Some of you might have already seen EID’s issue alert on the new study out of the Manhattan Institute earlier this month. The report didn’t get all that much coverage in the press — no doubt  because it finds that responsible Marcellus development could result in lots of jobs, revenue and opportunity for New Yorkers. 

Talking about 18,000 jobs along the southern tier, with another 90,000 jobs possible if we ever got around to tapping the shale layers below the Marcellus. Click here to check out the study for yourself. How does $11.4 billion in economic output sound to you? That’s what’s possible for New York if the state allows orderly development to proceed. Not a bad nugget for a state with a $9 billion hole in its budget right now, is it? 

Anyway, it’s a great report — but this post isn’t about that. It’s about the dinner that was held after the report’s release, and specifically the part featuring remarks from former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell — former chair of the DNC, former mayor of Philadelphia, and currently: one hell of a commentator on all things Philly sports.

True to form, our former governor had a pretty straightforward message to those currently on the fence about shale development — in particular, one fellow Democrat who currently serves as governor of New York. Here’s his advice to Gov. Cuomo:

If Governor Cuomo were to ask me my advice about lifting the moratorium, I would tell him the moratorium should be lifted. There’s too much of an upside here for New York, as there was for Pennsylvania, and too much of an upside for America. … We have farmers in all parts of Pennsylvania who assumed they would die poor and have nothing to give to their families. And all of a sudden, because of the Marcellus Shale, that image that they had became incorrect.

Great snippet of video capturing Gov. Rendell’s remarks — right after the jump.

Fast-forward to 13:30 for Rendell

Clearly, Governor Rendell agrees with the more than 70,000 members of the JLCNY and the countless other natural gas supporters that this issue is taking entirely too long to sort out. His experiences in Pennsylvania demonstrate Marcellus Shale gas production is possible now and  safe now.  Susquehanna and Bradford Counties, both of which adjoin New York State and are already feeding it jobs, are two prime examples of the benefits New York could receive immediately and over the long term. For more detail just read through Timothy J. Considine’s report.  It’s an eye-opener!