The WSJ has an interesting article on the beneficial impact hydraulic fracturing is having the economies of the "Rust Belt" states: "It isn't just Beaver County reaping the benefits of cheap gas. Plunging prices have turned the U.S. into one of the most profitable places in the world to make chemicals and fertilizer, industries that use gas as both a feedstock and an energy source. And they have slashed costs for makers of energy-intensive products such as aluminum, steel and glass. *** In the rundown former steel towns along the Ohio River, natural gas is spurring hopes of an industrial renaissance. Steel mills once lined the Ohio River here, but little of the industry survives. The proposed site of the Shell facility holds one of the few big factories still operating, an 80-year-old zinc plant slated for closure next year."
Read the whole thing.
[Note: May be subscription only.]