Gold and the new age of "Green" energy

Gold is back up this morning to over $666.00. I will have a link in the Hooked on Gold newsletter this week sent to me by a reader to a video with a diferent viewpoint on global warming. I will link it here as well when I get it. The youtube version's sound is more in sink than the videogoogle. Very interesting point of view put out by the BBC, and an hour and 13 minutes long. What these scientists have to say is enlightening and profound in the end. Yesterday, here in Colorado, our Democratic controled legislature passed a bill requiring untilities to increase their "green" production to 20%. I don't know about you, but I'm really sick of utility bills going up and the power companies getting the blame. Green power isn't cheap! It is expensive to build and is unreliable as an energy source, however, those of Al Gore's ilk have decided for us that we WILL pay higher utility bills while they do whatever they can to gt their hands on more of your money to do it. Now, you ask me what this has to do with gold. Mines use electricity to operate, and this legislature has effectively made it harder for any mining (this means oil, too) to be profitable. There are now, also, too many people who used to be with Green Peace that no longer agree with their "vision". What would this world be like without mans use of fossil fuels and metals? Where would the computer age be without gold?

Beetle Kill in Gold Country

What is beetle kill in gold country? Any of you who travel to Colorado have noticed the pine trees turning reddish and then brown and then grey. Most of you are probably aware that it is caused by pine beetle that burrow under the bark of the trees and kill them by "ringing" them, thus cutting off the tree's system it uses to get water and nutrients to all of its' parts. Thus, beetle kill in gold country. There is an article in today's paper that says up to 90% of the trees in Summit and Grand counties are infected and will die, and that the infestation encompasses at least 1,000 square MILES of forest. This tragedy is due to overzealous environmentalism, which hinders and prohibits the husbandry management of forests. Environmentalists do not seem to be interested in preserving what we have, but allowing mother nature to "take her course". Well, believe me, mother nature could give a RIP about what species lives or dies. Only man cares. Only man can protect what is here, and only through careful MANAGEMENT can that happen. Mother Nature has destroyed these forests which will take decades to replace. Careful logging and management of the forests would have preserved them. Instead of using wisely what we have, environmentalists have WASTED entire forests to neglect and non management, but then I suppose fire IS better. The Haman fire we had a few years ago attests to that. I am sure no one was bothered by the smoke, and the animals that died in it were better off. Yes, it was started by man, but the conditions that existed were also created by man. What does this have to do with gold prospecting? We work in the natural environment, educate the public to responsibility, and teach how to properly engage in activities that might be seen as destructive, to be done in positive ways. Fish love us! We provide new, freshly turned spawning beds when we dredge responsibly in rivers. Gold panning, sluicing, dry washing, and metal detecting get us out in nature where we can experience and connect with it. To watch the destruction of the forests in my state is heartbreaking and irresponsible of our government. All the prospectors,large and small, put together have not damaged the number of acres that this trend in environmentalism has. 1,000 acres in two counties. This number does not encompass the entire state, which has also seen the devastation of the forests. Drive up Clear Creek from Denver and see what I mean. All those trees that are dying have already infected 5 or 6 more, and this June, those trees will infect 5 or 6 more. One thing that is certain. The beetles will eventually stop spreading. They do tend to literally eat themselves out of house and home without management, and even the U.S. Forest Service agrees that it is too late to stop the complete destruction of the forest in some areas. So what is going on now to clear the dead trees? Clear cut logging.

Gold is back down

Gold is back down this morning to around $655. Hooked on Gold still cannot make changes to the website as the server is still "upgrading". Three days is a long time to not be able to make changes or blog. Sure, we have weeks that are busy and there isn't much to say, but not this time of year. The gold Question of the week didn't go off because there was no way to post it. I try several times a day and get the same "page cannot be found" messages, and so far I haven't gotten an answer to my queries about when I can get back into the sitebuilder. For now, you have static pages to view. We will be off to the mining museum at the School of Mines tomorrow, and looking forward to seeing their excellent selection of mining "stuff". They have an excellent library. Newsletter recipients got a short discussion of global warming and some of the possible effects on mining. I read an interesting analogy on the rising seas theory. Everyone learned in school how water expands when it freezes. If global warming causes the ice to melt, wouldn't the seas fall as the water compresses back to it's liquid state? I am not sure this is the correct way to interpret this, but it is an interesting suggestion to think about. Not exactly anything to do with gold, but an interesting thought, none the less.

