Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Lackawanna and Wayne Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004-2010

Abstract

Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau, is currently undergoing extensive drilling and production. The technology used to extract gas in the Marcellus Shale is known as hydraulic fracturing and has garnered much attention because of its use of large amounts of fresh water, its use of proprietary fluids for the hydraulic-fracturing process, its potential to release contaminants into the environment, and its potential effect on water resources. Nonetheless, development of natural gas extraction wells in the Marcellus Shale is only part of the overall natural gas story in this area of Pennsylvania. Conventional natural gas wells, which sometimes use the same technique, are commonly located in the same general area as the Marcellus Shale and are frequently developed in clusters across the landscape. The combined effects of these two natural gas extraction methods create potentially serious patterns of disturbance on the landscape. This document quantifies the landscape changes and consequences of natural gas extraction for Lackawanna County and Wayne County in Pennsylvania

The life cycle land use of natural gas-fired electricity in the US Western interconnection

“…4 However, the potential environmental and ecological impacts associated with such an intensive natural gas production activity, including global warming potential from methane leakage, freshwater quality degradation, landscape fragmentation, and biodiversity and ecosystem services losses, are increasingly noted. [5][6][7] Land use serves as a basis for localized environmental impact assessment and has thus been recognized as a constraint to energy development, including natural gas. [8][9][10] Life cycle assessment (LCA)-an examination of the environmental burdens of a product from raw materials extraction through waste disposal-can provide important insights into the aforementioned impacts.…”