Marcellus Shale Pipe Dreams
A region is discovering that the price of the economic boom from natural gas drilling may be irreversible environmental damage and residents’ peace of mind
A telling article by Rona Kobell in the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay’s “Bay Journal” describes the bitter disappointment of communities who’ve been duped by the illusion of the “Natural Gas Boom.”
Excerpts:
When the natural gas companies descended on Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale two years ago, it felt like a Gold Rush. And everyone seemed to be hitting pay dirt…
But now, with nearly 700 Marcellus wells drilled throughout the state, the environmental costs of drilling are becoming clear… It has transformed some of the state’s most beautiful landscapes into industrial zones and brought hardship to some who thought it was their lifeline.
“The regular folk out here will never see the compensation they deserve, and their original water supply is forever gone,” Switzer said. “I’m never going to make any money on this. All I’ve lost is my soul.”
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