the fracking revolution: finding energy stories everywhere by marilyn geewax
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NPR's Marilyn Geewax presents The Fracking Revolution: Finding Energy Stories Everywhere," the free, one-hour webinar hosted by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism. For more information about free training for business journalists, please visit businessjournalism.orgTRANSCRIPT
Title Slide The Fracking Revolution: Finding Energy Stories
Everywhere Marilyn Geewax
NPR Senior Business Editor [email protected]
@geewaxnpr
What is Fracking?
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/americans-uninformed-about-
fracking-says-new-study-16762
Most Americans – and journalists – aren’t
entirely sure…
Oil and Gas Drilling Are Booming
Production Has Shot Up as Fracking Has Grown U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data
U.S Output Is Growing as Consumption and Imports Decline
EIA Data
“Saudi America” Is Becoming an Exporter of Energy
EIA Data
How many stories have you produced about fracking?
• More than five • Between two and five
• One story • None
Poll Question #1
The Change Has Come
Quickly EIA data
• What's Happening in Texas
The Permian Basin in Texas
The Permian Basin May Change the Oil Game
• EIA says it’s the U.S.’s largest oil producer • Production has increased by 93,000 barrels
per day year-over-year • Growing consensus that potential is huge • It may hold more than 1 billion barrels • That may be worth $5 trillion
Companies Use “Hydraulic Fracturing” For Releasing Both
Oil and Natural Gas • The technique has been used since 1947. • Fracking is now very common – some
estimate it has been used to stimulate a million oil and gas wells around the world.
So How Does Fracking Work For Natural Gas?
1) You need a lot of water 2) And you need a lot of steel pipe to drill down
as far as 10,000 feet. Let this ProPublica illustration explain… http://www.propublica.org/special/hydraulic-
fracturing-national
In your community, what local stories have taken shape related to the new energy
industry?
Poll Question #2:
Natural Gas Consumption By End Users
EIA Data
Electric power Industrial Residential Commercial Lease and plant fuel Transportation (pipeline & vehicle fuel) & other
36% 28% 16% 11% 5 % 3%
Impact on Manufacturers Will Be Huge
• Dramatically lower energy bills. • Cheaper “feed stock” for making fertilizers
and bulk chemicals (ethylene). • Cheaper transportation options.
Switch From Coal to Natural Gas Will Help Energy-Hungry Industries
Makers Of Steel And Other Metals Will Benefit
Dow Chemical Expands in Texas
Trucking Fleets and Railroads Are Switching To Natural Gas
Jobs Are Growing BLS says energy-production workers average $35.15 an hour
Fair To Say the Energy Sector is Creating A Lot Of Jobs
• North Dakota is looking great, with 3 percent unemployment.
Oil rig in Williston, N.D., by Flickr user lindsey gee
Booming Oil Industry Struggling to Fill Job Openings
What Could Go Right? • Air quality keeps improving as fracking
increases. Emissions off 12% since 2007. • http://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/
carbon/
What Could Go Wrong?
• Environmental Impact Is Just Too Negative • Not As Much Gas And Oil As We Thought • People Just Don’t Want It • Other Countries Produce So Much, It Gets
Too Cheap • Fracking produces so much oil and gas
that prices plunge, and the energy sector goes from boom to bust.
Many Worry That Fracking May Release Methane, Harm Ground Water and Trigger
Earthquakes
Some Skeptics Say Industry Is Over-Estimating the Potential
People In Many States Just Don't Want to Live Next to Fracking
Easy-to-Find Local Angles in TX, OH, PA,
ND, LA http://www.npr.org/2013/03/28/175483517/cheap-natural-gas-pumping-new-life-into-u-s-factories
But Stories Can Be Found Almost Everywhere, Even Maine
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=178651276&m=178651245
Additional Resources
http://www.propublica.org/series/fracking
http://www.cfr.org/energy-and-environment/hydraulic-fracturing-
fracking/p31559
Stories to Look for in Your Community
• Are any manufacturers expanding?
• Are young people considering energy jobs?
• Are colleges making adjustments in courses?
Oil rig in Williston, N.D., by Flickr user Lindsey Gira
Stories to look for in your community
• Are workers getting injured or killed in these jobs?
• What’s happening to water and land around you?
Photo by Flickr user Ben Schumin
Questions? [email protected]
@geewaxnpr