SourceWatch:Project:Documenting environmental and other issues with the exploitation of Marcellus Shale

Here's how you can help with adding information to an existing SourceWatch page on the Marcellus Shale.

Help desk

If this is the first time you have edited SourceWatch pages, you may find some of the following steps confusing. If you need help, you can:

• post a note to one of the following pages: User talk:Lisa Graves or User talk:Anne Landman. To do this, after registering here and logging in, just click on the link for one of the two editors, click the "edit this page" tab, scoll down to the bottom of the page and post your query. Then post a brief note summarizing your query in the "Summary" bar and click "save page". Then, the next time your selected user is on the SourceWatch website, they will get a message alerting them to your query.

Please note that there can be a time delay in responding, depending on what time zone you are in, but that we will aim to get back to you as soon as possible.

What Do I Need to Do?

• Step 1. First, you will need to register as an editor. (You can do that here. Then login. See here for more details. There is also more background on SourceWatch here).

• Step 2. In your browser, open a new tab. Then cut and paste the following url http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Marcellus_Shale into the tab to open the page that you will be editing. (After you have opened this tab in your browser, return to the page you are currently reading for the next step.)

There are a number of reports and websites of groups that have raised concerns about the exploitation of the Marcellus Shale deposits. A selection of these reports are:

• Lisa Sumi, Shale Gas: Focus on the Marcellus Shale, Oil & Gas Accountability Project/Earthworks, May 2008.
• Jeffrey Jacquet and Richard Stedman, Emerging Trends in the Marcellus Shale, Research & Policy Brief Series, Department of Development Sociology, Cornell University, Issue Number 30, July 2009.
• ProPublica, Buried Secrets: Gas Drilling's Environmental Threat. This is an archive of articles on environmental issues associated with the development of the Marcellus shale deposits.
• Environmental Impacts of Gas Well Drilling (blog), a New York State Water Resources Institute blog.
• CCE Gas Leasing and Exploration (blog) Cornell University Co-operative Extension. This blog has links to various reports and guides on gas extraction.
• "Marcellus Shale News", Shale.blog. (A blog which has a section aggregating news stories on Marcellus Shale issues).

And a selection of citizen group websites are:

• Catskill Mountainkeeper
• Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy
• Delaware Riverkeeper
• Hudson Riverkeeper
• Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project
• Natural Resources Defense Council
• Shale Shock
• Sierra Club's Atlantic Chapter
• Trout Unlimited

• Step 3. Pick one of the reports or websites above (perhaps starting with the top of the list and working down) and, in the "Key environmental and other issues with exploitation of Marcellus Shale" section of the Marcellus Shale article, add a brief one sentence for each of the key environmental and other issues flagged as possible concerns with the development of the Marcellus Shale;

It will probably be easiest to prepare your summary text on the above in another program, such as a window in your email program. (This way you have a backup copy should anything go wrong). For example, your information may look like this:

• Step 4. Now we need to add the references for each key statement. (See Help:References for more information on our preferred referencing standards.)

For example, if you listed some of the key points from the report by Lisa Sumi titled Shale Gas: Focus on the Marcellus Shale and published by the Oil & Gas Accountability Project/Earthworks in May 2008 the reference would look like this

<ref>Lisa Sumi, ''[http://www.earthworksaction.org/pubs/OGAPMarcellusShaleReport-6-12-08.pdf Shale Gas: Focus on the Marcellus Shale]'', Oil & Gas Accountability Project/Earthworks, May 2008, page XXX. (You will need to add the page number).</ref>

• Step 5. Add your reference at the end of the point you are referencing, then scroll down to the bottom of the editing window. In the "summary" space add "adding key issue" (or whatever best describes your addition to the article) and then click the "Save page" button.

• Step 6. The article will be displayed on your screen. If you need to add more information, re-open the editing window by clicking on the "Edit this page" tab on the top of the article or the specific company section.

That's all you need to do. Once we have completed the summaries on the key issues, we might open up another project on some of the groups and companies lobbying for the exploitation of the Marcellus Shale but more on that later.

Need Help?

If for any reason you have a problem and need help you can

• check the Help pages here;
• or if you still need help, have a look at which editors are online by reviewing the most recent posts as Special:Recentchanges. Pick one of the other users, click on the "Talk" link and post a query and hopefully they will be able to promptly help you while you are online.

Thanks for your assistance.

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