So, is anyone out with a metal detector or a gold pan yet and finding anything interesting? We are itching to get out, but have decided that we MUST do something about the build up in the house before this season gets started in earnest. One truck load of "good stuff" has gone to the ARC store already, and I am sure another will find it's way there soon. Motorized equipment season is about here on the Arkansas River. It wiil start April 1st, and with the nice weather we have been having, and the river still not in run off stage, it may be a really good time to hit the sand bars while they are exposed. Water quality is becoming an issue with the State, and it seems that claim owners will have another State government agency to deal with. Some claim owners are being required to pump DREDGE water to the bank for settling before returning it to the river. That's right. You read me correctly. DREDGE water. Water quality agencies are getting there fingers in. Another agency wants to get their fingers in on the permitting side too. Information on these two new agencies is being received now and more information will be coming out on these issues as time goes on, so stay tuned for more of what they will be requiring.

Gold Question of the week Where is it?

Howdy all. As you have noticed this week's Question on gold is not on the Hooked on Gold site. The reason is that my server, clickincome.com/clicksitebuilder is down and has been since yesterday morning! No way of telling when we will be back online, so be patient until they get it fixed. This is just the latest in a number of frustrations with this company, and we will be looking at taking the major site to another server. Can't call. No one answers the phone and online or email tech support, usually right there, must be inundated with mail as there was no response from them either. So, you will need to wait for your chance at winning the gold for now. Also, the blog! Good thing for Blogspot or I would have no way to communicate with you. Unfortunately, their builder is very easy to use and I will hate to leave it. Who knows. Maybe the "fixes" will make it worthwhile to stay with them. Don't know. I need more pages and the upgrade just costs too much. The mentoring program was good, but not long enough and I can find lots of the same information on the web for a fraction of the cost. Unfortunately, when I began as a complete novice,I didn't know any better. I will be putting together a program that a newbie can use at their own pace instead of a 12 week slam telephone course and then access to a mentor by e-mail for a year. There were a thousand questions that have come up since my year is up that I can't get an answer to. Yes, I am ranting, and fuming, and down right mad! If there was any way to ask for refund from these people I would. However, they are very careful to not guarantee ANYTHING and, believe me, the cost is way too much for what you get. Also, don't fall for the "You gotta have a merchant account to take credit cards with". Believe me, PayPal works fine until you get to the point where you are BIG, and then you will have a $5,000.00 month limit. In the meantime, it will cost you about $50.00 a month PLUS the 3% on the credit card amounts. Their affliate programs are coming off my site and offering my "Free gifts" with them are ending, too. Enough on that for now.

Gold is up again at $663.30 as I write. We will be headed this weekend for a tour of the gold, gemstone, mining museum at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. Looking forward to another tour, as it has been a few years since we were last there. We will be meeting with some of the members of the Denver GPR club at 9:30 a.m. in the north parking lot. Everyone is showing us their metal detecting finds for the past month, and we have been having grandchildren and throwing out household stuff and trying to get things back under control before the season starts....again! Looking over my gold nugget inventory, some of my prices are looking cheap agin, so you might want to grab some of it before I am forced to raise them due to the continued rise in the replacement price of gold.

Gold Question of the Week for March 7-14, 2007.

Gold is beginning to make a recovery these past few weeks with highs around $670.00.

CONGRATULATIONS TO: RANDY for being the first, correct, qualified answer to the Question for the week of March 7 - 14th!

Hooked On Gold's QUESTION OF THE WEEK: March 7, & 14, 2007.

What is the term "mineral light", and to whom is it attributed?


ANSWER: GOLD was referred to as the "mineral light", and is attributed to Hindu Philosophers. The ancient Hindu's also considered gold to be sacred and a symbol of wealth, prosperity, love, generosity, power, and illumination. Thus the illumination of gold was the "light".

Gold Question of the Week for Feb. 28th

Hooked on Gold's Question of the Week for Feb. 28th, 2007.

In what state was the first buckline dredge, that was successful in the U.S., located, where was it located and when. By 1910 approximately how many buckeline dredges were operating in California.

ANSWER: The first successful bucketline dredge in the U.S. was operated on Grasshopper Creek in Montana near Bannock in 1895. In 1910 there were 63 dredges still operating in California.

CONGRATULATIONS TO JAN for being the first, qualified, correct answer to this week's question.