Our Holiday Hours! e2.ma/cshare/inbound… fb.me/13TwinVPk
NewsRoom Our Holiday Hours! Happy Winter Greetings from Max…
by: Joshua Rubin
November 15th, 2013
Our Holiday Hours! Happy Winter Greetings from Maxi Container! e2.ma/cshare/inbound…
NewsRoom Happy Friday to all of our followers! Enjoy your #…
by: Joshua Rubin
November 8th, 2013
Happy Friday to all of our followers! Enjoy your #Weekend
NewsRoom Please share this – We need help finding this guy…
by: Joshua Rubin
November 7th, 2013
Please share this –
We need help finding this guy who robbed our workplace two nights ago!!! Share and spread the… fb.me/6zdj5O9RB
U.S. Now World’s Largest Petroleum Supplier
by: Richard Rubin
November 6th, 2013
According to many reports, the U.S. has passed Saudi Arabia as the largest petroleum producer in the world. Reuters recently quoted the PIRA Energy Group’s report that stated that the U.S. has passed Saudi Arabia to become the world’s largest oil and gas producer.To make matters even more bizarre, the U.S. is no longer the largest importer of crude oil. That title now belongs to China.
This has been made possible because of the growth in shale oil and gas production. According to PIRA’s October 15, 2013 Press Release, over one-third of U.S crude oil production and almost 1/2 of U.S. natural gas production is from shale. In the last four years, U.S production has increased over 3.2 million barrels per day. PIRA went on to say that this rapid growth is unparalleled in the history of the world, has covered most of the world’s growth in demand for the last two years and that the U.S’s position as the world’s largest petroleum producer should be secure for many years.
The Wall Street Journal said that this growth in U.S. production has affected U.S. imports of natural gas and crude oil. They have fallen 32% and 15%, respectively, in the past five years, narrowing the U.S. trade deficit.
On the surface this all sounds good. However, like many issues in the energy sector, things are not that simple and are not always what they seem. While some call this type of oil and gas product “non-conventional sources”, others call it “fracking”. Public support for this type of oil and natural gas production is waning. A poll last month by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that opposition to increased use of fracking rose to 49% from 38% in the previous six months.
In a new report, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) warns about the dangers of producing transportation fuel from oil shale. According to NRDC, studies conducted so far suggest that oil shale extraction would adversely affect the air, water, and land around proposed projects. The distillation process would release toxic pollutants into the air. The NRDC also states that in a well-to-wheel comparison, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from oil shale are close to double those from conventional crude, with most of them occurring during production.
Closer to home here in Michigan, things get even stranger. In 2012 and 2013 the state of Michigan auctioned off oil and mineral rights to state owned land in Oakland County. Oakland County is just north of Detroit and is home to over 1.2 million people (including my family) according to the 2010 census. It has 62 cities, villages and townships in its 908 square miles, 35.49 miles of which is water.
According to one newspaper, Jordan Development of Traverse City, paid the state of Michigan $33 per acre during an auction in May of 2012 for 18,347 acres of state owned mineral rights inside Oakland County. Unfortunately, many of these acres are either in parks or under the many lakes that dot Oakland County. Jordan has sunk one well in Indian Springs Metro Park and has leases in Kensington Metro Park.
In addition, Michigan Oil and Gas regulations allows “compulsory pooling“. Under this regulation, in some circumstances, a landowner may not prevent the development of oil and gas reserves that underlie their property. Instead, they are compulsory pooled with neighboring acreage to permit drilling. Furthermore, if hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is used, there can be significant adverse effects on local water sources. According to Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality, Fresh water is needed to hydraulically fracture a well. The quantity of water needed varies based on the type of well being completed with hydraulic fracturing. A vertical well that is hydraulically fractured may use about 50,000 to 100,000 gallons of water while a horizontal well that is hydraulically fractured may use up to 20,000,000 gallons of water or more. Withdrawal of water for oil and gas operations is exempt from the requirements of Michigan’s water withdrawal statute (Part 327 of Act 451 Natural Resources Environmental Protection Act (NREPA))
Traverse City-based West Bay Exploration Co. operates several wells in Southeast Michigan, including the Schoolcraft Well in Livonia, one under the former Northville Psychiatric Hospital and one under Eisenhower High School in Shelby Township. A West Bay spokesman has said that they have been 90% successful drilling in Southeast Michigan, averaging at least 200,000 barrels of oil at each site. Despite environmental concerns, the region’s benefits include jobs, royalties to the cities, state and landowners and locally produced oil and natural gas. According to one article in Crain’s West Bay sells its crude oil yield from the region to Marathon Oil Corp. to refine at its Detroit facilities and feeds its natural gas from sites such as Livonia and Novi into the pipeline of Consumers Energy Co. for distribution to other buyers. (It should be noted that both Marathon Oil Corp. and Consumers Energy are customers of Maxi Container.)
