PUTTING A FRACK INTO HYDRO EXPORTS

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"This is an absolutely huge phenomenon

 with massive implications for the U.S.

economy, and I think most people are

still a little bit slow to appreciate just

 how big this is”

Niall Ferguson Niall Ferguson

On Fracking & American Natural Gas Bonanza

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And now for another reality check on the real potential for hydro electric exports from this province to the North Eastern United States.

Up until a few months ago, I honestly felt that the potential environmental impacts of fracking would restrain the American government form continuing to exploit the tremendous potential for natural gas. I naively underestimated the capitalist system.

Fracking," as the process is commonly known, involves injecting a mixture of water and chemicals deep into the Earth. The pressure causes shale rock formations to fracture, and natural gas is released. The fluid is extracted, and the natural gas is mined through the well.

According to Niall Ferguson the natural gas boom will bring a "new golden age" for the U.S., creating millions of jobs and a manufacturing renaissance. What was it I said earlier this week, a nation that controls it’s energy future, controls it’s economic future.

I have a lot of respect for Ferguson. He is a former adviser to a Republican Party presidential candidate and Harvard history professor. I have read a couple of his books including Civilization: The West and the Rest and The Ascent Of Money: A Financial History Of The World.

On the back on the International Energy Agency report that stated the U.S. would pass Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest oil producer by the end of this decade -- and would achieving independence by the 2030s – Ferguson stated that "Conceivably it does mean a new golden age."

"It's not only in the extraction industry and infrastructure, but more importantly cheap energy is going to create employment in manufacturing. I think you'll see a renaissance in manufacturing," said Ferguson.

So folks, what about those export opportunities? 

We might not be able to give away our power, let a lone sell it!