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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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.
The Failure of Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Pennsylvania
$3.8 billion is enough money to run the entire economy of a small country. But it’s just barely enough to cover the cost of Pennsylvania’s annual subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. Those subsidies are described in painstaking detail in an excellent new analysis by...
ORVI REPORT – Appalachia’s Natural Gas Counties: How dreams of jobs and prosperity turned into almost nothing
NEW REPORT: NATURAL GAS COUNTIES' ECONOMIES SUFFERED AS PRODUCTION BOOMED Since the start of the fracking boom, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia’s biggest gas-producing counties have seen declines in their share of jobs, income, and population February 10, 2021...
Railroaded By the Gas Industry
Before you get behind the wheel of a car, you’re required to have auto insurance. It costs a few bucks, especially for bad drivers, but everyone understands that insurance is a commonsense way to protect the public from the costs of accidents. It's too bad railroads...
Fracking Counties Economic Impact Report
Since the start of the fracking boom, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia’s biggest gas-producing counties have seen declines in their share of jobs, income, and population.
Living with Natural Gas Pipelines
More than 2 million miles of natural gas pipelines run throughout the United States. In Appalachia, they spread like spaghetti across the region.
Biden’s First Fracking Test: LNG Trains
Biden’s first fracking test. That’s what the Wall Street Journal editorial board calls the incoming administration’s decision about a port project on the Delaware River. Yet the decision is not about fracking at all. At least not directly. It is, rather, about whether...
Fracking is Not Popular in Pennsylvania
Public opinion research–and now actual election results–give lie to the myth: fracking simply is not popular, not nationally and not in Pennsylvania.