Natural Gas
Since the beginning of the fracking boom, economic data show that natural gas development has failed to generate prosperity—or even stave off economic decline—in the region’s largest gas-producing counties.
Robust, lasting job and population growth will require transitioning away from gas-based models of economic development.
Photo: Ted Auch, FracTracker Alliance, 2022.
“Between 2008 and 2019, the economic output of the region’s largest gas-producing counties grew at triple the national average. Yet, the region’s share of jobs, population, and income all declined.”
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LNG Exports Are a Rotten Deal for Appalachians
In a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece, former Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan decried President Biden’s recent decision to pause liquified natural gas (LNG) export authorizations. Ryan, tugging on heartstrings, claimed that LNG exports and other new avenues for...
2023 in Review
Together, a more prosperous, sustainable, and equitable Appalachia is possible. That’s the vision that has geared our data-driven research, guided our outreach and campaigns, and grounded our work in the region’s community and culture ever since the Ohio River Valley...
The Meaning of MVP
Tucked amid the Biden administration's cornucopia of climate initiatives was a poison pill: the greenlighting of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) in Appalachia. When the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 essentially bulldozed the permitting review process for...
Frackalachia Update: Peak Natural Gas and the Economic Implications for Appalachia
Appalachia’s largest gas-producing counties have continued their economic spiral, data show, as regional gas output begins to plateau.
Appalachia is Likely the Largest Source of Methane Emissions in the US
If it were its own country, Appalachia would be the third-largest producer of natural gas in the world, behind only Russia and the rest of the United States. And, as new measurements reveal, Appalachia is likely the source of more system-wide fossil fuel...
Oil & Gas: Central to Pennsylvania politics but not its economy
I’ve gotten better at resisting the urge to respond to every inaccurate claim, every attempt to mislead, and every rhetorical flourish that issues forth from the region’s oil and gas industry executives who, when they’re not claiming that natural gas is “clean...
ORVI in Southeastern Louisiana to Learn about a True Transition for Oil & Gas Workers
During the third week in March, I had the opportunity to travel to southeastern Louisiana to take part in several events sponsored by True Transition, a new group working to build a brighter future for oil and gas workers and communities across the country. For over a...
Inflation & Natural Gas: A Disease and its Carrier
Natural gas enters your home through your furnace, your appliances, and even through the electricity you use, much of which comes from gas-fired power plants. And that’s a problem because, not only is gas bad for your physical health (more on that later), it’s...
Misplaced Faith: How Policymakers’ Belief in Natural Gas is Driving Rural Pennsylvania Into an Economic Dead End
Policymakers’ pursuit of natural gas development is failing rural Pennsylvania, economic data show.