Shale development is providing a number of benefits across the country, from new jobs to enhanced energy security — all while helping the United States reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution.

As Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy stated late last year:

“The pollution that I’m looking at is traditional pollutants as well as carbon. And natural gas has been a game changer with our ability to really move forward with pollution reductions that have been very hard to get our arms around for many decades.”

State leaders and regulators have also touted the environmental benefits of natural gas. As the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced earlier this year: “Significantly, since 2008, when unconventional drilling across the state began quickly increasing, cumulative air contaminant emissions across the state have continued to decline.” According to the DEP, the reductions represent “between $14 billion and $37 billion of annual public health benefit.”

Governor John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) has also discussed the “game-changing” role of natural gas in America’s ability to reduce its greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions, a statement experts from Harvard and MIT agree with. As Dr. Michael Greenstone, Professor of Environmental Economics at MIT, stated in 2013, “there’s a strong case that people in the U.S. are already leading longer lives as a consequence of the fracking revolution.”

Check out Energy In Depth’s new infographic – Natural Gas Delivers Local Air and Health Benefits – and new video to learn more about how shale gas development is providing affordable energy for American consumers, enhancing the environment, and improving public health.