Over the last twelve months, the transformative economic and environmental benefits tied to responsible shale development have flooded regional, national and international news headlines.

Natural gas production volumes hit historic levels, resulting in a sharp decline in U.S. carbon emissions. Hundreds of millions in taxes and impact fees were generated for local communities and statewide. Once-shuttered factories turned their lights back on, reigniting the local workforce. Manufacturers are flocking back to the U.S. for affordable supplies of homegrown energy; and compressed natural gas (CNG) has made further headway as a clean, sustainable transportation option. Our trade deficit is being chipped away, and we are reducing our dependence on foreign energy suppliers, all while we increase our global competiveness. From the rustbelt’s center to farming and our urban communities alike, lives were changed this year, and for the better because of American shale gas.

Here’s a high-level look back at the overwhelmingly positive news – just some of it – from the last year about safe shale development, which is recharging America:

JANUARY
  • Natural Gas “a Game-Changer for U.S. Economy” (US News & World Report, 1/3/13)
  • “Shale Gas Will Fuel a U.S. Manufacturing Boom” (MIT Technology Review, 1/9/13)
  • IHS Report: American Manufacturing Buoyed by Shale Gas (Release, 1/21/13)
  • Top U.S. State Dept. Official: American “Energy Revolution” Key to Economic Recovery (CNBC, 1/23/13)
  • Shale Gas: “An Economic Godsend” for Consumers (Commonwealth Magazine, 1/24/13)
  • “Billions in Gas Drilling Royalties Transform Lives” (Associated Press, 1/27/13)

FEBRUARY
  • “Local Farmers Becoming Marcellus Millionaires” (KDKA-TV, 2/18/13)
  • Shale “Helps Revive East Coast Refineries” (Boston Globe, 2/18/13)
  • “Natural Gas is the Key to a Bountiful Future” (Washington Times op-ed, 2/19/13)
  • Marcellus “Has Been an Economic Game-Changer for the Entire Area” (Fox News, 2/20/13)

MARCH
  • U.S. Natural Gas Liquids Offer “Profound Economic and Geopolitical Implications” (Brookings Institution, 3/13/13)
  • Marcellus Shale Supply Chain Benefits “Are Easy to See” (The Economist, 3/16/13)
  • “Energy Boom Dawning in America” (NBC News, 3/18/13)
  • Shale Benefits “Ripple Through U.S. Economy” (NBC News, 3/25/13)
  • “Shale Gas Making the U.S. a Manufacturing Magnet” (Reuters, 3/26/13)
  • “Shale Gas is Transforming America’s Energy Future” (Plastics News, 3/27/13)
  • “Cheap Natural Gas Pumping New Life Into U.S. Factories” (NPR, 3/29/13)
 

APRIL
  • “Pa. Sees $400M in Marcellus Shale Impact Fees” (Lehigh Valley Business, 4/5/13)
  • Thanks to Shale, “U.S. Factories Increasingly Have Access to Cheap Energy” (TIME Magazine, 4/11/13)
  • “Trucking Industry Is Set to Expand Its Use of Natural Gas” (New York Times, 4/22/13)

MAY
  • Dramatic Discoveries of Natural Gas “Are Helping to Lift the American Economy out its Long Funk” (Associated Press, 5/6/13)
  • Shale Gas “The Biggest Breakthrough in Decades” (The Economist, 5/27/13)
  • “Pittsburgh Becomes Expat Hot Spot” Thanks to Natural Gas (CNN, 5/31/13)
  • Shale a Driver In “Why Pittsburgh is Becoming a Boomtown” (MSN, 5/31/13)

JUNE
  • Marcellus Shale “a Magnet for Economic Development, Improvement in the Region” (Washington Observer-Reporter, 6/13/13)
  • “PUC Set to Dole Out $202 Million in Marcellus Impact Fees” (Pittsburgh Business Times, 6/13/13)
  • Impact Fee Revenues Like “Christmas in July” (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 6/13/13)
  • “Almost $3.4 Million in Drilling Impact Fees for Philadelphia Area” (Philadelphia Inquirer, 6/14/13)
  • “Steelmakers Reap Benefits From U.S. Shale Gas Revolution” (Financial Times, 6/18/13)

