People who support natural gas development and hydraulic fracturing in New York state took their message to the capitol building in Albany at an event earlier this month. Check out this video:

New York, which sits above part of the energy-rich Marcellus Shale, needs the jobs and the economic opportunity that could be provided by natural gas production. That’s reflected in a new Siena College poll that shows growing support in the state for natural gas and fracking – 42 percent of those surveyed favor it while 36 percent are opposed.

Worth noting in the crosstabs (Question #22): Hydraulic fracturing is supported in all regions of the state – including New York City – by both gender groups, all age groups, all self-identified ethnicities and religious affiliations and all income gro... more »

The intersection of a recent anti-natural gas fundraiser at the trendy Brooklyn Winery – featuring fabulous culinary delights prepared by a group of talented chefs – and the natural gas that made the evening possible was, well, simply mouth-watering.

New York Daily News columnist Bill Hammond writes that the “Taste of the Marcellus” event last week was hosted by a group called Chefs for the Marcellus, to showcase the kinds of foods they say could be jeopardized if New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo OKs hydraulic fracturing in that state’s portion of the Marcellus Shale. Hammond:

"Guests were treated to eggplant-stuffed okra, smoked lamb belly with fermented tofu and whipped ricotta jewel on toast — along with wines from the Finger Lakes and beers from Cooperstown’s Ommegang brewery. Th... more »

Energy produced from shale deposits by hydraulic fracturing continues to create jobs far from the drill site.  The latest example: Improved economics have allowed for a deal to keep a Philadelphia refinery open, which means 850 workers will keep their jobs – and the facility’s new majority partner says hundreds more could be added if plans to expand production come to pass. Philly.com had the story last week.

Those refinery employees – and the local/regional economy that is supported by the installation, as many as 10,000 indirect jobs by one estimate – can thank the Carlyle Group, and they can also thank the Marcellus Shale. Philly.com:

"Carlyle officials say they are 'reimagining' the business to exploit new, cheaper domestic sources of crude oil to replace expensive imported pe... more »

When we wrote last week about technologies to mitigate water demands during hydraulic fracturing, we knew we’d find more examples of energy innovation for the simple fact that there’s a lot of innovating going on. Here’s a little bit about two other advances in the area of fracking waste water, as well as another company’s initiative to make the development of Canada’s oil sands cleaner and greener.

Halliburton says it has a suite of solutions to reduce the demand for fresh water in hydraulic fracturing operations, called H2-Forward. You can read more about it, here. Basically, it’s a process that allows drillers to reuse fracturing fluid. Halliburton:

"The service includes new technologies such as CleanWave service that is used to process fracturing flowback and produced water, r... more »

Good article on energy and politics from the Financial Times today [subscription requried]:

The shale revolution is spreading into eastern Ohio, bringing with it the possibility of reviving an economy that has faltered since industrial jobs left the region. But along with that promise, the shale wave is also bringing with it an increasingly intense brand of election-year politics. … Paul Sracic, at Youngstown State University, says the intense focus on shale development has the potential to make energy a big issue in what is the country’s key swing state.  “Blue-collar voters were never that sold on environmental issues, and if some Democrats come across as not keen on economic development, it could lose them support here in Ohio,” he said. … Already, the boom in gas production in n... more »