SHARC
Detailing the economic, health, and environmental impacts of oil and gas development.
Report — Sep 28, 2017
The Accident Externality from Trucking
Using data from the Pennsylvania shale gas boom, we find each additional truck on the road increases the number of accidents involving a truck—but, to an even larger extent, the number of car-on-car collisions.
Webinar — Sep 6, 2017
Designing Shale Gas Leases for Landowner and Environmental Protection
This webinar featured findings from an ongoing RFF study on energy lease terms for landowners in Washington County, Pennsylvania, an area undergoing rapid oil and gas development.
Webinar — Aug 22, 2017
Mitigating the Effects of Energy Resource Booms on Water Consumption
Rapid resource development can impact local communities through numerous channels. This webinar focuses on water withdrawals for natural gas development and the impact of related government regulations.
Report — Aug 10, 2017
Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Booms on Public Education: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Six Producing States
We examine the effect of energy resource booms on preK–12 public schools by combining statistical analysis and in-person interviews with education professionals across six major oil- and gas-producing states.
Webinar — Aug 10, 2017
Exploring the Effects of Energy Resource Booms on Public Education
Rapid resource development can impact local communities and public education through numerous channels. This webinar featured an expert panel discussion of findings from an extensive RFF study examining the effects of unconventional oil and gas development on school districts across six oil- and gas-producing states—Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, North Dakota, Montana, and Colorado.
Report — Jun 23, 2017
WHIMBY (What’s Happening in My Backyard?): A Community Risk-Benefit Matrix of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development
The Community Risk-Benefit Matrix illustrates and summarizes the literature on the community impacts of unconventional oil and gas development, specifically regarding the prevalence, consistency, and quality of findings across studies and regions.
Report — Jun 23, 2017
Induced Seismicity Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development
This report provides an overview of the existing state of research on induced seismicity related to both unconventional and conventional oil and gas development in the United States.
Report — Jun 23, 2017
Local Government Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development
This report reviews the academic literature analyzing the effect of unconventional oil and gas development on local public finance outcomes including a review on the truck traffic literature, a specific subset of these local government outcomes.
Report — Jun 23, 2017
Housing Market Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development
We review the housing market impacts of unconventional oil and gas development, focusing on studies that assess changes in home prices related to proximity to development, lease clauses, rental rates, farm values, and tax base changes.
Report — Jun 23, 2017
Health Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development
This report reviews the academic literature analyzing the effect of unconventional oil and gas development on health outcomes, focusing on epidemiological studies.
Report — Jun 23, 2017
Public Education Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development
This report reviews the economic literature examining the effect of unconventional oil and gas development on public education via three main channels—student population, school finances, and the labor market.
Report — Jun 23, 2017
Economic Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development
We review the literature that analyzes the local economic impacts of an increase in unconventional oil and gas development, including impacts on wages and royalty income, employment, and the effects on long-term growth and economic development.
Webinar — Jun 15, 2017
A Community Risk-Benefit Matrix of Unconventional Gas and Oil Development
Join Resources for the Future for the webinar series: WHIMBY—What’s Happening in My Backyard? The Community Impacts of Unconventional Gas and Oil Development. The first webinar in this series provided an overview of findings from in-depth literature reviews on health outcomes, induced seismicity, economic effects, housing price changes, truck traffic, educational outcomes, and the effects on local public finances.
Common Resources — Jun 6, 2017
RFF Webinar Series: Community Impacts of Unconventional Gas and Oil Development
Join Resources for the Future (RFF) for a new webinar series: WHIMBY—What’s Happening in My Backyard? The Community Impacts of Unconventional Gas a...
Common Resources — Jun 16, 2016
The Impact of Shale Oil Development on Public Education in North Dakota
Building on its catalogue of work related to shale oil and gas development, Resources for the Future is leading a multi-state analysis of K-12 publ...
Common Resources — May 18, 2016
How States Can Reduce the Environmental and Fiscal Risks from Inactive Oil and Gas Wells
Abandoned oil and gas wells make for good news stories: Wildlife Habitat Threatened by Oil Leaking from Old Well; Agency Plugged 300 of 35,000 Orph...
Report — May 18, 2016
Plugging the Gaps in Inactive Well Policy
Workshop/Seminar — May 18, 2016
How Oil and Gas Development Impacts Local Governments and Communities
Oil and gas development has increased substantially in the United States over the past decade, largely due to production from low-porosity rock formations subjected to hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. This rapid growth has created a variety of opportunities and challenges for local governments across the country. Experts at this seminar explored the key issues facing local governments in this new era.
Common Resources — Dec 17, 2015
Six Recommendations to Mitigate the Risks from the Storage of Shale Gas and Tight Oil Wastewater
In our new research, Pits versus Tanks: Risks and Mitigation Options for On-site Storage of Wastewater from Shale Gas and Tight Oil Development, we...
Journal Article — Nov 30, 2015
The Housing Market Impacts of Shale Gas Development
Using property value data from New York and Pennsylvania to look at the impacts of proximity to a shale gas well on home values, experts find that the effects differ depending on whether homes have access to piped water versus well groundwater. (Published in the American Economic Review)
Workshop/Seminar — Apr 10, 2014
Exploring the Local Impacts of Shale Gas Development
During this event, three distinguished scholars discussed their research into the benefits and costs of shale gas development as experienced by local communities.
Common Resources — Apr 23, 2014
Twitter Q&A Roundup: Exploring the Local Impacts of Shale Gas Development
On April 10, RFF hosted a seminar on the benefits and costs of shale gas development as experienced by local communities, titled “Exploring the Loc...
Resources Magazine — Jan 12, 2014
Infographic: Shale Gas Development Linked to Traffic Accidents in Pennsylvania
Common Resources — Sep 27, 2013
Shale Gas Development Linked to Traffic Accidents in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has seen the development of more than 5,000 7,000 hydraulically fracked shale gas wells since 2004.