This report was from the Cornell Environmental Law Society’s 2011 Energy Conference earlier in 2011 where I was a volunteer for the weekend. Susan Christopherson, the opening keynote from the conference, and her team have completed the attached study on the economic consequences of shale gas extraction. This information was kindly forwarded to me from Ben Tettlebaum, Chair of the Environmental Law Society at Cornell Law School. -Mike

MESSAGE FROM SUSAN CHRISTOPHERSON

Attached you will find a Summary Report on The Economic Consequences of Marcellus Shale Gas Extraction, outlining some of the key issues explored by a team of researchers centered at Cornell University during the period of New York’s moratorium on high volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) for natural gas.  Our research focused on Pennsylvania, where Marcellus HVHF drilling has already begun, and on New York, which is still considering how to regulate HVHF, but we also made use of the experience of other states that have shale gas plays where HVHF has been in use far longer than in Pennsylvania. [ attachment stashed here http://canaaninstitute.org/docs/CaRDI%20Report.pdf ]

At 17 pages, this report is a series of snapshots about what we found.  For a more fulsome account of our analysis and findings on most of these issues, we encourage you to read the complete working papers and policy briefs we have made available for download at: http://www.greenchoices.cornell.edu/development/marcellus/policy.cfm.

We launched this research project because it had become evident that the public and policy discussion over the consequences of Marcellus shale gas extraction had devolved to a polarized debate contrasting potential effects on water supplies with potential economic benefits.  The consequences for water resources were (and are) receiving a great deal of attention; the economic consequences were not.  We did not begin with a disposition for or against shale gas extraction, but we wanted to develop a realistic picture about what to expect, and about the economic consequences both in the short term and in the longer term.

As you will see in the accompanying report, the consequences that should concern us all go well beyond environmental concerns, and their economic implications include costs as well as benefits.  On balance, is shale gas extraction likely to be an economic winner? Not necessarily.  We conclude that while there are real economic benefits for some parties, if shale gas extraction is to be at all a positive force for economic development broadly and long term, it will require intensive planning and a new structure of regulation, monitoring and enforcement – along with the means to pay for it – that are not currently in place.

That is why it is important that the issues identified here become a part of the discussions and actions demanded of government at the state and local level now, before it is too late.  To that end, we urge your help, and we encourage your dissemination of this report to whomever it might prove useful.

Susan Christopherson
Professor, Department of City and Regional Planning, Cornell University
Principal Investigator

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ITHACA NY - The Cayuga Nature Photographers Club has a photo show for the month of October. The opening is Fri Oct 7th from 5-8 pm at Collegetown Bagels on Aurora St downtown Ithaca as part of ‘Gallery Night’. My daughter Megan Ludgate has two of her photographs in this show.

The Cayuga Nature Photographers is a photography club dedicated to recording the beauties of nature in the Finger Lakes region, an area in Central New York State very popular with tourists because it boasts that hosts 11 gorgeous lakes, more than 1,000 waterfalls and more than 100 wineries. We meet monthly to share our work and to learn from each other. New members are always welcome. Website: http://cayugana.dot5hosting.com/index.html

The following club members will have work displayed: Adam Baker, Kathleen M. Rasmussen, George Cannon, Rick Lightbody, Chris Wien, Nancy Ridenour, Diane Sullivan, Nigel Dyson-Hudson, Megan Ludgate, John Henry Harris.

Please note: This nature photography club has no affiliation with a nearby nature center which is also named after the local Iriquois tribe “Cayuga” and [probably] no affiliation with any of the dozens of other organizations using the word Cayuga as part of their group’s title either :-)