It is a known fact Pennsylvania is greatly impacted by the Marcellus Shale. The Marcellus Shale is a layer of black shale located under the Appalachian basin from Prehistoric times. Natural gas and oil are being extracted from this layer for their increasing economic value, with natural gas having a worth of $10 for every thousand cubic feet of it. Furthermore, improved technology such as “hydraulic fracturing” and “horizontal wells” has made Marcellus drilling more efficient and has increased the implementation of the drilling as a source of economic opportunity for not only drilling companies but for the whole state of Pennsylvania (“Marcellus Shale”). An important part of this Marcellus activity is that “most drilling is occurring in rural areas” according to Joseph Morris, a poll analyzer from Mercyhurst College (Begos, Kevin. “Gas”). Amid the economic opportunity, farmers in these areas are resistant to signing over their farmland to drilling companies. Bradford County farmer Carol French, who wrote an editorial in The Patriot News, stated, “Has anyone considered how these gas developments and industrial uses on farmland will impact agriculture production for years to come if a farmer does not have the necessary means or information to negotiate protection measures?” She fears that drilling will ruin rural property and thus unnecessarily change or hurt farmers’ economic way of life (French). However, because of the vital economic benefits that Marcellus Shale drilling has for Pennsylvania, farmers in rural areas of the state should choose to allow drilling on their property.
For farmers, Marcellus drilling is desirable because revenues increase the ability of farmers to improve their farm’s economic status. For ins...
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...drilling is not merely something that farmers desire, but it is imperative that they implement it in order to rid the economic struggles that burden rural counties. “A lot of agriculture is hanging on by its fingernails and people end up selling the farms because they can't afford to farm anymore," Roba, the farmer from North Abington Township, said. "At the very least, this makes life easier (Haggerty).”
An important part of extracting natural gas from the Marcellus Shale is that it is not only necessary and desirable, but it is also practical for farmers to implement on their property. This is because drilling is now regulated by law. Therefore, it is ensured to improve and sustain Pennsylvania’s agriculture through legislation requirements. This is due in large part to the establishment of Pennsylvania Act Thirteen, which went into effect in February of 2012.
The Alberta Oil Sands are large deposits of bitumen in north-eastern Alberta. Discovered in 1848, the first commercial operation was in 1967 with the Great Canadian Oil Sands plant opening, and today many companies have developments there. The Alberta Oil Sand development is very controversial, as there are severe environmental impacts and effects on the local Aboriginal peoples. This essay will discuss the need for changes that can be made for the maximum economic benefit for Canada, while reducing the impact on the environment and limiting expansion, as well as securing Alberta’s future. Changes need to be made to retain the maximum economic benefits of the Alberta Oil Sands while mitigating the environmental and geopolitical impact. This will be achieved by building pipelines that will increase the economic benefits, having stricter environmental regulation and expansion limitations, and improving the Alberta Heritage Fund or starting a new fund throu...
On January 10th 1901 the discovery of oil at Spindletop would lead to the greatest economy boom the world has ever encountered. The amount of oil that would be discovered across Texas would be more than enough to power America through the next several decades. The effects of having oil would completely change Texas culture, lifestyle, and business tremendously. In the book of Oil In Texas, will prove that America would change completely from agriculture nation to an industrial nation after the discovery of oil in Texas.
The documentary ‘Gasland” is a telling tale of the terrible consequences of natural gas mining in the US. The filmmaker, Josh Fox, travels around the country visiting different homes that are in very close proximity of natural gas drilling sites after receiving a $100,000 offer from a natural gas company to use his land as a drilling site . The film focuses on how the drilling sites not only leave ugly scars on the land, but also the horrendous health problems people get from drinking the contaminated groundwater.
According to the Pennsylvania Constitution, Article I, § 27, “Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.” Therefore, in 2011, the Commonwealth took an inventory of state-owned lands that overlay the Marcellus and Utica Shale oil and natural gas formation. According to the 2011 report, An Inventory of State-owned Real Property and Subsur...
At the same time, the local agricultural economy was experiencing a deep economic depression due to the severe droughs that had occured throughout the past decade. The loss of crops cut out the average farmers'/planters' main food source as well a...
Of central interest to the “Taylor machine” is the Willet Dam Project, a bill which masquerades as a means by which to promote local agricultural interests but in reality only seeks to generate ill...
“Most important of all are the more than 130,000 caribou of the Porcupine herd. , these caribou are at the heart of environmentalists’ case against drilling” (McCarthy). The reason that these specific animals are the reason for not drilling is that the caribou migrate to the plains, where the drilling would take place, in order to give birth to their calves.... ... middle of paper ...
