Demanding More Dollars From Drillers
MAY 20, 2013 | by GORDON TOMB
Pennsylvania's new drilling impact fee has not deterred special interests from demanding more money from the state’s most prolific producers of new energy.
Free-market Gas Outshines Subsidized Solar
APRIL 9, 2013 | by GORDON TOMB
One news story highlights hundreds of jobs lost and millions of taxpayer dollars down the drain via corporate welfare. Another celebrates millions of new state revenue and free market job creation. This contrast offers a lesson for lawmakers.
FrackNation Exposes Gasland Lies
MARCH 14, 2013 | by GORDON TOMB
"FrackNation" is not only about the development of natural gas, but also about journalism, says Phelim McAleer, co-director of the 70-minute documentary. Shown this week to about 70 people at a meeting of the Tea Party Patriots of Central Pennsylvania in suburban Harrisburg, the recently released video debunks virtually everything the 2010 pop documentary "Gasland" used to demonize gas drilling in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
Carbon Tax Devastating for Manufacturers
MARCH 7, 2013 | by GORDON TOMB
A study reported by the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association says a carbon tax would have a devastating effect on the state's manufacturers. Manufacturing output in energy-intensive activities could drop by as much as 15 percent as a carbon tax increases prices of natural gas, electricity, gasoline and other energy commodities, according to the study conducted by NERA Economic Consulting.
3 Reasons Marcellus Gas Tax Misses Mark
SEPTEMBER 11, 2012 | by KATRINA ANDERSON
A new report shows that Marcellus Shale drillers will dole out $206 million to satisfy the state's tax (or "impact fee") on natural gas production in 2011. The tax-eaters will surely surface shouting their "fair share" mantra, demanding the industry pay even more. But consider these three under-reported facts: Drillers were already paying taxes and fees, and contributing to local causes.
Energy 101
Pennsylvania has always been a leading provider of America's energy. From timber and coal to the nation's first commercial oil well, and now the Marcellus Shale boom, traditional energy is vital to our state's economy.
But these industries, and the prosperity that accompanied them, are now threatened because they have become politically unpopular. Instead of entrepreneurship and the responsible development of natural resources, today's energy companies are rewarded on the basis of their lobbying.
EnergyFactsPA, a project of the Commonwealth Foundation, provides a guide to the key energy and environmental issues facing Pennsylvania.
