Pittsburgh, Pa. – The safe development of clean-burning American natural gas – a process tightly overseen by state regulators – is creating an enormous scale of both economic and environmental benefits that few could have projected several years ago. From consumer savings and job creation to cleaner air, these important and shared benefits are without question Powering an American Renaissance. Please take a look at what they’re saying about responsible shale gas production:

A STRONGER ENVIRONMENTAL FUTURE

  • “Trucking Industry Is Set to Expand Its Use of Natural Gas”: In the latest sign of how the momentum for natural gas in transportation is accelerating, U.P.S. plans to announce in the next few days that it will expand its fleet of heavy 18-wheel vehicles running on liquefied natural gas, or L.N.G., to 800 by the end of 2014, from 112. …. U.P.S., like the rest of the industry, still has a long way to go in the conversion, but the company hopes to make natural gas vehicles a majority of its new heavy truck acquisitions in two years. … It is cheaper, saving truckers as much as $1.50 a gallon, and it burns cleaner, making it easier to meet emissions standards. The domestic fuel also provides some insulation from the volatile geopolitics that can drive up petroleum prices. … Now, as name-brand manufacturers and chains like Nike and Walmart have pressed for transportation of their goods by natural gas vehicles and companies like U.P.S., FedEx and Ryder System have started exploring the option, truck makers have begun bringing natural gas vehicles to the market. Major manufacturers, including Navistar and Volvo, have plans to offer long-haul natural gas vehicles. (New York Times, 4/22/13) 
  • “The Skeptical Environmentalist” Author Calls for More Shale Gas on Earth Day: This Earth Day, we need more fracking, more wealth, smarter investments, and fewer inefficient subsidies. …Earth Day also presents an opportunity to recognize a surprising, recent environmental achievement. In spite of decades of political wrangling, … it was ironically the U.S. with the shale gas revolution that has cut the most emissions globally. Fracking in the US has caused a dramatic transition to natural gas, a fuel which emits 45% less carbon per energy unit. U.S. EIA data showed that in 2012, U.S. carbon dioxide emissions declined by more than 700 million tons – 12% lower than their peak in 2007. … In fact, it amounts to twice the reduction that the rest of the world has achieved, even under the Kyoto Protocol. … This Earth Day, we need a dose of realism about real environmental challenges – like the air and water pollution which make life so miserable for billions – and the real opportunities that exist for environmental innovation, to make our planet a better place. (Globe and Mail, 4/22/13)
  • “Governor Lauds Waste Management for New Natural Gas Facility” in Bucks Co.: Compressed natural gas is all the rage at Waste Management these days, and the state’s top government official was among many who stopped by Bristol Township Friday to laud the company for its increasing commitment to the alternative energy source. “Waste Management recognizes the great asset we have here in Pennsylvania,” Gov. Tom Corbett said. “The Marcellus Shale is now the most productive gas field in the world,” he continued. “In converting its truck fleet to CNG, Waste Management is investing in the future, saving on fuel costs, contributing to our energy independence and helping the environment.” Waste Management has replaced 32 diesel trash hauling trucks at the Bristol Twp. facility, which serves Bucks Co. and other areas around Philadelphia, with ones powered by CNG, said company spokesman John Hambrose. He said 10 more CNG trucks are planned by the end of the year, and the goal is to have all 70 Waste Management trucks operating…[on] CNG by the end of 2014, he added. (Bucks Courier Times, 4/21/13)
  • Cleaner, Cheaper CNG is the Wave of the Future: Drew West is giving up his Ford F-250 pickup truck for a Honda Civic because he believes it’s the wave of the future. The car runs on compressed natural gas, which is cheaper and cleaner than gasoline or diesel and is growing in popularity for transportation purposes. His firm, American Natural Gas, provides this type of fuel for Casella Waste Management’s local fleet, and West, who co-founded the Saratoga Springs business two years ago, says it’s just a matter of time before other companies come on board, too. … It could be just the beginning as auto manufacturers produce more and more vehicles that use [CNG]. “This is exploding,” he said. (The Saratogian, 4/21/13)

