Heading into another weekend, here's a look at some of the positive ways energy is affecting life in these United States:

Michigan Marathon - The Detroit Free Press reports that expansion work on Marathon's Detroit refinery is expected to peak this fall, employing 1,300 workers. The $2.2 billion project started three years ago and will let Marathon process more Canadian oil sands. Marathon promises to add 60 jobs and 75 contract positions after work is completed in the second half of next year, the paper reports. The expanded refinery is expected to generate $230 million in additional city tax revenues over the next 20 years, plus an estimated $85 million in state and local taxes.

(Oil) Boomer Sooner - You might have seen this earlier in the week, but a new study about the impact of oil an... more »

In today's episode, I interview Dan Gunderson, a consultant to API, who describes the benefits of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil-sands derived crude oil from Canada to markets in Oklahoma and refineries along the Gulf Coast.

Use the audio player below to listen to information about the article and follow along with the show notes. I hope you find the podcast informative.

00:17 A controversy is brewing over the building of a major pipeline that could carry oil-sands derived crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Gulf Coast. There's no doubt that America needs the oil to produce gasoline and other oil products for consumers, but critics have posed several objections. To discuss this controversy, we have Dan Gunderson on the... more »

As we've mentioned on this blog many times, energy development is a primary driver of job creation. Developing the nation's abundant oil and natural gas resources could create tens of thousands of additional jobs.

A new Gallup poll proves this point and demonstrates that energy-producing states are among the best in job creation.

North Dakota has been breaking oil production records and sits atop Gallup's Job Creation Index. The Index also shows that the "energy-producing states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas are in the top 10 state job markets for the first half of 2010, as they were in 2008 and 2009."

Alaska, another state where energy development is crucial, made the list in addition to Pennsylvania and West Virginia--two states that saw 57,000 new jobs last year from Marcellus Shal... more »