Even more on natural gas which is apparently plentiful in Garrett County ..

Aubrey McClendon of Chesapeake Energy Corporation is joining with the PickensPlan to promote natural gas as a transportation fuel and help reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Learn more at cngNow.com. I think you have to admit that their message, i.e. keeping dollars here by using our own resources instead of relying on others, makes a lot of sense even if you don't completely agree with the entirety of the plan.

Full disclosure: given all that I am reading and that natural gas is a North American resource that can help supply us with the energy we need I plan to purchase a small stake in this business. Some people would call that practicing what you preach, but I see it as something that can improve our future and I can buy a piece of right now. The risk of course is what happens to natural gas prices (and their profits) when all these new sources of supply are opened up and it is not widely adopted as a transport fuel? That's why I'll buy a small stake now (at nearly 50% less than it was selling for earlier this year) and add to if the opportunity presents itself later. To borrow a line from real estate agents though - they're not making anymore natural gas - at least not on the human time scale.

Don't forget to check back to Dan's Deep Creek Blog for future updates.