Landowners, State and Federal Leaders: “No cases of groundwater contamination documented anywhere”

Jerry Simmons, National Association of Royalty Owners executive director: “There are no cases of groundwater contamination documented anywhere in the country, by state or federal regulatory agencies. It’s just scare tactics to get the development stopped. … We have appropriate state and federal regulations in place to ensure this is being done in an environmentally safe and prudent manner.” (The Oklahoman, 2/9/10)

Congressman Doug Lamborn (Colo.): “Shale gas and other unconventional natural gas sources such as tight sands and coal bed methane provide more than 47 percent of the natural gas consumed in the U.S. annually. According to the Energy Information Administration, by 2030 these unconventional natural gas resources will provide 56 percent of the natural gas consumed by the United States. All of this was made possible through development of the Barnett Shale in Texas in the 1980s and 1990s, where innovative drilling techniques, horizontal drilling, combined with the safe long-standing practice of hydraulic fracturing, demonstrated that this unconventional fuel could be economically produced on a large scale.” (Roll Call, 2/8/10)

PA State Rep. Jim Christiana: “We deploy a 60-year-old technology, hydraulic fracturing, that’s used today in nine out of every 10 energy wells in America. And despite claims by opponents of affordable energy, not a single case of drinking water contamination has ever been tied to the process. Not one. Even though it’s been used nationwide more than 1.1 million times.” (Wilkes Barre Times-Leader, 2/8/10)

Congressman John Sullivan (Okla.): “Hydraulic fracking is one of the ways that we’ve been able to get these 120 year reserves. … For 60 years, they’ve been using. There’s not one – not one instance – that it’s leaked into groundwater. … There’s not one instance of it. … It’s going to create jobs in America.” (CNBC’s Mad Money, 2/8/10)

Natural gas is solution to our economic woes: “We have massive reserves of it in this country, enough to meet our energy needs for 100 years. What Saudi Arabia is to oil, the United States is to natural gas. … Recent technological advances in drilling and completion methods have made it possible to retrieve natural gas from geological formations called shale.” (San Angelo Standard-Times, Op-Ed, 2/3/10)

Safe, Well-Regulated Shale Gas Production Generating Jobs, “Created an economic explosion”

Training for Natural Gas Industry Jobs: “Jerry Cochenour of Wellsboro is getting a safety lesson while operating a piece of machinery near Williamsport. Like the other 14 students from Tioga County in the class, Cochenour is out of work and decided to find a job in the natural gas industry. “A lot of us are looking for employment due to the economy and what not. This seems like a sure-fire thing.” … “Many of these people have suffered those job losses and this is an opportunity for them to get into a growing field,” said Lorson.” (WNEP-TV, 2/8/10)

Dan Juneau, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry president: “Natural gas production in the Haynesville Shale has created an economic explosion in northwest Louisiana, just as it has in other regions of the country which have shale formations. Production of clean-burning natural gas must be the “clean energy” of the next decade, allowing a gradual transition to other forms of energy.” (Opelousas Daily World, 2/9/10)

Gas market goes global: “[U.S.] shale gas revolution changed the landscape.” (Calgary Herald, 2/9/10)

Natural gas is solution to our economic woes: “If you are of sound mind and body and have a willingness to work, you can make $65,000 to $100,000 per year with just a high school education. I met people from all over the country there. Welders, mechanics, truck drivers, roughnecks, electricians, engineers, waitresses, blackjack dealers — the list goes on and on, hardworking people who were all making good money. The same story could be played out all over the country if we drill for and produce natural gas.” (San Angelo Standard-Times, Op-Ed, 2/3/10)

Academics Weigh In on the Potentials of Shale Gas

Michael Economides, University of Houston Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Professor: “The answer is staring us in the eye … The shale gas story in the United States, in addition to all other issues, is a spectacular display of technological deployment and the intimate connection with what confuses the public more than any other: the transition from resources to recoverable reserves. … It will be gas, gas and more gas not many years from now. In this context, talking about wind and solar is nothing short of ridiculous.” (Houston Chronicle, 2/7/10)