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annettagreen11's review against another edition
4.0
A dense, well-documented account of drilling in the Marcellus Shale. Wilber's strength is that he tells the recent history of drilling/fracking in the Marcellus by looking at the Southern Tier of New York State (where fracking is still under review by the NYS government) and North Eastern Pennsylvania, particularly Dimock. Because Pennsylvania has embrace fracking and there are few regulations (or enforceable regulations), Wilber is able to give a compelling journalist account of the water contamination in Dimock (caused by fracking) and the efforts of New York to regulate or reject fracking. It's crucial reading if you're approached about signing a gas lease or if you live in a community that is considering fracking.
dlbarley's review
4.0
This book was a fairly objective portrayal of the recent gas rush. i enjoyed it for the information provided. The writing was a bit thick and the timeline a bit screwy. Overall I would recommend it to someone interested in the topic but someone uninterested in environmental issues would probably lose interest. very insightful!
zeydejd's review
4.0
Under the Surface is your best bet at learning as much as you can about the Marcellus shale gas development of the past decade in ~220 pages, from everything you wanted to know, to everything you didn't, to things you didn't even imagine you would have wanted or not wanted to know.
Wilber's sources and experiences are comprehensive and come from both advocates and opponents of the natural gas industry. He weaves these all together to paint a picture of what the state of "energy independence development" looks like in the Northeast, and likely in other places where hydraulic fracturing has been put into effect (the West, the South, and coming to a community near you). In many ways, he leaves it to you to form an opinion on the controversial issue, and he doesn't leave out one thing when it comes to depicting the idea of wealth beyond comprehension that landowners were offered or the suffering at the exploitative hands of the industry, whether that means lack of access to clean water, home air contamination, or even exploding houses and wells.
Wilber's sources and experiences are comprehensive and come from both advocates and opponents of the natural gas industry. He weaves these all together to paint a picture of what the state of "energy independence development" looks like in the Northeast, and likely in other places where hydraulic fracturing has been put into effect (the West, the South, and coming to a community near you). In many ways, he leaves it to you to form an opinion on the controversial issue, and he doesn't leave out one thing when it comes to depicting the idea of wealth beyond comprehension that landowners were offered or the suffering at the exploitative hands of the industry, whether that means lack of access to clean water, home air contamination, or even exploding houses and wells.
bronkmb's review against another edition
4.0
fairly well balanced portrayal. Any book suggestions that portray favorable fracking,
beyond the bottom line?
beyond the bottom line?