The Big Bust: 2026 Data Show Petrochemicals Have Been a Bad Deal for Beaver County
Beaver County, Pennsylvania is a real-time case study in the local economic impacts of petrochemical development.
Beaver County Data Analysis: 2026 Update
More than three years since Shell’s launch, Beaver County continues to trail neighboring counties, Pennsylvania, and the nation in key measures of economic wellbeing.
The Borealis pipeline will bring more Appalachian gas to the Midwest and Gulf Coast
New gas pipeline projects could open the valve of Appalachia gas even wider, fueling the buildout of power plants and data centers.
Beaver County Data Analysis: 2025 Update
Beaver County has seen double-digit declines in GDP & employment since Shell’s petrochemical complex was announced in 2012.
The peril, politics, and price of fracking waste
Presidential candidate Kamala Harris recently announced that, if elected, she would not ban fracking, re-igniting a debate that has roiled national politics again and again. Her new position seems to be based on the mistaken belief that fracking enjoys public support, when, in fact, an array of public opinion research shows that a clear majority […]
The Meaning of MVP
Tucked amid the Biden administration’s cornucopia of climate initiatives was a poison pill: the greenlighting of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) in Appalachia. When the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 essentially bulldozed the permitting review process for the pipeline, it accelerated a perilous feedback loop: gas extraction in Appalachia driving growth in gas-consuming infrastructure […]
Appalachia is Likely the Largest Source of Methane Emissions in the US
If it were its own country, Appalachia would be the third-largest producer of natural gas in the world, behind only Russia and the rest of the United States. And, as new measurements reveal, Appalachia is likely the source of more system-wide fossil fuel methane emissions than any other region in the United States. Methane […]
Updated: A Cautionary Tale of Petrochemicals from Pennsylvania
Beaver County, home to Shell Polymers Monaca, still lags Pennsylvania and the nation in key economic indicators, data show.
Appalachia is Fueling a Global Petrochemical Buildout
Although the world is awash in plastics and other petrochemical products, the industry is planning for decades more growth. Much of the expansion could be driven by Appalachia.