More bad news for us in the welding and metal fabrication trades. We are being told that many of these refineries are going to close and relocate overseas. This will make the USA a net importer of refined gasoline. It would cost way too much to retrofit the old (very old) existing refineries to comply with the new EPA regs. These are trying times for anyone entering the welding trade today. I've never seen so many quality, high paid field construction welders out of work in my life. It reminds me of when I started back in the early 80's when all the steel plants and heavy industry were shutting down all over the rust belt. Can it get any worse?
HOUSTON July 1, 2010 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday officially overturned a 16-year-old Texas air permitting program it says violates the Clean Air Act, leaving some of the country's largest refineries in a state of limbo.
The move comes after years of backdoor bickering, negotiations and public arguments between the EPA and Texas. The argument recently escalated from a battle over environmental issues into a heated political dispute over states' rights.
Our "leaders" do not understand we need to be more than burger flippers selling to door greeters welcoming someone who pulls things across scanners.
There will always be demand for skilled trades. The young guys will need to sell their services to a different market. We are going to have to go back to tradesmen that view their trade as their business and calling. Instead of trudging to someplace to sell your skills, you are going to have to sell your skills to many different markets. You may be welding a fence one day and a pipeline the next and maybe erecting a building on another.
There will be a great demand for tradespeople who have specialty skills. The heavy plate manufacturers will be overseas. Unless the welding can only be done in the field, it will be done in a low wage location and shipped to the US for final erection and assembly.
Figure where you are in this and train yourself accordingly. There will/is a high demand for those who are good at QC/QA as there will be a lot that does not get caught at initial fabrication.
"You may be welding a fence one day and a pipeline the next"
Sounds a lot like the last two years of my life.
There you go again with the sky is falling defeatist attitude -
America has more than enough natural gas to fill in and use compressed / liquid natural gas as a motor fuel - LETS USE IT
Look into the Pickens Plan -
I worked in the nuclear industry in '78 and bailed into the oil patch JUST as Three Mile Island occured and have seen my career go from nuclear to oil patch/refineries to the aircraft industry for 10 years and now I am building water treatment plants.
I think if you really look at it we have always " had the times that try men's souls " in America !
As true as that may be Ravi, about trying times.
Environmental rules that dictate control before the technology to control the outcomes is invented is foolish. This is what the EPA and California OSHA has done for decades at the cost of Billions for their blunders.
Confronting this foolishness is important.
Funny thing about "common" sense, it is only COMMON to those who have it.
what i hate the most is the people setting these regulations and hurting not only our trade but all the others, they are set for the rest of their lives or they will make money no matter what so they dont care about us. that just pisses me of, i shouldnt say all of them are like that but most are. maby im wrong but thats my opinion.
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