Fifteen months removed from EPA Region 6 administrator Al Armendariz’s email to local anti-shale activists imploring them to “Tivo channel 8” so they didn’t miss his big announcement targeting Range Resources in Texas, EPA’s statement this afternoon that it has withdrawn its “imminent and substantial endangerment” order is certainly good news for the company — and even better news for residents in and around Parker Co. who had been (mis)led to believe by their government that local natural gas development had put their water at risk.

We spend a good bit of time at EID documenting how some folks are willing to do, say and write just about anything – however misleading or flat-out wrong – to try to scare the public about responsible oil and natural gas development. So it’s always fun to turn the tables by discussing a subject that makes professional energy activists nervous: paychecks.

Americans consistently support more domestic energy development, and they also highly value a clean and well-protected environment. So it’s of little surprise that a new poll released today shows that 57 percent of Americans support the use of hydraulic fracturing. Only 22 percent oppose the process, which means nationwide support outstrips opposition by a more than two-to-one margin.

This past weekend, the New York Times continued its ongoing attack on shale development with a story suggesting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture was considering a plan to deny mortgages to folks who had signed oil and gas leases. The problem? According to the Agriculture Department itself, none of it is true.

Set aside all the stage props, backdrops and inflatable scenery deployed as part of the continuing saga known as Dimock, and you’re left with a pretty basic question – albeit one to which very few outside media have gone out of their way to find a legitimate, science-based answer. Quite simply: Is the water up there safe?

The Fayetteville Shale has put Arkansas on the map as one of the most prolific energy producing states in the country. But are the technologies currently being used to power this Natural State revolution safe? If so, do state regulators have all the tools, resources and experience they need to make sure it remains so? According to an independent panel of regulators, environmentalists, and industry reps, the answer is “yes.” Click here to read up on the new report from STRONGER.

As serious people continue to cite serious evidence in support of the proposition of responsible development, a fundamentally unserious account of the current debate was posted this week on the website of Rolling Stone magazine. Coming in at 6,200 words on the dot, the piece can most charitably be described as a not-so-quick (but plenty dirty) rehash of previously debunked charges and talking points, offered up by the same usual cast of characters that’s frequently wheeled-out and introduced anew any time a hit-piece is in the offing.

In a report released today, the WEF says the oil and natural gas sector added 9% of all new U.S. jobs last year. That’s 37,000 direct jobs, plus another 111,000 “indirect and induced” jobs. That’s a “multiplier effect” of three-to-one. The WEF report explains why:

States that have safely and responsibly developed their natural gas resources have seen significant increases in job creation and economic activity in recent years. As Maryland examines whether to develop its shale resources, a new study shows its westernmost counties could support thousands of jobs by producing nearly $300 million worth of natural gas located two miles underground.