Current Event #3

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/us/hydraulic-fracturing-brings-money-and-problems-to-pennsylvania.html?_r=1&ref=us

Oil companies have made their presence known in Pennsylvania in recent years.  3,000 wells have been drilled there in the last three years and thousands more have permits to be drilled.  The presence of the oil companies has had both positive and negative outcomes in the counties, especially Susquehanna County.  With their presence, the entire area has expanded and grown more industrious.  Hundreds of jobs have been created to adjust to the companies being there.  Hotel and restaurant chains have expanded, as well as house rental agencies. Jobs have also been created to supply the gas companies with equipment they may need.  Cabot, a gas company, also donated money to the Red Cross to build a hospital there soon.  Their presence turned the area into a booming place.  The negative drawbacks however are the strain that the companies have placed on the local people and businesses.  The residents of the counties lack the skills for the high-paying drilling jobs, housing costs have increased and many people are going homeless, and small roads are crumbling under heavy trucks.  The gas companies also don't pay a local property tax.  In my opinion, the presence of the companies is a good thing for the counties.  Their presence has created a booming industry that's been able to rapidly expand to accomodate further needs of the gas companies.  Perhaps as the gas companies stay, more money will be put into education and other communal needs so that those high-paying jobs won't be things that the locals can't partake in.  I think that the counties should be scared of anticipating the day when the oil companies won't be in their state, because all of those jobs that help keep the oil companies running will go away.  They need to establish a balance between the gas companies and the local people because that's the real problem here.