According to some reports, Jordan Oil of Traverse City, the company that bought all of the Oakland County leases at the 2012 auction, states that they will not use the water intensive “fracking” in Oakland County. However, they are only offering landowners $100 per acre for the mineral rights and can use Compulsory pooling to force landowners to accept a 1/8 royalty, which is reduced by the cost associated with drilling. According to some commentators, it can take up to 11 years before the pooled landowner sees any profit, provided, however, that the well is still producing. In fact, the Schoolcraft well used compulsory pooling to assemble the necessary 80 acres. Fourteen homeowners and the County Road Commission had a total of 11.85 of the 80 acres pooled under Order 10-2011 of the Commissioner of Wells. The pooled owners we also assessed with a 300% penalty, in essence they were charged with 300% of the drilling cost, 200% of the completing costs and 25% of the actual equipping costs. The Supervisor of wells capped production at 200 gallons per day and the costs at around $3,000,000. The pooled owners 1/8 royalty is paid after the cost and penalties are recouped. A barrel of oil is 42 gallons. If oil is $100 a barrel, 200 gallons is just under 5 barrels or around $500. If I did my math correctly (and please let me know if I didn’t) it would take over 17 years to recoup the $3,000,000 and that does not include the 300% penalty, 200% penalty or 25% penalty.
It seems to me that while the economic benefits to the economy from increased oil and gas drilling is significant, we need to take a better look at the environmental issues and the provisions forcing homeowners to allow drilling on their land without reasonable compensation. I would support having the amount of groundwater used for fracking to be part of, and not excluded from, Michigan’s Water Withdrawal Statute. I would also support a requirement that the drill operators be required to have evacuation plans,and more stringent safety protocols when drilling near schools, highways, parks, etc., especially in such densely populated areas as Southeastern Michigan. Finally, I would be in favor of the State of Michigan being required to spend part of the oil and gas royalties to further development of alternative energy sources, including solar and wind power.
NewsRoom We now can offer full line of stainless steel micr…
by: Joshua Rubin
November 6th, 2013
We now can offer full line of stainless steel micron filters for a variety of industries including beer and wine making #filters
NewsRoom Halloween Edition Newsletter is Here! Happy Hallo…
by: Joshua Rubin
October 31st, 2013
Halloween Edition Newsletter is Here!
Happy Halloween! The Zombie Apocalypse, Toxic Fiber Drums and More Spooky… fb.me/35pwzsH9b
NewsRoom Happy Halloween! The Zombie Apocalypse, Toxic Fibe…
by: Joshua Rubin
October 31st, 2013
Happy Halloween! The Zombie Apocalypse, Toxic Fiber Drums and More Spooky Halloween Fun From Maxi Container! e2.ma/cshare/inbound…
NewsRoom Amazing article about the whiskey barrel #barrels…
by: Joshua Rubin
October 24th, 2013
Amazing article about the whiskey barrel #barrels #whiskey m.theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
NewsRoom Check out this month’s Autumn edition of our eNews…
by: Joshua Rubin
September 26th, 2013
Check out this month’s Autumn edition of our eNewsletter!!!… fb.me/21Jtci1HR
NewsRoom Improved Logistics, Floating Docks, Specials On St…
by: Joshua Rubin
September 26th, 2013
Improved Logistics, Floating Docks, Specials On Stainless Steel and More News From Maxi Container! e2.ma/cshare/inbound…
Repairing the World – Reflections for the Jewish New Year
by: Richard Rubin
September 24th, 2013
As we are between the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) I thought I would write about something very important to me. Traditionally this time of year is a time of reflection and repentance, looking back at our deeds of the last year. Indeed it is often referred to as the Ten Days of Repentance. It is a time to look within ourselves. It is a holiday that emphasizes teshuvah which is usually translated as repentance. Literally, teshuvah means to “return” or “to turn around”. It is not enough to turn yourself around, you need to turn around your relationship with others to seek better connection and communication, to increase empathy and compassion. It can also mean to turn around our relationship with the earth, with nature, with our fragile planet. This is particularly appropriate as Rosh Hashanah is also considered the birthday of the world, a celebration of the beauty of the world in its natural unspoiled state, a state that no longer exists either physically or morally. The world today is beset with problems both natural, geopolitical and economic. What can one person, or one company do to turn this around.
This leads to the concept of Tikkun Olam which means repairing the world. It’s meanings are varied, depending on which branch of Judaism you follow, which philosophers you like, if you are into Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah) or how liberal or conservative are your political beliefs. The basic premise is that the world is broken and it is up to us, through our actions, to try to repair the world.
How can one repair the world? One act at a time. A word of kindness. A gift of charity. Visiting the sick. Mourning with the bereaved. Celebrating life’s pleasures and trying to ease the pain and burden of the people with which we come into contact.
I have tried to take this one step farther and incorporate Tikkun Olam into my daily business practices. My company, Maxi Container makes charitable donations of product to many groups. We have donated recycling containers to a Detroit School, donated containers to a project to collect backpacks and school supplies for children who cannot afford them. We have donated rain barrels to cities, schools, the Sierra Club Great Lakes Program and the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.
