Does Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Extraction Affect How Much Youth in Rural Pennsylvania Like Their Community?

Abstract

Prior research on the impacts of boomtowns on youth provides mixed results. Recent qualitative work suggests youth are ambivalent about change associated with extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale. The Rural Youth Education longitudinal study of youth in rural Pennsylvania provides a unique opportunity to examine youth views about their communities before and during development of the Marcellus Shale. We use two waves of data from 10 rural school districts to assess differences in youth reports of how much they liked their community pre‐Marcellus (2005) and during Marcellus activity (2009), creating a natural experiment. Youth characteristics, aspirations, perceptions of job and educational opportunities, and views about their community are included in multinomial multivariate logistic regression models to predict how much youth like their community. We find no difference in youth liking their community pre‐Marcellus, but a larger share of youth in communities experiencing Marcellus activity by 2009 like their community “a lot” than those in areas not affected. The Marcellus effect strengthens when controls for other factors typically associated with extraction activity and views of community are included in the model, suggesting other, unmeasured aspects of Marcellus‐related activity influence how much youth like their community.

Researching Multisystemic Resilience: A Sample Methodology

“…During economic downturns (i.e., ‘busts’), communities experience spikes in unemployment and poverty ( Marchand, 2012 ; Jacobsen and Parker, 2016 ), out-migration of short- and long-term residents, a reduction in community support to vulnerable populations ( Graves et al, 2009 ; Van Assche et al, 2017 ), and an increase in mental health challenges among community members ( McClelland, 2000 ; Frasquilho et al, 2016 ; Virtanen et al, 2016 ). Economic ‘booms’ can also pose challenges to resource extraction communities, such as the rapid influx of workers overburdening community services ( Schafft and Biddle, 2015 ; McLaughlin et al, 2017 ), an increase in family separation resulting from excessively long work hours ( Markey et al, 2015 ), youth leaving school early to enter the industry ( Schafft and Biddle, 2015 ; Von Simson, 2015 ), and an increase in substance use and crime ( Luthra et al, 2007 ; Ruddell, 2011 ; Ruddell and Ortiz, 2015 ). Because of the many stressors resulting from the volatility of resource-dependent economies, and our lack of knowledge of how young people navigate their way through these challenges, we have focused our study on the resilience of youth in two communities dependent on oil and gas extraction and processing industries: Drayton Valley, Canada, and Secunda/eMbalenhle, South Africa.…”

Exploring Climate Change Perspectives. An Analysis of Undergraduate Students' Place‐Based Attachment in Appalachia, USA

“…Analyses of youth perspectives in oil and natural gas‐producing counties in Pennsylvania highlight the mixed relationships K‐12 students have with community change due to boomtown development (McLaughlin et al 2017; Schafft and Biddle 2015). Students in both studies could point to instances of economic benefit for their communities and immediate families, yet also highlighted the stark inequities and insecurities that came with development in rural communities (McLaughlin et al 2017). Despite the economic benefits in the short term, students were uncertain of the longevity of the industry as few expressed interests in jobs in the gas industry following high school graduation.…”

“…Similar to emotional attachment, the subdimension of rootedness , or a deep attachment to place as a result of living in one place for a long period, is prevalent in our analysis (Hay 1998; McAndrew 1998 in Fresque‐Baxter and Armitage 2012). Analyses of youth perspectives on oil and gas development in Pennsylvania highlight students' rootedness within their communities (McLaughlin et al 2017; Schafft and Biddle 2015). Based on growing up through boomtown development, students noticed long term changes to the surrounding environment; further, they also understood familial and socioeconomic factors that help dictate their perspectives on the industry, their livelihood, and their attachment to place.…”

“…We hence turned to the literature to understand how to pedagogically tackle their perspectives. However, much of the existing literature on climate change perspectives is specific to adults or secondary school children, both in the US and worldwide (e.g., Leiserowitz et al 2021; McLaughlin et al 2017; Schafft and Biddle 2015). Studies focusing on college‐aged students in the US indicate that they are slightly more concerned than adults about climate change, but the economy and future jobs remain the top priority for students (Corner, Markowitz, and Pidgeon 2015).…”

The Impact Of Community-Based Training Outreach In Improving Water Quality, Health, And Sanitation In Kenya

“…In another study, well owners cited financial reasons as one of the factors inhibiting frequent well water testing as required by safe drinking water guidelines (Borsuk, Rardin, Paul, & Hampton, 2014), while in some parts of U.S, 65% of private owners reported testing their water, and 24% stated conducting water testing during the last year. On the same note, there are not good policies or water quality testing programs that support well owners, and wells are not regulated in some states and countries such as Kenya (Boyer, Swistock, Clark, Madden, & Rizzo, 2012).…”