Impacts of Marcellus Shale Gas Development on Quality of Life in Pennsylvania

Unconventional extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania provides an opportunity for interdisciplinary study of the effects of rapid economic development and environmental impacts on human quality-of-life. Our research team includes eight faculty and staff with expertise in economics, anthropology, sociology, satellite image analysis, political science, risk communication, environmental education and geographic information systems. We will develop a quality-of-life index specific to our study population and the issue of gas extraction. Residents of impacted communities will express perceptions of quality-of-life through focus groups and in-depth interviews. We will develop questions for a telephone survey to measure quality-of-life in 500 households distributed evenly among four townships that are similar in socio-economic characteristics, but differ in economic development amenities and are either experiencing gas extraction or not. We will compile data describing township socio-economic characteristics, economic development amenities and drilling activity impacts from US Census data, geographic information databases, township and county records, and remote sensing of satellite imagery. These data represent independent variables we will use in a regression technique called structural equation modeling to explain impacts on quality-of-life as a dependent variable. This research will result in a quality-of-life index that is meaningful to the research subjects, an estimation of which aspects of extraction most affect quality-of-life, and insights into why some communities experience more improvement in quality-of-life than others. These results will form the basis for policy recommendation; especially for locations that have not yet experienced unconventional shale gas development.