Out d’Coup LIVE | Sean O’Leary from the Ohio River Valley Institute on Fracking’s Failed Promises | March 1, 2021

I welcome Sean O’Leary, Senior Researcher with the Ohio River Valley Institute. We’re going to be talking about ORVI’s new report, “Appalachia’s Natural Gas Counties: The Natural Gas Fracking Boom and Appalachia’s Lost Economic Decade.” The report examines 22 counties in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia at the center of Appalachia’s natural gas boom. While the boom did wonders for the national GDP and fossil fuel companies bottom lines, those 22 counties did significantly worse. The promises of an economic rebirth for these economically strapped regions never came to pass. 

The Ohio River Valley Institute is an independent, nonprofit research and communications center—a think tank—founded in 2020 and based in Johnstown, PA. The Institute equips the region’s residents and decision-makers with the policy research and practical tools needed to advance long-term solutions to some of Appalachia’s most significant challenges. Their work includes in-depth research, commentary, and analysis, delivered online, by email, and in-person to policy champions, emerging leaders, and a range of community partners. And, they just released another report last week, “The Failure of Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Pennsylvania.” Looks like I’ll be reaching out again for a future Out d’Coup LIVE!

O’Leary is a native of Wheeling, West Virginia and has written  about coal, natural gas, and their role in the economies of Appalachia in a book, a newspaper column, and blog titled, “The State of My State”. Previously, Sean served as communications director at the NW Energy Coalition in Seattle, Washington. He is also a playwright who has won numerous awards presented by the National Endowment for The Arts, the National Arts Club, and the West Virginia Commission on the Arts among others.

A special shout out to Jonathan Mann who wrote our intro song, “There Are No People in the Future.” Check out all is great stuff on his YouTube page and follow him on Twitter @songadaymann