New Energy Landscapes of Pennsylvania: Forests to Farms to Fracking

This dissertation adds to the literature on energy needed by industry, government, and citizens for decision-making. The pursuit to access or create new energy resources spawns new landscapes of energy in the early 21st century. The combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technologies---popularly called "fracking"---enables entry into previously inaccessible natural gas reserves such as the Marcellus shale much of which lies beneath Pennsylvania. Although this unconventional method offers a promising source of domestic energy and job growth, the potential for negative impacts raises concerns and questions. The questions include: What is the controversy about fracking in Pennsylvania? What are the impacts of fracking? What costs is Pennsylvania paying as it shifts to shale gas extraction? Are there activities taking place or material signs that point to the emerging new landscapes? Are the individuals and organizations that resist shale gas extraction---the so-called "Green Forces"---and others who live within the region of development more or less attuned to these costs?;A mixed methods approach consists of landscape and stakeholder analyses including visual examination of GIS-generated maps, satellite images, and photos taken in the field specifically from four counties: Washington, Warren, McKean, and Bradford. Research captures stakeholders' voices across the public, government, and private sectors at different scales. A stakeholder matrix facilitates data organization and analysis. Data include 114 individual statements from an EPA Public Meeting, texts from 40 online-newspaper articles or blogs, and face-to-face interviews or focus group participation of 36 individuals. Further data come from a public health conference, industry convention, and public protest.;The new energy landscape covers spaces in Pennsylvania where oil and gas development previously had not been present. It obscures as well as exposes the legacy of past energy landscapes such as clear-cut forests, coal mining, and conventional drilling that linger in forests, in the minds of older residents, and photos of the past. Contest ensues between "green forces" and industry that utilize different tools for land use control.;Differences surface between what the oil and gas industry knew before, and what it is learning in the early 21st century. The magnitude of shale gas technology includes larger and more sophisticated machinery, higher pressured fracking, increased material amounts, varied land use, and impact on public infrastructure. Cultural differences occur between Texan gas field workers and local Pennsylvanians generated by different physical geography, climate, and regulatory framework.;Further findings demonstrate a wide gap in communication between those of differing ideologies. Some stakeholders show up in the matrix as "omitted" from decision-making including small businesses and conventional drillers, public health sector professionals, and water well drillers. Other findings show an unwillingness to share in the costs of energy development. Interviewees explain the costs that they endure as the country pursues energy security, while others outside of Pennsylvania take in only the benefits. Over time, society conforms as a new "normal" is formed. All of this takes place while the world is watching Pennsylvania evolve through the early stages and unknown outcomes of shale gas extraction.