With The Shale Project, the Trailer Talk team will be addressing this very volatile and contentious subject of leasing land for Marcellus Shale Natural Gas drilling energy extraction. Trailer Talk’s Shale Project intends to look at the many complex economic, social, and environmental issues gas drilling presents for New York State. What impact is this having on the communities in the Shale regions, what issues are being contended with and what kind of decisions are and will be made that impact the future of not only the communities here but on the national dialogue and policy making decisions around energy extraction. What kind of battle is already being fought between those private property owners with land to lease and those impacted by that decision either nearby or downstate in where the New York City metropolitan region depends on water from the reservoirs in the Shale region? What kinds of dialogues are going on between the “old timers” and the new, full time residents and week-enders? In fact, some neighbors and communities are already being pulled apart.

Some of the numerous questions are: At what cost do the energy needs of the United States put at risk the nation’s water supply? What impact does access to clean local water have on a community and to National Security? What happens to the towns and neighborhoods as decisions are being made that have a huge effect on future generations in a region now? What are the issues guiding people’s decisions about whether or not to lease their land for gas drilling and at what point do the rights of the individual diminish in the face of the health of an entire region? What role does water itself have on the ability for an area to survive by providing for itself?

For The Shale Project Trailer Talk guests from many sides of the issue will be interviewed and recorded for broadcast. The Shale Project intends to encourage coming together to discuss the issues being faced by the region, celebrate the beauty of the natural landscape and confront issues of private property, contamination of water and capture stories of home that can quickly be lost as the drilling expands throughout the region. We’re facing a complete shift in our region as this largest ever concentration of gas lies in wait beneath this “First American Wilderness”. In the midst of the land grab and landsmen. The Shale Project intends to bring people together so their stories can be heard both locally and nationally.