JULY
  • Shale Gas one of the “Biggest Forces to Hit the U.S. Economy in Modern History” (Wall Street Journal, 7/19/13)
  • DOE study: Fracking chemicals didn’t taint water (Associated Press, 7/19/13)
  • Natural Gas Impact Fee Funds Provide an “Opportunity to Improve our Neighborhoods” (Williamsport Sun-Gazette, 7/21/13)
  • Global Leaders, Business Flock to Pa. Thanks to Shale (Associated Press, 7/24/13)
  • Natural Gas Industry Investments “Saves Taxpayers a lot of Money,” Boosts Small Business (KDKA, 7/24/13)
  • Natural Gas Exports Bolster U.S. Economy, Security (Fox News, 7/25/13)
  • “Chemical Companies Rush to the U.S. Thanks to Cheap Natural Gas” (Bloomberg, 7/25/13)

AUGUST
  • American Shale Production “Spurs Rapid Job Growth”
    (Fox Business, 8/8/13)
  • Compressed Natural Gas Cuts our Dependence on Foreign Oil
    (Tribune-Review, 8/10/13)
  • U.S. Sen. Casey: We Must “Take Full Advantage of the Natural Gas Opportunities”
    (PhillyBurbs.com, 8/13/13)
  • “EPA’s Mccarthy: ‘Responsible’ Gas Production Key to Climate Strategy”
    (The Hill, 8/14/13)

SEPTEMBER
  • New Report Finds Domestic Oil and Natural Gas to Support 3.3M Jobs by 2020 (USA Today, 9/4/13)
  • “Fracking Boom Seen Raising Household Incomes by $1,200” (Bloomberg News, 9/4/13)
  • “IHS Report: Shale Gas to Boost U.S. Plastics Jobs” (Plastics News, 9/6/13)
  • New Study “Undercuts Environmental Argument Against Fracking”(Associated Press, 9/16/13)

OCTOBER 
  • U.S. Natural Gas Production Driving Global Investment (Wall Street Journal, 10/1/13)
  • “U.S. is Overtaking Russia as Largest Oil and Gas Producer” (Wall Street Journal, 10/2/13)
  • “The U.S. Is an Energy Superpower” (TIME Magazine, 10/4/13)
  • “Pa. is Becoming Like the New Gulf Of Mexico” (Citizen’s Voice, 10/15/13)
  • “Marcellus Shale Gas Growing Faster Than Expected” (Associated Press, 10/22/13)
  • North America Leads The World In Production Of Shale Gas (EIA, 10/23/13)

NOVEMBER 
  • “Shale Gas Boom to Fuel U.S. Lead over Europe and Asia for Decades” (Financial Times, 11/13/13)
  • Marcellus Shale: Dramatically Changing Economic Fortunes (WBRE-TV, 11/14/13)
  • “Fracking Sees Widespread Support in New Poll” (Pittsburgh Business Times, 11/18/13)
  • Marcellus Goliath Transforms Region
    (Bloomberg, 11/26/13)

DECEMBER 
  • Marcellus Development More Efficient, Safer than Ever (Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/16/13)
  • “Environmentally Friendly” Natural Gas is “Key to Securing our Future” (CNBC, 12/16/13)
  • EIA: Natural Gas Leading U.S. Towards Energy Independence (New York Times, 12/17/13)
  • U.S. Department of Energy: “Pa. May Rank 2nd in 2013 Natural Gas Production (Associated Press, 12/17/13)
  • “Pa. Is Fastest-Growing Natural Gas State” (TIME, 12/17/13)

 

For more fact-based information about responsible, job-creating shale development and please visit LearnAboutShale.org and our blog. And please follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!