Some good news for Michigan

[LuckyTheDog]

About 800 production employees who are in the middle of a two-week training program began producing Ford F-150 pickups today at Ford Motor Co.’s Dearborn Truck Plant.

The employees, who began training Feb. 2, come from about a dozen Ford plants across Michigan where production has been reduced. Some, such as Donald Belle of Ecorse, live 5 minutes away.


“I’m glad to be back” at work, said Belle, who received notice Dec. 19 that he would be laid off from Ford’s plant in Flat Rock. “That was a first for me, and that experience was terrible.”

http://www.freep.com/article/20090209/BUSINESS01/90209090/Ford+adds+3rd+shift+to+Dearborn+F-150+plant

[Taverner]

1. Oh I thought you were going to say we were going to trade with Canada more

Seriously - if we did Sand Oil extraction with Canada, and bought their oil - Detroit could be reinvigorated again. It would basically be like Houston without the assholes.

Granted this is until we find a "suitable" replacement for FF.

[LuckyTheDog]

2. I know some guys...

...who have a process for extracting oil from tar sands and oil shale without the need for digging. They can make the oil flow in the ground and then pump it out. You'd think they would be rich. But oil companies are not interested in the technology.

[Taverner]

4. My brother lives in Northern Alberta

Apparently Oil Extraction from Sand could give us another 25+ years

And this is a good thing - PROVIDED they find a way to make it non-carbon emitting

This is the future!

[blue_onyx]

3. Good to hear

Our state can take as much good news as possible. There has been good news lately (film studios and hybrid car batteries plants) but those jobs will take time to come. These Ford jobs are great since they will employ people now.