Citizen Shale

05/27/2026

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER: If you know anyone who lives within 10 miles of a fracking operation in Pennsylvania, please let them know about FREE WATER TESTING by participating in this study of rural water supplies!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1E6JTrEnTU

Want to find out what's in your water? So do we!

Elizabeth Smith, a researcher at Carnegie Melon, is conducting a study on the impacts that fracking has had on public and private water sources. The study is free, and will occur throughout June.

If you're interested in being a part of the study, which includes no-cost testing of your water supply, visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSflvJGbYX9RQ--jZ_qCIiMlX-srA5GLmi2SOh96iQCLyQPVNg/viewform to sign up!

04/30/2026

PAINFULLY CLEAR Op-Ed in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

From the story: Three years ago, I met Alex Rafalowicz of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty initiative during Climate Week in New York City. In a conversation that stayed with me, he said: “Renewable energies are a hope not only for reducing emissions and protecting biodiversity, but also for decreasing the violence and conflicts associated with fossil fuels.”

What once seemed like an idealistic argument now looks more like a geopolitical one. This is not only about the environment. It is about the economy and national security.

The United States still consumes large amounts of oil, but the structure of that demand is already changing. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has documented a steady decline in gasoline consumption per person.

A more efficient vehicle fleet, hybrid adoption, and rising electric vehicle use have reduced fuel demand even as Americans drive more miles. New vehicles now average over 27 miles per gallon, far higher than two decades ago.

The system is already shifting, even if our politics have not fully caught up.
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Renewables do not eliminate global risk, but they diversify it. There is a tendency in America to treat energy as a zero-sum fight: oil versus wind, tradition versus innovation, realism versus idealism. But on the ground, the reality is blended.

Pennsylvania does not lose its identity because it adds solar capacity. And American energy strength does not have to depend on a single global pressure point that repeatedly feeds instability back into our economy.

A more diversified energy system reduces America’s exposure to geopolitical shocks we neither control nor contain.

At a gas station in Allegheny County, the politics of the Middle East can feel far away … until they aren’t. We are once again in one of those...

04/27/2026

MEANWHILE, pro-fossil interests are suddenly very worried about the health impacts of large-scale solar. Seems more likely this is more about impacts to fossil fuel demand.

Critics claim large solar farms are a public health threat. Despite little reputable evidence for this, their fears have helped undercut efforts across the U.S. to broaden energy sources, slowing installations even as customer costs are rising.

04/25/2026

Commissioners of Fayette County, PA take a stand against the construction of NextEra's MARL Transmission Line in their county. Please note, they take pains to show their support for fracking and natural gas power plants, yet they can still see the wisdom in standing with their residents--including tourism and agriculatural interests-- to say "NO" to MARL.

Why won't Garrett County Maryland do the same?

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1NZs16Jwzc/

The Fayette County Commissioners have filed an official protest to the proposed MARL transmission line project in Springhill Township.

03/16/2026

ONE WELL AT AT TIME: Discussing why High School students need to fund the critical effort of plugging leaking wells abandoned by the Oil & Gas Industry is a question we all should ask our policymakers. But right now, please enjoy this inspiring story of how Pittsburgh high school students are taking action to limit climate-forcing methane in the atmosphere. You can support their fundraiser by finding a link in the article.

From the story: “What I do know how to do is, I do know how to organize and I do know how to fundraise,” she said.

Hurowitz talked to some friends and recruited a teacher to be an advisor to the project, then reached out to the Well Done Foundation, which focuses on sealing problem wells across the country. The nonprofit is led by Curtis Shuck, an oil and gas industry veteran.

Even when oil and gas wells stop producing enough to make a profit, they leak methane that can contaminate water and harm people’s health. Methane is many times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere. Many abandoned wells were drilled long before there were laws on the books to require companies to clean up after themselves.

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The exact number of abandoned wells in Pennsylvania is unknown. The state has documented at least 30,000, but the Shapiro administration estimates it could be 300,000 or more. The wells are responsible for an estimated 8% of Pennsylvania’s methane emissions.

Plugging efforts ramped up with new funding under the Biden Administration. Pennsylvania had been sealing several wells each year before the new money. Last March, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced the 300th well had been plugged under his administration.

The Allderdice students said the scope of the problem can be discouraging, but it feels good to do something, rather than noting.

