This blog is written and directed towards the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

To drill or not to drill - that is the question.

        As of late there has been a lot of hype over whether or not to drill for Marcellus Shale. Environmentalist are against it for reasons pertaining to the wildlife and the ecosystem, corporate businessmen stand to make a substantial profit off Marcellus Shale, extremist are against the man and for saving mother earth, concerned residents might be worried about their air and water quality, while outdoors men could be concerned over their naturalistic playground. (Excuse the reference - for lack of a better one.) Politicians stand to gain favor with their constituents, whilst the average citizens looks for guidance from those with expertise in the field. Finally, there may be those of you who are like me. An average person - I myself am a college student - who wants what is best for his/her community in all aspects. Furthermore, who wants what's best for his/her nation. I personally want a reduction on foreign dependency of all kinds, an increase in jobs and economics, and a sense of safety for my friends, family, and loved ones.

        So, is Marcellus Shale right for us? Are we ready for Marcellus Shale as it is ready for us? Is what the drilling companies tell us correct and true or should we listen to the environmentalist? How about the economist? As you can see a lot of factors play in to this decision to drill for Marcellus Shale.

To list a few:

1. Reduction on foreign energy sources. I.E. Natural gas importation into the United States in 2011.

In 2011, 3,454,964 (MCF) million cubic feet of natural gas was imported into the United States. At a price of $4.24 per one thousand cubic feet, this roughly equals 14.6 billion dollars. ($14,649,047,360) http://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_move_impc_s1_a.htm

2. How safe is it for my family and kids? We've all seen the commercial of the drilling representative speaking out how we should double line our wells to protect our water sources. What about air pollution, noise pollution, or even damage to service roads due to extensive wear and tear?

3. How many jobs will it create? Will I be able to find work to support my family?

"Nearly 48,000 people have been hired in the last year by industries related to drilling in the Marcellus Shale, and 71 percent of those people were Pennsylvania residents. Nine thousand of them were hired in the first three months of 2011."

- By DONALD GILLILAND, The Patriot-News,  http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/05/marcellus_shale_....

These are just a few of the many variables factored into the Marcellus Shale debate.

        Still the question remains - "Is Marcellus Shale the correct path for us to take?" I for one say yes it is the correct path, though I would not say it is the only path, but as the odds are stacked against us as a nation, any benefit we could gain would be audacious and foolish to place aside as a "rainy day fund". Some have referred to Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania alone as the, "Saudi Arabia" of natural gas. With most of Pennsylvania covered by Marcellus Shale, this begins to raise the question of why haven't we drilled for Marcellus Shale already? The demand for natural gas hasn't been has high in past years as it has in recent years. Thus a higher demand of natural gas requires one of two decisions: pay a foreign nation to import their reserves of natural gas or drill from our own. Clearly drilling out of our own backyard would be the most economically sound decision and I believe it would be the wisest. Why pay another country, import taxes, and more, when we could do it ourselves at half the price and promote job growth in an economy already struck with high unemployment rates?

        This brings me to my next point, unemployment rates in the state of Pennsylvania. The unemployment rate for Pennsylvania is at 8.4% as of March 2012. http://www.bls.gov/ro3/palaus.htm With such high unemployment rates, drilling for Marcellus Shale could be the boost Pennsylvanians have direly needed. As stated before, 48,000 people had been hired in 2011 due to Marcellus Shale drilling. For those of us who know what it is like to not own a job, or be able to provide for your family, the prospects of a well paying job that offers full medical benefits is too good to pass up.

        Thirdly, an option to be explored is a required percentage of gross income from drilling companies that would be applied to research into safer and more eco-friendly forms of drilling. I feel this would be a good median for both parties - those of whom are for or against drilling - and that this application would be greatly welcomed by most communities. This research could be applied to a number of different fields including but not limited to: the preservation of wild life, the reduction of noise, air, and water pollution, safer means of extracting and processing Marcellus Shale as well as improved means of filtration and purification of used water.

        With so many reasons pertaining to why we should drill for Marcellus Shale and those reinforcing the demand for it, I say we take the leap towards drilling. We have a golden opportunity in front of us, let us not squander it, but take action.

This blog was written for the populous of Pennsylvania by Professor's Derek Handley's English class, third group, CCAC.

Jadora Perminter, Emeka Abugata, and Michael C. Anderson.

I welcome comments, criticism, and rebuttals.