We make this philosophy part of our business model by promoting sustainability through the products we sell and how we conduct our daily activities. We recycle the paper, plastic, cardboard and Styrofoam generated at our office. We have replaced inefficient lighting in our warehouse with more efficient lighting, reducing our electrical usage by 50%.
During this time period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I will have attended a friend’s funeral and a family member’s funeral. I will have mourned with both friends and family. I will have also celebrated the Holidays with friends and family both at my temple and in the home. I will have spent time with my wife, children and grandchildren, as my oldest granddaughter prepares to start Pre-School. This juxtaposition of life and death of celebration and mourning, of the sacred (prayer) and the profane (business) just proves to me, even more, that we each can take actions every day of kindness and help repair the world.
I wish all my friends and family, and anyone who reads this blog, a happy and healthy New Year. L’shana Tova.
NewsRoom DIY Compost Tumbler Kit by mirainbarrel http://t.c…
by: Joshua Rubin
September 23rd, 2013
DIY Compost Tumbler Kit by mirainbarrel etsy.com/listing/155189… via @Etsy
Maxi E-Commerce is Up and Running – The Impossible Only Takes a Little Longer
by: Richard Rubin
September 19th, 2013
We here at Maxi are very excited that our new e-commerce web site is up and running. It has been a long, arduous process with numerous starts and stops, but the vision we had three years ago is coming together. In designing the site we had several unique features in mind and were told by almost everyone that it was impossible to achieve. Well, to us at Maxi, being told that something is impossible just makes us work harder to make it happen.
We were told that our vision for our new warehouse and distribution center, with 28 docks, energy efficient lighting, high speed wired and wireless internet was impossible and we pushed ahead and made it happen.
We were told that our virtual remote desktop that gives our sales team real time inventory and sales information would not work. But with the help of the team at Polylogical Solutions (as well as our Creative Director Joshua Rubin) it works beautifully.
We were told that our MiRainBarrel concept wouldn’t work. Yet we now partner with several cities (including Huntington Woods and St. Clair Shores), churches, community based organizations, the Sierra Club Great Lakes Program and the Detroit Riverfront Conservatory and several great distributors including our good friends at B.A.S.C.O. and The Cultivation Station. New partners are approaching us all the time and since we started this program have sold over 1700 rain barrels.
We were told that our MiWineBarrel concept would never work. It is still less than two years old, but orders and recognition keeps coming in. Recently, MiWineBarrel CEO, Joshua Rubin and his wife Jessie were invited guests at Michigan Wines Gold Medal Reception where many of our wine industry friends and customers won medals for their outstanding wines.
Our E-commerce platform has several new, industry leading, one of a kind, features. On many items you not only see your cost for the item, but see your shipping cost as well. We have partnered with Con-Way Freight and the US Post Office to calculate shipping costs in real time. While this is common when buying shoes on Amazon.com, no one else we can find in the drum industry currently has this capability. After spending three years developing this, I understand why. The different sizes, weights, classes, etc. for the different types of drums we sell, makes it a very difficult, if not impossible project.
Once again, we proved them wrong! This time with the help of our good friend Mike Stover of Propel Pages. While not all the items have the shipping capability yet, our most popular items do. We will be adding additional items every week, if not every day.
Give it a try. Although it was impossible for us, for you it should be as easy as buying shoes on Amazon.com.
Visit our new website and check out the online catalog with shopping cart, we accept Credit Cards and PayPal currently.
NewsRoom Check out our @mirainbarrel @etsy store – rain bar…
by: Joshua Rubin
September 8th, 2013
Check out our @mirainbarrel @Etsy store – rain barrels and compost tumblers available now! #garden etsy.com/shop/mirainbar…
NewsRoom We are going back to Ferndale this september for t…
by: Joshua Rubin
August 21st, 2013
We are going back to Ferndale this september for their Perennial Exchange – Check out the flyer maxicontainer.com/pdf/Perennial_… #Garden
NewsRoom Thank you to everyone we met in Northville for the…
by: Joshua Rubin
August 6th, 2013
Thank you to everyone we met in Northville for the #BMNFest it was a blast. @BuyMichiganNow #PureMichigan
NewsRoom We open at 11 today! Come 2 #northville and check…
by: Joshua Rubin
August 4th, 2013
We open at 11 today! Come 2 #northville and check out the @BuyMichiganNow Festival. We are across the street from Bricks bar #michigan
NewsRoom Follow @BuyMichiganNow and come join us this weeke…
by: Joshua Rubin
August 1st, 2013
Follow @BuyMichiganNow and come join us this weekend in Northville #PureMichigan
NewsRoom Philadelphia on its way to being America’s greenes…
by: Joshua Rubin
August 1st, 2013
Philadelphia on its way to being America’s greenest city! ecasavesenergy.org/news/eca-partn…