Study: Old Conventional Wells Impact PA Streams More Than Fracking
A Syracuse University study (full copy below) reveals that conventional oil and gas extraction in Pennsylvania poses a greater long-term threat to stream biodiversity than modern shale fracking. By analyzing over 6,800 aquatic samples, researchers found that legacy infrastructure (old conventional oil and gas wells) is more strongly linked to declining ecosystem health and the loss of sensitive species. While public concern often centers on newer fracking methods, these findings highlight the persistent impact of older, conventional wells. The study, titled “The Legacy of Conventional Oil and Gas Development Outweighs Shale Gas Impacts on Stream Biodiversity,” emphasizes prioritizing the regulation and remediation of abandoned well sites to protect freshwater ecosystems, ensuring that environmental stewardship is based on long-term ecological data rather than assumptions. Read More “Study: Old Conventional Wells Impact PA Streams More Than Fracking”
Big Solar, as in big solar farms (which are ugly and eat up farmland), can’t exist in a fair and open energy market. It’s too expensive. Big Solar fails unless there are massive taxpayer subsidies—you supporting it with your tax dollars. Nowhere is that more evident than what just happened in Centre County, Pennsylvania. The Centre County government agencies that had worked together for years on plans to buy solar energy are ending the initiative after the company they were working with sought to end the current contract amid a “changing financial landscape.” Taxpayer subsidies disappeared, and so, too, has this project. 
We won’t bore you with links to numerous stories we’ve written pointing out how the environmental left has pivoted from anti-fracking to anti-data center. We believe we were one of the first to make that observation (about a year ago). At any rate, one of the worst of the worst “environmental” organizations, Food & Water Watch (FWW), has all but abandoned its anti-fracking work to focus on opposing and blocking AI data centers. It’s absolutely, positively, anti-progress (not to mention anti-American). FWW’s latest campaign is aimed at convincing Congress and state legislatures (like Pennsylvania) to pass a three-year moratorium on building new data centers. 
The 2026 International Energy Agency (IEA) Ministerial Meeting marked a significant turning point as the U.S. demanded a shift from climate-focused advocacy toward “energy realism.” Energy Secretary Chris Wright threatened withdrawal unless the Agency prioritizes energy security over aspirational Net Zero scenarios. And he did so as IEA’s corrupt leader, Dr. Fatih Birol, sat just a few feet away. Wright’s pressure led the IEA to reinstate its “Current Policies Scenario,” acknowledging that fossil fuel demand may grow through 2050 despite transition efforts. As the Agency expands with new members like Colombia, it faces a mandate to align its data-driven research with real-world energy addition rather than idealized transitions, ensuring its continued relevance to global energy investment and security. 
The Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA) is the comprehensive trade association representing nearly 400 members across Pennsylvania’s oil and natural gas industry. Tracing its roots to 1918, it serves as a unified voice for shale and conventional producers, service companies, and distributors. PIOGA will host its 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Calling questions “climate denial” won’t keep the lights on; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures settle higher; U.S. LNG developers sign highest volume of contracts since 2022; U.S. electricity generation in 2025 hit a record, again; To advance energy affordability, America must build again; Energy exploration is under attack, and here’s what needs to change; Short-term priorities emerge as global demand for natural gas heats up; INTERNATIONAL: Oil settles near 20-month high; Saudi Arabia races to reroute oil; LNG shipping rates soar 650% to $300,000 per day; Scientists new plan to save the world by chopping down forest, tossing it in the ocean; The Iran War has exposed the suicidal madness of Net Zero; 5 charts show China’s oil dilemma after US strikes; The Iran conflict and oil markets. 
Despite a “public outcry” (of 13 people), the Chesapeake City (Virginia) Council voted 6-3 last July to approve a compressor station for Virginia Natural Gas (see 
Top leadership at Gulfport Energy recently executed significant insider stock sales totaling millions of dollars. EVP and CFO Michael Hodges led the divestment, selling 16,769 shares for approximately $3.53 million. Director Timothy J. Cutt followed by disposing of 5,000 shares for over $1.04 million, while SVP of Reservoir Engineering Michael Sluiter sold 9,933 shares, generating roughly $2.09 million. These substantial transactions by high-ranking executives represent a major shift in insider holdings, with the company’s leadership team collectively cashing out over $6.6 million in stock during this period of notable trading activity. What does it mean? 
A study by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development indicates that a proposed 500 to 700-megawatt hyperscale data center at the Zediker site in Washington County, PA, could generate $407 million for the local economy and create 2,364 jobs. Owned by CNX Resources Corp., the former coal mine is being marketed for generative AI facilities, leveraging nearby natural gas supplies and remediated mine gas to power the operation. While no official deal has been struck, the project is expected to yield $67.5 million in tax revenue, positioning the site as a transformative hub for high-tech investment and regional prosperity. 
In the closing hours of the 2014 West Virginia legislative session, the legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 373, the Aboveground Storage Tank Act (see 
Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass (CP) LNG export facility in Louisiana began operations in March 2022 (see 
Nine Energy Service, a Houston-based provider of onshore completion solutions with operations in a number of shale basins, including major operations in the Marcellus/Utica, received court approval for its prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan on March 4. The company filed for protection in the Southern District of Texas on February 1, 2026, seeking to address a heavy debt load largely resulting from its 2018 acquisition of Magnum Oil Tools (see 
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has granted non-FTA export authorization for Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi LNG expansion, specifically Mid-Scale Trains 8 and 9. This 3.28 MMTPA addition establishes the terminal as the second-largest U.S. LNG export project, with a total authorized capacity of 4.45 Bcf/d. Following a June 2025 investment decision, construction is proceeding alongside the Stage 3 Project, which successfully completed four trains in 2025. As the U.S. leads global LNG exports, Cheniere is already seeking further capacity increases through 2026. This authorization lasts until 2050, securing the facility’s long-term role in international energy markets. Marcellus/Utica molecules help feed this facility, so this is good news for our region! 
During the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee hearing held on March 2, House Republicans advocated for expanded shale gas drilling on state forest lands and beneath state parks to bolster revenue. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn, a radical leftist, noted that current drilling provides an average of $95 million annually but has already caused the “loss” of 30,000 acres of core forest land. Republican members suggested that revising the long-term leasing moratorium could generate an additional $250 million, which fell on deaf Democrat ears.