Journalists discuss Marcellus Shale natural gas

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A sign in a Bradford County home evacuated after a Chesapeake Energy-owned natural gas well leaked fracking fluid this week. Photo courtesy of Laura Olson/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Hour 1

On Tuesday, a natural gas well in Bradford County leaked fracking fluid for more than 20 hours, prompting Chesapeake Energy to suspend its drilling operations throughout Pennsylvania during an investigation. Seven homes were evacuated and a trout stream was contaminated by the controversial chemical-laced fluid used to force natural gas out from cracks in the ground. It’s just the latest incident to spark questions about the environmental impact of the Marcellus Shale natural gas industry, an energy boom concentrated in northeast and west Pennsylvania that is alternately called a jobs bonanza, a water-quality apocalypse, the next great hope for U.S. energy independence and the untapped revenue stream that could balance Pennsylvania’s deficit-ridden budget. On today’s Radio Times, Marty will talk to reporters covering the natural gas industry: LAURA LEGERE, whose reporting for the Scranton Times-Tribune’s “Deep Impact” series has won many awards; and ABRAHM LUSTGARTEN, an investigative reporter for ProPublica whose coverage of natural gas drilling and fracking won the 2009 George Polk Award for environmental reporting.

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[audio: 042211_100630.mp3]

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