Chesapeake says $4 natgas too low to grow output

GREENWICH, Conn. (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas prices will have to move higher to spur a resurgence in drilling activity and keep output of the fuel steady, the head of Chesapeake Energy Corp said on Wednesday.

The weak U.S. economy has knocked natural gas prices sharply lower in the past 14 months, and sluggish demand for fuel has prompted producers such as Chesapeake to curtail drilling for new supplies.

"The industry can cope with $4 gas. The industry can't grow or sustain production with $4 gas," Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon told an IHS Herold energy conference.

The New Homesteaders: Off-the-Grid and Self-Reliant

You may have heard about them: Off-the-gridders living in radical opposition to modern amenities by growing their own food and cutting themselves off from the rest of society. Not so. Sure, more people are choosing to cut their dependence on the power grid, the grocery story and fuel pump. But these new homesteaders are hardly radicals—they are simply DIYers who, for a variety of reasons, revel in self-reliance. This is their story.

...The specters of financial crisis, climate change, uncertain energy reserves and a fragile food supply loom large for the new generation of survivalists—and though I don’t share their apocalyptic mind-set, I find myself relating to the urge to run for cover. In April, the top-selling action and adventure book on Amazon.com was Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse, a work described to me by its author, James Wesley Rawles, as a “survival manual dressed as fiction.” Its plot appeals to those on the political right, who fear a too-powerful government—and the anarchy to come in the wake of its inevitable collapse. Leftie off-the-gridders gravitate more to the “grow-local” approach championed by author Michael Pollan. “We’re using up the world’s resources more quickly than you could imagine,” says Ruby Blume of the Institute of Urban Homesteading. “I think we need to be prepared.”

Lately, homesteaders of all political stripes have settled upon a common concern: globalization. The shock waves of any crisis—for instance, the subprime meltdown—now spread far, fast and wide. Many doubt that major institutions can be counted upon to save the day. “You’re on your own, your job is at risk, and a lot of the commodities you rely upon are vulnerable to disruption,” says John Robb, author of Brave New War, which describes how terrorists could exploit global systems. To my ear, such statements straddle the line between reasonable advice and hyperventilated threat. One day you’re sipping a frappuccino. The next you’re using a pitchfork to fend off rioting mobs. But even if I don’t fully agree with the dystopian diagnosis, I like Robb’s proposed cure: “You’re going to have to start doing more for yourself.” The beauty of the DIY solution is that the exact problem doesn’t matter; greater self-sufficiency makes sense to survivalists and eco-utopians alike.

Wall Street Journal - Carbon Storage: Why the Gorgon Gas Play Might Be Really Important

Largely overlooked amidst all the hoopla over the huge $37 billion Gorgon natural-gas deal in Australia was the thing that may have made it possible in the first place: The Australian government’s willingness to shoulder the long-term liability for storing carbon emissions underground.

That is, one of the reasons that Chevron, Exxon, and Shell finally went ahead with the massive Gorgon project is because they won’t be saddled for centuries with the worry some of the carbon-dioxide could escape, with potentially disastrous consequences.

7:30 Report (ABC) - Electric cars new hope for ailing motor industry (via Convenient Solutions).

ALI MOORE, PRESENTER: After one of the toughest years in its history, the global motor industry is pinning its hopes on a new generation of electric cars to get back in the black. An unprecedented range of all electric models will be unveiled at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show, which starts tonight. Next year, Mitsubishi launch the first mass-produced electric vehicle in Australia, and the ACT is already expanding its electricity grid to accommodate the recharging of electric cars. But it's not just the big names trying to get a share of the action.

Forget Conventional 401(k)s; Think Goat Cheese and Fennel

Woody Tasch wants to rewrite the gospel of financial growth.

A former venture capitalist, Mr. Tasch now travels the country warning that money moves too fast. Billions zip through global markets each day, bundled into financial packages so complex that it is hard to know what you own.

His antidote: A fundamental shift in our attitude toward investing. Taking a page from the Slow Food movement, which calls on consumers to take the time to savor home-cooked meals, Mr. Tasch dubbed his philosophy Slow Money.

The crux of the movement is persuading investors to put some of their assets into businesses they can see, smell and even taste -- to measure growth not by the flashing numbers on a stock ticker, but by the slow ripening of a tomato.