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.”
Reports:
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Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro Charges Mariner East Pipeline Developer with Environmental Crimes, Reflecting Widespread Support for a Crackdown on Fracking
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro charged Mariner East 2 Pipeline owner Energy Transfer with a total of 48 counts of environmental crimes last Tuesday in a landmark crackdown that reflects Pennsylvania voters’ overwhelming concern about the impacts of...
Community groups urge U.S. Department of Energy to halt gas, ethane development
More than one hundred environmental and community advocates described the devastating threats to public health and safety posed by petrochemical development in Appalachia and the Gulf South during a public hearing organized by the Department of Energy’s Office of...
New Poll Shows PA Voters Want a Crackdown on Fracking
Pennsylvania has officially soured on fracking. A groundbreaking new opinion poll released today by the Ohio River Valley Institute shows that, by wide margins, state voters support a serious crackdown on fracking operations. The poll shows that voters across all...
Pennsylvania Voters Support a Serious Crackdown on Fracking Operations
Across demographics, Pennsylvania voters are deeply concerned about the health and environmental impacts of fracking and skeptical of its benefits.
Destined to Fail: Why the Appalachian Natural Gas Boom Failed to Deliver Jobs & Prosperity and What It Teaches Us
An assessment of the systemic causes behind the natural gas industry’s failure to deliver economic prosperity to the 22 largest fracking counties across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
Fact-Checking Fitzgerald on Fracking
In response to Pittsburgh protests over fracking and petrochemical development in the region, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald uttered a string of half-truths and factual distortions about the impacts of the industry. As a corrective to Fitzgerald and other...
NEW REPORT: Future Appalachian Shale Gas Drilling Unprofitable and Petrochemical Buildout Unlikely
JOHNSTOWN, Pennsylvania, March 23, 2021 – New gas field developments in Appalachia are unlikely to be profitable as the US energy system undergoes rapid decarbonization, according to a new report from the Stockholm Environment Institute's US Center (SEI) and the Ohio...
Misdirection: How we’re misled about the natural gas boom’s economic impacts
The Ohio River Valley Institute’s recent report on the nearly complete failure of the Appalachian natural gas boom to deliver on promises of jobs and prosperity in the region's major gas-producing counties triggered a great deal of blowback from the industry and its...
Risks for New Natural Gas Development in Appalachia
Higher prices are needed to save Appalachian natural gas, but the industry faces pressure from decarbonization and uncertain petrochemical markets.