The Dice Well Done Club is hoping to plug its second abandoned well this year.

03/16/2026

Soon, Virginians will be able to buy plug-in, balcony solar panels—just like any home appliance—to lower their energy bills and cut carbon. With this law, Virginia becomes the 2nd state in the nation to make small-scale solar easy and accessible.

Read more via : https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/virginia-to-become-second-state-balcony-solar

02/22/2026

TRANSMISSION LINE CONCERNS? Learn about the organizing efforts of fellow Marylanders working to prevent the MPRP transmission lines from destroying their rural Maryland communities.

Learn how to support bills before the Maryland General Assembly in coming weeks that could help protect land and communities across Maryland that have been targeted for development by massive power line utilities like Next Era.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/185wyGS4Yk/

📣 Webinar TOMORROW (MONDAY): Updates on the Latest in the Fight to Stop MPRP

👉 Register and join us: https://tinyurl.com/2hp39y8s

🗓 Monday, February 23 | ⏰ 6:30–7:30 pm

Join us for our next Stop MPRP, Inc. community webinar as we share important updates in the fight to stop the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project.

We’ll cover:

⚖️ The latest developments in the federal court case
🏛️ What’s ahead in the Maryland PSC proceedings
📜 Key legislative activity in Annapolis

We'll leave plenty of time to answer questions. We hope to see you there!

02/09/2026

BRAVA, BRAVE AG: Cheers for Michigan AG Dana Nessel, for identifying what we've seen for decades: the fossil fuel industry's heavily bankrolled efforts to deny the American public the use of safer, renewable forms of energy--and to bury and skew accurate information about better technologies.

From the story: The Michigan case, filed last week in federal court, accuses ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute of engaging in a decades-long conspiracy to block the development of clean energy and electric vehicles in order to ensure that their fossil fuel products dominated the market.
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The case is distinct from the dozens of other climate deception lawsuits brought by state and local governments against oil and gas giants, arguing that the companies violated state and federal antitrust laws. Acting as a “cartel,” the defendants robbed consumers of energy and transportation choices in “one of the most successful antitrust conspiracies in United States history,” the complaint says.
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Michigan’s case argues that renewable energy and transportation markets have failed to evolve “not because clean alternatives are not viable, but because Defendants have suppressed the conditions for their otherwise-inevitable deployment and adoption.”

Oil companies purchased solar and EV patents to ensure others couldn’t use them, solicited control of renewable markets and then abandoned them, and funded powerful institutions to promote false solutions, all while using trade groups to downplay the harms of fossil fuels, according to the complaint.

Imagine, if you will, a parallel universe. The state of Michigan, home of America’s auto industry, is a thriving hub for electric vehicles. They are not “a fringe technology or a luxury alternative,” but rather, “a common sight in every neighborhood — rolling off assembly lines in Flint, p...

01/26/2026

Thank you, Attorney General Anthony Brown, for watching out for our state, its citizens, and its resources.

BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today co-led a coalition of 9 attorneys general opposing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) efforts to allow the construction and expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants without notice and consultation with affected state and local entities.

In a comment letter filed with FERC, the attorneys general oppose the use of a “blanket” permit to allow the construction of new and expanded LNG plants without meaningful review of the applications by FERC and consultation with state and local emergency management authorities, as is required under the Natural Gas Act (NGA).
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The letter also highlights the public transparency and environmental concerns already present surrounding LNG plants, with details concerning facility costs and safety measures precluded from public disclosure in many FERC filings, that would be exacerbated by any blanket permit program. The attorneys general urge FERC to produce the information necessary for the public to understand the potential scope and impacts of this rulemaking before releasing a proposed rule.

BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today co-led a coalition of 9 attorneys general opposing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) efforts to allow the construction and expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants without notice and consultation with affecte...

01/18/2026

Never get in that "it can't happen here" mindset.
Please consider attending and supporting neighbors just north of the Yough in PA.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BmyaSM39g/

Please join MWA on Tuesday, January 20 at the Normalville Volunteer Fire Department at 6:00 PM to discuss the well pad permitting process, landowners' rights, and more. A hot meal will be provided.

(This meeting is also available online. Use this link to join with Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/dwi-eeoy-wka)

Want a road sign for your yard? Reach out to Nate via email ([email protected]) MWA will also have signs available at the community meeting on January 20.