From the mailbag: The Cost of the Pipeline

Here's a blog that was submitted to the NEPA Blogs mailbag:

http://thecostofthepipeline.com/

Mike Spille blogs about the route the PennEast Pipeline has been taking.  he also highlights FERC comments regarding the impacts of the pipeline to real residents along the route.  He also does powerful analysis of the reasons the pipeline is redundant or unnecessary.

If you have a blog you'd like us to list, send it to nepablogs@gmail.com!

About the header image: March 27, 2013

Energy: It's what makes things go. Pennsylvania has long played a role in the energy industry. The first modern oil wells were drilled in Titusville in Northwestern Pennsylvania, while high-quality anthracite coal was mined in Northeastern PA, especially in the Wyoming Valley. The region still bears the scars of those days in the form of decaying, abandoned structures, poisoned waterways, and the occasional mine subsidence.

Now a new energy rush has come to Pennsylvania as numerous concerns vie to extract the natural gas trapped within layers of the Marcellus Shale. Some residents (and non-resident landowners) have eagerly signed leases with gas extraction companies, sometimes to their regret - and with lasting impacts to the land and the legacy that these people leave behind.

Some might look at a Pennsylvania field and wonder how much natural gas could be extracted from it. But this image by Don Williams, the Susqehanna River Sentinel, shows two other forms of energy in ample supply in Pennsylvania: solar and wind. Some might think that Pennsylvania is lacking in solar resources compared to some of the sunnier states, but the thickly forested landscape bears witness to the wrongness of that thought. (And our cooler temperatures allow solar panels to operate at higher efficiency than in, say, Arizona.) As for wind, the numerous wind farms that have popped up throughout the area show that wind is a viable energy source on a commercial scale. But neither sunshine nor wind can be commodified in the way that oil, coal, or natural gas can. As long as there is a profit to be made and a market eager to buy, the fossil fuel industry will continue to tear resources out of the land. And as long as there is a Pennsylvania to fight for, people like Don Williams will continue to fight to protect the environment that so many of us take for granted.

See this post for the original image.

Send your header submissions to nepablogs@gmail.com. Thanks!

About the header image: September 26, 2012

This week's header image comes from a photo expedition by local newsman Andy Palumbo last March in Susquehanna County. As he wrote of this image on that post:

The photo above was taken in Dimock.  Impressions?  The rigs are bigger than they look on TV, and there weren't as many of them as I expected.  It's all relative.  If you feel drilling and fracking is ruining the environment, one is too many.  If you work in the industry, or if you make money from gas drilling, you likely think there should be more.

If you haven't seen one for yourself, they're still around. They'll probably be around for a while. Will the consequences of the natural gas industry be with us as long as the consequences of the coal industry? Time will tell.

From the Mailbag: Well Said Cabot

From the Mailbag --

Good morning! I’m writing to you for consideration of our blog, Well Said, to
be added to the NEPA blogs site.

While the site was created by us here at Cabot, the real goal is to leave
behind corporate news and to dedicate the blog to happenings in the NEPA (and
specifically the Susquehanna County) area including community events,
fundraisers and general news. We also partner with several non-profits so it is
our intent to feature their activities throughout the year as well.

I encourage you to visit http://www.wellsaidcabot.com/ and have
a look around. We’re just in the beginning stages, but we are excited to be
putting content out there!

Thank you!

Brittany Thomas
Coordinator, External Affairs - Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation

You can also follow Cabot Oil & Gas updates through the following social media platforms:

YouTube: CabotSusquehanna
Twitter: @CabotOG
Flickr: CabotOG
Home Page: www.cabotog.com

~Michelle

Fracking Underground

Another site dedicated to getting the word out about natural gas drilling:

Fracking Underground
http://frackingunderground.blogspot.com/

From the introductory post:
I've been watching this whole Marcellus Shame thing develop for quite a spell. I gotta say that the people who oppose this intrusion by the Natural Gas ( NG: also for No Good ) industry are, for the most part , right on the money - because that is exactly what this is all about. Nothing more, nothing less.

Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition

A request to add this site came through on May 24, 2010. Somehow I managed to miss it in TWO different InBoxes! Here it is:

GDAC - Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition
https://gasdrillingawarenesscoalition.wordpress.com/

Unfortunately, it does not seem to have an RSS / Atom / Live Feed, so it will not "bubble up" to the top of the blog list on the sidebar when a new post goes up. So be sure to check the site frequently!

Frack Mountain

From the Back Mountain - a beautiful area of Northeastern Pennsylvania just northwest of Wilkes-Barre - comes the latest blog to tackle the issue of environmental damage caused by irresponsible natural gas extraction: Frack Mountain.

http://frackmountain.wordpress.com/

From the blog's "About" page:

I live in an area called the Back Mountain. It is upland northwest of a large and populated valley. The Back Mountain comprises over 100 square miles and is home to approximately 27,000 humans. It is a verdant and pastoral quilt of relatively thriving communities and two college-sized universities.

Recently, EnCana Corporation was given permission to drill three exploratory natural gas wells in the Back Mountain. This could have major long term consequences for our good community. We need to educate ourselves and our decision makers.

I will be posting information, opinion, and links. I invite your submissions and comments.

Thanks for reading, hope to hear from you

Thanks to Mark Cour of Circumlocution for Dummies for the link.