Glenn Enslen, Carroll County, Ohio’s economic development director, says the east-central part of the state has been the “forgotten part of Ohio for the last 50 years.” No longer. The development of shale resources have changed that part of the state pretty much overnight. “All of a sudden we’re in the forefront of economic development in the state of Ohio,” Enslen says.

Development of Ohio’s Utica Shale is in its infancy compared to Marcellus Shale activity in next-door Pennsylvania. But the shale regions of Ohio see the signs of an energy-related bonanza in terms of jobs, spin-off jobs and economic growth that lifts all boats. “We’ve seen a huge impact from the oil and gas business,” Enslen says. “We have one local hotel. If you’d like to stay there you can get a reservation in th... more »

Good news and not-as-good news in last week's draft report of the Energy Department's special subcommittee that has been studying natural gas and hydraulic fracturing.

The good: The subcommittee acknowledged the bright future of natural gas. Thanks to fracking, its economic and energy potential is becoming clearer, even as experts recalculate the size of America's gas reserves. Already, natural gas development is creating tens of thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania, Texas, North Dakota and other states.

Also good: The panel noted the environmental benefits of clean-burning natural gas and the savings to consumers, realized in lower home-heating and electrical costs. And it identified areas - already known to the oil and natural gas industry - that must be addressed in the future, including c... more »

This Saturday activists from "across the continent" are scheduled to gather here in D.C. to protest the Keystone XL pipeline. Except not really. You see, last week I followed a Twitter chat set up by the protest's organizers, and over the course of 900 or so tweets one thing was mostly absent: any discussion of the pipeline itself. Which is both heartening and discouraging.

The good news is protesters obviously haven't found any problems with the fact that environmental impact studies have shown the 1,700-mile Keystone XL will have no significant environmental impact. And they appear to have accepted the fact that the $7 billion pipeline linking Canada's oil sands region with U.S. refiners will provide a tremendous economic boost, creating hundreds of thousands of American jobs.

The disco... more »

It's good the administration seems to be refocusing on job creation - what with the current economic malaise yielding another blah employment report, Standard & Poor's downgrading of the country's credit rating and the stock market diving through the 11,000 floor.

The president said Monday creating jobs "is not rocket science" and "we know what to do" - and he is right. The question is, will we do it? Even the usually supportive New York Times thinks that recent economic leadership has fizzled: "Anyone hungering for a robust vision to invigorate the economy and increase employment is still hungry."

So, yeah - amid the churn of disappointing economic news, the administration looks to pivot to jobs. First, though, it might look at the pivot of jobs - as thus defined:

"A person or thing that... more »

Ron Liepert, energy minister of Canada's energy-rich Alberta province, sounded almost wistful talking about his country's energy partnership with the United States - which Liepert unhesitatingly said is the key to economic prosperity for both countries.

The wistfulness enters in when Liepert concedes that safe, abundant oil from Alberta's oil sands region and the Keystone XL pipeline that would deliver it - providing a powerful stimulus to the struggling U.S. economy - face determined opposition in America. It makes no sense to him that the U.S. might shun oil from a trusted ally. "We are so intertwined," he said.

Liepert spent time with our group of energy reporters and bloggers in Fort McMurray, the hub of Alberta's oil sands region. He warned that oil sands oil will have little trouble... more »