more about controlling pollution today than when many of “Chemical Alley’s” facilities were built.  And as a brand new greenfield plant, the opportunity for the best technology is there.  Metropolitan areas such as New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Chicago – not to mention Houston and New Orleans, are all home to several oil and gas processing plants and their pollution levels are better than Pittsburgh’s according to recent reports.  Once the issue of particulate pollution generated in Pittsburgh’s neighboring Midwest power plants is solved, a new cracker facility should have a relatively small effect on regional air quality.

A “sweet” couple pieces about Pittsburgh’s emergence as a “creative capital” – to use that overused moniker – appeared recently in two different sources which I have linked here.  The “Austin Business Journal” featured a reporter who touted Pittsburgh’s growing appeal in relation to Austin’s reputed hipness.  Go here:  http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/real-estate/2014/06/jans-must-reads-walkable-cities-heywood-hotel-and.html.
And in a related source piece, the “Pacific Standard” notes Pittsburgh’s rise among young creative types seeking a more affordable locale but one with “authenticity” along the lines of Brooklyn.  Go here: http://www.psmag.com/navigation/business-economics/talent-migration-work-creative-much-new-york-poor-pittsburgh-rich-82894/.


All of which makes sense to us – we’re so trend forward.

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