I love Midland. Her people are kind, polite and invested in the thing that makes their city tick: oil and gas. More so than even Oklahoma City, the fortunes of Midland and her people are inextricably linked to the fate of the industry. Big trucks and bigger trucks, blue and white collar workers alike gather to collaborate and figure out the best way to provide efficient and reliable energy to the world. When you lose faith in politicians in Washington and lobby groups who pretend to even understand what they are advocating for (API, I’m speaking about you), might I suggest a trip.
Everywhere you look is barren land (it’s an arid desert with little rain so growing crops doesn’t make a lot of sense). Squares and diamonds on virtually every 40 acre plot from the old vertical wells speak of the history. Rigs and frac ponds and facilities and pipe and pressure pumping equipment everywhere remind us that while a duck looks calm on the surface, it’s feet are paddling like crazy to bring energy to a hungry world. It is beautiful. It is magical. And it is necessary.
No one and nothing is perfect or without trade offs. Windmills kill birds. Solar panels kill Ujighars Muslims. Nuclear scares people. And coal…. Well, in 200 or 400 or 600 years when scarcity is real, no one is going to say “I’d like to hear my house but boy …. CO2.” The world has an energy crisis. The world has a good crisis. The world has an honesty and transparency in discussion crisis. And I got permanently banned on LinkedIn again for even mentioning it.
I wish Elon the best in his quest to save Twitter. It is where you will find me @davidramsdenwoo aside from substack, and I will continue to do my best to honor the people of Midland, and people worldwide who care more about their families than some BS narrative that they won’t subject to any scrutiny. Ever.
We need energy, lots of it, and the best, most reliable and most important comes in the form of oil and natural gas. Thank you, Midland. Keep up the excellent work.
I love Midland too. It's where I cut my teeth in the oilfield, along with Oklahoma City, and Western Oklahoma in general back the early 80's. I did a year college out at Sul Ross before going into the Air Force and fell in love with south west Texas. My career never stationed me there as I went offshore and never really returned until I retired. So I share your sentiments. Good people-the best, and a landscape that haunts my dreams.
LinkedIn has become such a wasteland. I avoid any sort of political discussion as I don't have much of a filter. So they win. Maybe when Elon fixes TWTR he will turn is attention to Mister Softee.
Keep on doing what you do. You make a difference. And I know one thing. A determined Oily, like you will find a way to come out on top. Cheers
Everyone curious about oil and gas' affects on your life and our planet should check out two documentaries by mark Mathis, journalist from Albuquerque. "SpoiLed" & "Fractured". Very informative. Oil & gas are our greenest fuels believe it or not. Wind and solar bad for environmental on commercial level.
I love Midland too. Odessa better though.