JOB-CREATING IMPACTS CASCADE ACROSS REGION

  • TIME Magazine: Thanks to Shale, “U.S. Factories Increasingly Have Access to Cheap Energy”: Some economists argue that the gains are a natural part of the business cycle, rather than a sustainable recovery in the sector. But I would argue that the improvements of the last three years aren’t a blip. They are the sum of a powerful equation refiguring the global economy. U.S. factories increasingly have access to cheap energy thanks to oil and gas from the shale boom. (TIME Magazine, 4/11/13)
  • Marcellus Multiplier: New Companies Buoyed by Growing Shale Industry: “We couldn’t be more bullish on this market going 30 to 40 years out,” said Mascaro Construction Co. LP’s Brad R. McKibben. … There’s still room for new companies to move in and do big business in the region’s booming oil and gas sector, even with a slowdown in drilling, McKibben and speakers from Michael Baker Corp., Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and Comtech Industries Inc. said. There is an ever-growing network of pipeline and processing plants to build, and more highly professional companies looking for innovative contractors to help improve safety and cut costs, they said. … That’s led to specialized service companies like Comtech, said Terry Bricker, the company’s chief performance officer. … Company officials expect to have 150 to 200 employees by next year, up from 29 in 2009, he said. They also need to hire new subcontractors for several things, from building tanks and cages to helping manage their own personnel, Bricker said. (Tribune-Review, 4/19/13)
  • National Black Chamber of Commerce President & CEO: “Natural Gas is Boosting the U.S. Economy”: Yes indeed and it is documented that the growth of natural gas production is creating jobs, expanding manufacturing at a rate that was inconceivable a few years ago. … Shale gas now accounts for 30 percent of total gas consumption compared with just 1 percent in 2000. Again, we have gone from being the world’s largest gas importer to being self-sufficient and a major exporter. Natural gas vehicles [have] an affordable price of $1.95 per gallon. It is just amazing. All of this growth will give local, state and the federal governments billions of new dollars via payroll, corporate and property taxes. … God has truly blessed us. (Daytona Times op-ed, 4/18/13)
  • “Marcellus Shale Helps Manufacturing”: West Virginia is poised to make a major comeback in manufacturing jobs, and affordable, domestic energy will play a key role in that resurgence. … Affordable natural gas from the Marcellus Shale must be part of our long-term strategy to “reshore” our manufacturing jobs and rejuvenate our goods-producing sector. West Virginia is incredibly fortunate to be at the epicenter of this game-changing discovery, and it already is helping companies from the Northern Panhandle to the Kanawha Valley grow their business and expand their employment. … We have the opportunity to recapture those long-lost manufacturing jobs and again become the envy of a nation that is the envy of the world. We must not let this opportunity pass us by. (Charleston Daily Mail op-ed, 4/19/13)
  • Marcellus Benefits Cascade Across Robust Supply Chain: Aither Chemicals LLC has its eye on building a natural gas-based cracker unit that would make polyethylene and related products at a location in Ohio, Pennsylvania or West Virginia. Access to newly discovered natural gas in the Marcellus Shale region is a key to the project for South Charleston, W. Va.-based Aither. … No timetable for a decision is in place, Keeling said, but the firm previously said plant construction would cost $750 million over a period of two to three years. The plant would generate annual sales of about $450 million, depending on product mix and location. On the jobs front, the proposed Aither plant would create 200 permanent jobs and 2,000 temporary construction jobs. Indirect job creation from the project could result in as many as 1,400 more permanent jobs, officials said. (Plastics News, 4/18/13)
  • MSC: “Pa. Has a Historic Opportunity Before Us”: In just two years since the bipartisan natural gas impact fee was enacted into law, more than $400 million has been generated for the entire commonwealth. These funds, in addition to the hundreds of millions in natural gas-related tax revenue, are ensuring that critical projects and investments will continue across the state, regardless of where natural gas production occurs – including the Greater Philadelphia region. And not only is responsible shale gas development generating much-needed revenue, all while supporting more than 240,000 Pennsylvania jobs, but this tightly-regulated development and its economic benefits are cascading across Delaware County. … Pennsylvania has a historic opportunity before us: cleaner air, more affordable energy, and sustained job creation. (Del. Co. Times letter, 4/18/13)
  • “Shale Revolution Brings ‘a Time For Hope’”: After years of being energy dependent and having our gasoline prices controlled by OPEC we finally can take control of our energy future thanks to the development of the Marcellus and other shale reservoirs across the country. … The “shale revolution” can provide high paying jobs, bring the chemical, steel and other industries back to the depressed northeast and lower our energy costs. … The Marcellus will also increase tax revenues for federal, state and local government without increasing individual tax rates. It will help to clean up the environment. We are now at 1992 carbon dioxide emission levels thanks to the increased use of natural gas, not government. (Fayette Tribune op-ed, 4/22/13)

U.S., FOREIGN OFFICIALS TOUT NATURAL GAS

  • Dep. U.S. Energy Sec. Daniel Poneman: Thanks to Shale Gas, “Nearly Everyone’s Energy Bill is Lower”: As we move to a sustainable energy future, America’s fossil energy resources will continue to play an important role in our energy mix. President Obama is committed to developing our oil and gas resources in a safe and sustainable manner. Today, America produces more natural gas than ever before – and nearly everyone’s energy bill is lower because of it. (Congressional testimony, 4/18/13)
  • Irish Energy Minister: Shale Gas a ‘Game Changer’ in U.S.:  Irish Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte has said the economic impact of the shale revolution in the United States should not be underestimated. … “The shale revolution in the U.S. is having a very positive impact on U.S. competitiveness,” he said. “EU business is feeling the impact as the U.S. moves to capitalize the advantages. The shale revolution is a game changer, the effect of which must be considered on this side of the Atlantic.” (Irish Times, 4/18/13)
  • “The Foreign Policy Case for U.S. Energy Exports”: The International Energy Agency estimates that the U.S. will shortly pass Russia as the world’s largest producer of natural gas. … Moscow’s sway during the Cold War was largely a product of its massive arsenal of men, tanks, and missiles, but today its influence is tied to what comes out of pipelines. While exporting LNG from the United States is not the only way, or even the main one, to wean Europe off Russian gas, it can be an important step in that direction. There is also much to be said about the relative security of U.S. energy supplies as opposed to gas exports to Europe from Nigeria, North Africa, and Qatar. Political stability is hardly the calling card of the first two, while Qatar?—?which now controls roughly one-third of the world’s natural gas export market?—?resides in a nasty neighborhood. … There is no shortage of advantageous geopolitical reasons for moving forward with LNG exports from the United States. (Weekly Standard, 4/29/13)

Have natural gas-related questions? Please visit LearnAboutShale.org for the facts. And follow us on Twitter (@MarcellusGas) and like our Facebook page for updates.

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