More than 100 million years ago, North Texas was under an ocean.  Over the course of millions of years, the oceans dried up and sea creatures died.  The mud hardened into rock and the organic matter decomposed and produced methane, the predominant component of natural gas.  The methane deposits then became trapped in the porous rocks in the shale's layers.  Fast forward to the late 19th century, San Saba County, Texas where a settler named John W. Barnett named a local stream after himself: Barnett Stream.  Fast forward again to the early 20th century where, while working on a mapping project for the area, geologists found a thick black organic-rich shale formation close to the Barnett Stream, and consequently named it the Barnett Shale. 
 
Because the shale is very hard and the gas trapped inside the sedimentary rock is not easily extracted, it was not until 1981 when the first gas well was drilled in the Barnett Shale.  In the 1990s, hydraulic fracturing was invented (high pressure pumping of water and sand into the well bore to break up surrounding rock).   However, significant drilling activity did not happen until gas prices increased in the late 1990s. Horizontal drilling was introduced in 2002. These advances have opened up the potential of the Barnett Shale as a major producer of natural gas.  The Barnett Shale wells are expected to produce gas for 20 to 30 years or longer.
 
Today, some experts have suggested the Barnett Shale may be the largest onshore natural gas field in the United States, stretching from the city of Dallas to west of the city of Fort Worth and south, covering more than 5,000 square miles and 18 counties.  It is estimated to contain as much as 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.  According to the Railroad Commission of Texas, as of November 1, 2007, there were 7,170 natural gas wells in the Barnett Shale producing over 3.1 billion cubic feet of gas per day; there has been over 3.3 trillion cubic feet of gas produced in the Barnett Shale, most of it since 2000.  In addition, there are 4,350 permitted locations. In 2007, 3,679 drilling permits were issued. Over 100,000 new well leases were recorded in Tarrant County in 2007. In 2006, the Barnett Shale was responsible for 55,385 permanent jobs, contributed $491 million in revenues to the state of Texas, and $228 million in revenues to local Governments.  Economic projections indicate that by 2015 the Barnett Shale may be responsible for more than 108,000 jobs. According a Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce study, the Barnett Shale is contributing $5 billion annually.  Fort Worth city officials estimate that over 20 years, lease bonuses will provide $742 million for municipal coffers and property tax revenues from the wells could bring that total to more than $1 billion.
 
The great economic success of the Barnett Shale gas play has spurred companies to search for other sources of shale gas across the United States.  Other shale gas prospects include the Antrim Shale in Michigan, the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas, the Marcellus Shale in Appalachia, the Woodford Shale in Oklahoma, the Ohio Shale in Kentucky and West Virginia and the Haynesville Shale in Louisiana and East Texas.
 
Visit www.bseec.org for more detailed information, www.barnettshalejobs.com for employment opportunities. Website searches to do include "sedimentary rock" and "methane," which will truly give some additional insight to this massive project.

Document Preparation.  It is illegal for notaries who are not attorneys to help signers prepare documents, especially as to the type of certificate and wording needed at the bottom of a document and documents that have legal ramifications.  The notary who offers such assistance may be fined or imprisoned for the unauthorized practice of law.  Signers should not ask the notary to explain words or phrases in the document or to give advice about how to proceed as the notary is actually prohibited by state law from doing so.  Even answering seemingly harmless questions like, "What goes in this space?" or, "What does this mean?" or, "Is this the only document I need?" can get the notary into big trouble.  If a signer needs help filling out his/her document, they should call the office which provided the document.  A notary is authorized to identify the document's signer, give the signer an oath (if required), make a journal record of the notarization, ascertain the signer's willingness and competence to sign, and fill out a notary certificate at the end of the document.  Anything more is taboo. 
 
The National Notary Association (NNA) offers complete answers to signers' and employers' everyday requests pertaining to notarizing important documents.  We will present a different topic each month from the resource base of the NNA to help clarify various issues that may come up in your work and/or personal environment.  Visit www.nationalnotary.org for more information.

August 4: Coast Guard Day; August 5: Sister's Day; August 6: Atomic Bomb Day; August 9: Smokey Bear's Birthday; August 14: V.J. Day; August 16: Bennington Battle Day (Vermont); August 16: King's Death (Elvis); August 19: National Aviation Day; August 20: National Homeless Animal's Day; August 26: Women's Equality Day.

 

August is Children's Eye Health and Safety Month.  More than 12.1 million school-age children (or one in four) has a vision impairment.  Among preschool-age children, more than one in 20 has a vision problem that can cause permanent sight loss if left untreated.  August is also Cataract Awareness Month. Cataracts are a leading cause of blindness among older adults in the United States. More than 20 million Americans age 40 and older have cataracts. More than half of all Americans have cataracts by the time they are 80 years old. Cataracts can also sometimes be found in young people or even newborn babies.

 

Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness America is the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness America touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and patient service programs and research. These services are made possible through the generous support of the American public. Together with a network of affiliates, divisions and chapters, it's committed to eliminating preventable blindness in America. For more information, visit www.preventblindness.org.

As a part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) US-VISIT security program to safeguard air travelers from impostors, terrorists and identity thieves, the DHS is taking fingerprints from people visiting several U.S.A. international airports (i.e. Houston's George Bush International Airport, Texas; Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Georgia; Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, Illinois; Boston's Logan International Airport, Massachusetts).  A set of 10 electronic prints are taken from all non-U.S. citizens between the ages of 17 and 49 traveling through the airport and checked against a watch list of suspected criminals, terrorists and immigration violators.  Electronic finger printing helps prevent dangerous people from entering the United States and also protects legitimate visitors from possible identity theft.  DHS plans to introduce the program at all international airports, seaports and land border points of entry by the end of 2008. (Source: National Notary Assoc., June 2008) 

For a complete current list of what you can take as airline a carry-on, what needs to be checked through and prohibited items, visit http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohitited/permitted-prohitited-items.shtm .  It also provides "What to Know Before You Go" information for not only air travel, but also travel via highway, maritime, mass transit and railroad.