TRIAL AND LAWYERS

1. 1. Mike settles the civil penalty action with U.S. Dynamics for $995,000 so that U.S. Dynamics could save face and claim it didn’t pay a penalty of one million dollars.
      1. Do you think it is right that government (DEP, EPA, DAs, AGs) to settle environmental cases often for far less than the prosecutor thinks the case is worth?
      2. Why would/should a prosecutor do that?
   2. A large part of STRANGE FIRE deals with pre-trial matters—interrogatories, depositions, site visit, and preparation. Both Mike and Darius Moore try to get away with something in their pre-trial work. Darius tries to ask way too many interrogatory questions and wants to intimidate the plaintiffs with his deposition questioning. Mike tells Missy to see if she can learn anything from the other witnesses while they are walking the Campbell drilling pad. Does this seem right to you? Is this the usual lawyer stuff we have come to expect or does it seem improper?
   3. If you’ve read the earlier Mike Jacobs books, you know that Mike has had other close women friends: Patty, Sherry, Nicky, and now Missy.
      1. Why is Missy different from the others?
      2. How has Mike changed over the course of the three Mike Jacobs novels?
      3. Has Mike really found the love of his life?

PLOT LINES

1. 1. A mysterious Russian is involved in a number of incidents in STRANGE FIRE. Avoiding spoilers, he is involved in a number of activities that have an impact on the outcome of the story.
      1. Were you aware that in the drilling industry there is an ongoing “conspiracy theory” that says Russian provocateurs are supporting the anti-gas drilling movement?
      2. Do you believe that?
      3. Even if Russians or other competitors of US natural gas are involved in some way in funding opposition to drilling, does that matter?
   2. At the beginning of the novel, Teresa is politically disengaged. She develops into a strong anti-fracking activist.
      1. Do you believe that someone can transform from a person who basically has no interest in any political causes to becoming a strong activist?
      2. Is Teresa’s transformation believable?

ENVIRONMENTAL/CLIMATE CHANGE

1. 1. As pointed out in STRANGE FIRE, some states with natural gas deposits (e.g., New York, Maryland) have banned fracking. Yet, they still permit the use of natural gas in homes and businesses, which means that the gas used there probably will be “fracked gas” which comes from other places.
      1. If they only ban fracking, but do not ban the use of natural gas, won’t that just encourage the production and fracking of natural gas elsewhere (like Pennsylvania)?
      2. Do you think this is hypocritical?
   2. In STRANGE FIRE, the drilling industry people—Darius Moore, Norby, Bones, Professor McCrory, Anthony Fowler, and others—all think that gas can be extracted safely, with minimal environmental impacts and with little or no effect on climate change (even a positive impact on climate change). Also, they believe gas has a huge positive economic impact on the areas of the country where it is drilled. What do you think?
   3. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), in PA in 2020, natural gas accounted for 52% of electricity generation; coal accounted for 10% of electricity generation; nuclear accounted for 33%. Only about 5% comes from renewables.
      1. Do you think it would be feasible to just stop using natural gas, coal, and/or nuclear today?
      2. If our society did that, what form of energy would take its place?
      3. How do we transition from carbon-based fuels and nuclear to solar, wind, and conservation?
   4. If we look at “hydraulic fracturing,” just that part of the drilling process that actually cracks open the shale and enables gas to flow from it, should government prohibit all “hydraulic fracturing”? Does it matter that about 98% of all natural gas produced in PA is fracked?
   5. The IPCC and many other scientific organizations have said methane (i.e., natural gas) is a strong greenhouse gas, 40 times stronger than carbon dioxide. At the same time, it is less bad for our climate than coal which also introduces carbon, but also particulates and other chemicals into the atmosphere.
      1. What are your thoughts on how we transition away from carbon-based fuels?
      2. Do we just stop using them?