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Underlying the debate over the promises and perils of fracking is an often-overlooked number: 1.35 trillion.

That’s the cubic feet of natural gas New Yorkers consumed last year, according to the federal Energy Information Association. New Yorkers use more than twice the volume of gas consumed by Connecticut and Massachusetts combined.

The economics and risks of leasing, drilling and fracking tend to headline the shale gas story. Yet the promise of fracking is as much about how gas is consumed as how it’s produced. As the top natural-gas-consuming state east of Louisiana, New York is a major player.

By enacting a ban on fracking earlier this year, the administration of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has shown zero tolerance for shale gas risks to the environment and health.

Yet New York’s appetite for cheap gas produced by the shale boom in Pennsylvania and Ohio is big and growing bigger — a jump of nearly 18 percent from 2009, according to figures from the federal EIA.

Click here to read the full story.

A hearing on Reforming Energy Vision drew about 100 people to Binghamton City Hall.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_tue1.jpeg.optimal.jpegA hearing on Reforming Energy Vision drew about 100 people to Binghamton City Hall. Press & Sun-Bulletin

Edward Wilson, manager of Cornell University’s central heating plant, explains the operation of the twin gas turbines that will generate electricity and provide steam heat for the campus in Ithaca, New York.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_tue2.jpeg.optimal.jpegEdward Wilson, manager of Cornell University’s central heating plant, explains the operation of the twin gas turbines that will generate electricity and provide steam heat for the campus in Ithaca, New York. Simon Wheeler | Ithaca Journal

A hearing on Reforming Energy Vision drew about 100 people to Binghamton City Hall.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_tue3.jpeg.optimal.jpegA hearing on Reforming Energy Vision drew about 100 people to Binghamton City Hall. Press & Sun-Bulletin

Guests view one of Cornell University’s two stationary jet engines at the Combined Heat and Power Plant in Ithaca, New York.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_tue4.jpeg.optimal.jpegGuests view one of Cornell University’s two stationary jet engines at the Combined Heat and Power Plant in Ithaca, New York. Simon Wheeler | Ithaca Journal

“I never thought this would happen,” Walter Hang said during a rally last year in Binghamton celebrating New York’s fracking ban. Hang is with Toxics Targeting of Ithaca, New York.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_tue5.jpeg.optimal.jpeg“I never thought this would happen,” Walter Hang said during a rally last year in Binghamton celebrating New York’s fracking ban. Hang is with Toxics Targeting of Ithaca, New York. Press & Sun-Bulletin

Former New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joseph Martens says New York’s fracking ban could be lifted after more studies and changes in technology.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_tue6.jpeg.optimal.jpegFormer New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joseph Martens says New York’s fracking ban could be lifted after more studies and changes in technology. Associated Press
In disagreeing with Pa., New York says fracking is too dangerous

By Tom Wilber

Press & Sun-Bulletin

EDITOR’S NOTE

The Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, New York, recently published a three-day special report into Pennsylvania’s fracking industry. Its reporting revealed:

  • Pennsylvania Labor Department inflated figures to make shale gas industry job outlook stronger than it is.
  • Industry is generating millions of dollars in “impact fees” to small-town economies to buy good will near drilling sites in lieu of a more costly state tax.
  • Fracking has brought both a rise in crime and influx of money to help rural poverty and public safety.

Its three-day series is being republished in the Times Leader Sunday, Monday and Tuesday with permission from the Press & Sun-Bulletin.