Jobs and the Economy

Background

In the United States there is a constant stress for industries to produce jobs when entering an area.  There is no question that natural gas can play a role as a cheap form of alternative fuel that can help promote economic growth.  As with all fossil based fuels there will be emissions but compared to coal burning natural gas has relatively half as much emissions per unit of energy produced( natural gas energy in depth).  The recent push for natural gas hydraulic fracturing as a strong job producer is a more complicated subject when looking at the economy.  Hydraulic fracturing drill sites can employ a full range of professions from truck driver to professional engineer many of which are imported jobs.   Areas housing drilling operations can find increases in sales across multiple markets from housing to food and entertainment.  A less positive side effect is the withdrawal of the specialized workers and the economic boost they offer to commerce.  This is caused by the finite lifetime, years to decades, of shale gas wells.

“The natural gas industry currently employs nearly 3 million Americans — and provides a huge economic boost to the American economy.” (Naturalgas.org)

Jobs figures are often introduced with a range of assumptions taken in the data collection process.  Industry groups will be motivated to produce the highest number of jobs possible when presenting information on hydraulic fracturing and jobs.  This is not necessarily a malicious attempt at propaganda but simply a reflection of how a perspective with interest will act.(American Petroleum Institute)

The Future of Natural Gas

There is a great deal that shale gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing have to offer from the economic perspective.  A cheap, available, abundant alternative fuel to crude oil.  Not only is this going to contribute to the energy independence of the United States but it also will contribute to the plastics and manufacturing industries as well.

To the overall economy there are also long term problems with speculation on the future of the natural gas market.  A basic understanding for economics would support the idea that the price of natural gas will decrease as the production of natural gas increases.  Whether or not the future is looking positive or negative these are questions that require further research and thorough information production to answer.  This also requires a focus on public education on the subject because in the end it is the citizens that should determine the role of hydraulic fracturing in society.

In an attempt to display the wide ranging influence hydraulic fracturing has, there can be a comparison of two similar images with significantly different messages.

Here there is a display of the range of natural gas deposits found in the United States.  This image indirectly offers information regarding water scarcity near drilling operations, as well as the social and political conditions of hydraulic fracturing operations.

Above is nearly the same from an effective content perspective as the previous image of the U.S.  This meaning that one can draw from each map the same locations of natural gas deposits.  What is different though is the color scheme chosen to display certain visual data.  Images like these are used by interest groups to sway the opinions of viewers, making it more important to understand information as objectively as possible.