Above the Fold

Forget Fossils, the Latest Natural Gas Is Being Generated by the Living

When you think of natural gas, you might envision some flaming wellhead out in West Texas or North Dakota, or maybe even a massive drilling rig in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, but there’s a new producer of natural gas that’s solving more than just our need for energy. Industrial food producers like Smithfield Foods Inc. and others are harvesting the massive amounts of methane gas generated by their livestock’s manure. According to the Wall Street Journal, Smithfield, the country’s largest pork producer, is already pumping methane back into the grid to be used by consumers in several states. 

While the idea of capturing these naturally occurring gases from farms, sewage treatment centers, landfills and other anaerobic digestion systems is beneficial to the environment and good business practice for those producing the waste, it’s not very efficient. This so-called “trash gas” only constitutes about 1% of America’s natural gas production and is often cheaper to burn than it is to pipe it to markets for sale. With our nation’s pipes oversupplied by low-priced shale gas, prices simply do not support it … yet. Experts believe that trash gas could account for up to 30% of total production by 2040 with proper legislation and growing corporate responsibility.  

Three Things 

1. Digital Driving Assist: Beneficial or Dangerous? – A record number of 2021 new car models will have some sort of automation, from steering and braking warnings and nudges, to a near full-on “autopilot” system that drives itself on major highways. But experts are starting to wonder if all this automation could lead to a lack of awareness and skill or even add to the potential for distraction. Lawmakers are looking for ways to not only standardize the widely varied equipment, but also to ensure drivers are still paying attention to the road.  
2. Spectacles vs. Echo Frames – Snapchat (Snap) rolled out its Spectacles AR video glasses a couple years back and sales have been mixed at best, with its latest generation 3 device now priced close to $400. And while Snap tries to get its augmented reality offering right, Amazon’s new Echo Frames are getting good reviews from techies for their simplicity. Unlike the more complex Snap glasses, Amazon went with a basic, clean design that incorporates quality headphones, a microphone and the ability to ask Alexa whatever your heart desires (so long as your phone is nearby). Users of the Echo glasses would like to see a quality bump in future iterations, but sales have been relatively strong. 
3. Iron Prices Go Parabolic – Iron-ore prices continue to skyrocket to near record territory as Chinese demand continues to climb and a tragic landslide in a Brazilian mine further chokes supply from the nation after unrelated disruptions earlier in the year. Behind Australia, Brazil is the globe’s second largest iron-ore exporter. 

Did You Know?

Welcome Texas!

There has been a lot of talk about the Lone Star State these days as the former sovereign nation welcomes migrants from Silicon Valley and other areas of the country to its diverse economy and geography. It was on this day back in 1845 that the Republic of Texas was formally admitted as the 28th state. It wasn’t even a decade prior that the territory declared its independence from Mexico, and it was the admission of Texas into the Union as a slave state that proved to be a key trigger for the Mexican-American War that followed just months after.