Hassett, Kevin A., and Aparna Mathur. "American Enterprise Institute." Benefits of Hydraulic Fracking. American Enterprise Institute, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. .
Pennsylvania, along with being rich in coal, is now receiving kudos for its participation in the production of natural gas. An article composed by Madelon...
Another issuance with offshore drilling is that if there is an accident it can cripple the regional economy as it hinders the community
Environmental and socioeconomic debate over an alternative method of extracting natural gas thousands of feet below the surface using horizontal drilling and hydraulic “fracking” has risen in last twenty years. Fracking is the technique of drilling deep wells under high pressure with sand, water and a variety of chemicals to crack open rocks to release natural gas (hydrogen carbons) and oil from shale or coal bed methane deposits. Townships in Colorado like Lafayette and Fort Collins, voted on a moratorium to ban fracking within city limits. Environmental organizations like the Clean Water Action and Sierra Club claim that that fracking causes environmental degradation, health issues and impacts negatively on communities and their infrastructure. Whereas organizations like the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA), Halliburton and other oil and gas industry and construction groups, and some local, state and federal politicians, claim that fracking is a safe method of onshore drilling. By burning natural gas which is considered a clean fuel reduces the amount of greenhouse gases that coal does as well as lower carbon energy use in the future. Fracking decrease dependence on foreign oil and gas, improves ability to generate electricity and heat home cheaply. Fracking supports local economies and provides much needed jobs (energyfromshale.org).
The people who are being asked permission to transform their land into drilling sites for natural gas have more reason to be concerned than most because it will affect them more directly than people who do not live in that specific area (although it does affect people who do not live in the vicinity as well). Although fracking may seem to concern to only a small group of people, it should also concern anyone who cares about doing what is safe for our country's citizens. The truth is, fracking is extremely dangerous, not only because of the negative effects on the environment, but also because it could make people ill.
The first issue addressed by the article is the difference that private property makes when it comes to managing multi use resources. It gives an example regarding the Audubon Society and how they own a 26,000-acre preserve in Louisiana that contains valuable natural gas and oil reserves, along with homes for an abundance of wildlife. The example describes how the Society has not sacrificed ints environmental values for drilling, but the drilling has “served to reaffirm and promote the values in a way to help others achieve their own purposes”. Therefore, the issues of drilling on private properties can be minimized when the opposing parties discover mutual benefits (Lee 217).
Being rich in natural resources, the region contains some of the richest mineral deposits in America (Daugneaux 1981). The coal, timber, oil, gas, and water contained within the Appalachian Mountains are resources that have historically influenced the economic characteristics of the region. The Region's economy has been highly dependent on mining, forestry, agriculture, chemical industries, and heavy industry, among which coal mining appears to be the largest financial contributor to the economy. Although half of the U.S. electricity comes from coal energy, many Americans now precious little about the earth-ravaging mining practice called mountaintop-removal mining used to extract coal in Southern Appalachia. The radical strip-mining process literally blow the tops off mountains with thousands of pounds of explosives to reach thin seams of coal. They then dump millions of tons of rubble and toxic waste into the streams and valleys below the mining sites. The mining poisons drinking water, destroys beautiful forests and wildlife habitat, increases the risk of flooding, and wipes out entire communities. There are four distinctive people groups that are involved in the mountaintop removing process, the coal companies, the Appalachians, environmental groups and the federal court. To fully understand the way natural resources have been understood, used, and allocated, it is important to recognize this diversity. In this paper I will identify the approach to resource management of these four groups in this mountaintop-removal mining case respe...
Since the early 2000’s, after new technological advancements in fracking and the discovery of large shale reserves across the country, fracking has increased domestic energy production substantially. Shale gas production has increased 20% from 2005 to 2012, promoting a more prosperous economic demand for domestic energy solutions (Pritchard). The demand for transportation vehicles, fuel, housing and water also increases with the expansion of fracking. Furthermore, the increase in fracking has increased employment significantly. In a country struggling to rebound from a recession, well-paying jobs are easily accessible in the booming oil field. This is evident in the prosperous state of North Dakota, in which the unemployment rate has fallen to 2.8 %( Gottesdiener). However, although this industrial expansion creates temporary employment, the consequences of mismanagement may also cost millions of dollars to repair. Fracking has the potential to create environmental damage such as water contamination, radioactive spills, and increased seismic activity that could cost thousands of dollars in damage. The cleanup of drinking water contamination is difficult and expensive, and ultimately rarely attempted. Moreover, the cost to replace the drinking water of contaminated homes and communities also cost a substantial amount of money (The Costs of