Bradford County, PA: “The Recession Passed Right Over Us”

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A balanced article looking at arguments both for and against shale gas drilling posted on the 13-WHAM TV website begins this way:

In Towanda, PA the great rush of the Susquehanna has met its match.

At all hours, heavy trucks and trailers chug across Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Follow the traffic up Main Street and try to pick out an empty storefront.

It’s near impossible.

“Now Hiring” signs decorate several windows.

Towns like Towanda have made Bradford County, monetarily, one of the fastest growing counties in the country.

“The recession that hit the rest of the country passed right over us,” said Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko.

It’s a boom fueled by natural gas.*

The economic boom caused by shale gas drilling is an often underreported aspect of the issue.

The rest of the article, worth a read (click the link below) features dueling professors—Tony Ingraffea from Cornell University (anti) and Don Siegel from Syracuse University (pro).

*13-WHAM ABC (Feb 13, 2012) – Hydrofracking: Under The Surface

5 Comments

  1. And Toga County in NY, which borders Bradford county PA, is one of the poorest in the state. . . Tragic, truely Tragic Governor Cuomo, Don’t you think?

  2. Agree, too bad, Seems like the vocal minorty often rule in our country. Cuomo should know better and think about the greater good. But I think once the technology is proven safe, NY will follow along as in other areas.

  3. The rest of the article… features dualing [dueling] professors. AND this, which of course you don’t mention:

    An hour north of Woodhull, in Hammondsport, John Ingle, owner of Heron Hill Winery, which overlooks Keuka Lake, fears water contamination and worries industrial traffic will chase off tourists.

    “I just don’t think there’s any amount of money that’s worth sacrificing the future and the beauty and the safety of the water and environmental here in the Finger Lakes,” Ingle said.

    Trudy Gerlach, who has lived near Towanda nearly her entire life, says Ingle’s fears are the reality in Bradford County.

    “So many of the rigs operate 24 hours a day making noise and if you live close to them, there’s nothing you can do,” she said. “You can move away.”

    She adds the influx of young, single men has pushed up both the crime rate and the rent.

    Then there’s the water.

    “Just in this area, I know about 10 people whose wells have been contaminated,” she said.

  4. Thanks for the grammar catch Bob! I link to full stories so people can click through and read them, as you did. I excerpt those items I think are interesting and of value to MDN readers. Hearing one more unsubstantiated fear is not, in my editorial opinion, valuable so I did not highlight it. My aim is not to distort or present things out of context, but to highlight bits of information that are of value. Just so you know where I’m coming from.