This segment of our Strategic Sunday series is a reflection on the harms and tactics of the industry – and why we believe in fighting back.
As network coordinators, we’ve talked to thousands of people impacted by fracking and oil & gas industry. Since our primary objective is to connect people and build the movement, we’ve gained a unique perspective on the industry’s playbook.
Understanding the patterns can help us be more effective – and the first step is understanding that none of us are alone. We know these harms are not isolated incidents but systemic outcomes of the industry and it’s corruption.
The top line is that it is toxic to our democracy, health, and our environment.
While we typically focus on uplifting your voices rather than sharing our own views, understanding our perspective on this common threat will help frame the strategic discussions ahead.
Our assessment comes from thousands of hours doing the work.
- We host dozens of webinars each year, read network participants’ reports, facilitate workshops, outreach to scientists, activists, reporters, authors, and conduct expert interviews.
- It comes from countless support calls and deep relationships with community leaders who’ve shared their families’ struggles, illnesses, and losses.
- It comes from our Sentinel Award winners and the countless stories that motivate our work.
- It comes from growing up on an abandoned bankrupt coal mine fence line and knowing what to look for in corporate bullshit.
We’ve witnessed this industry’s playbook from the streets to town halls, from social media battles to legislative and regulatory hearings. We’ve seen how the massive flow of energy dollars corrupts everything it touches – social media, politicians, local leaders, journalism, and entire communities.
The industry’s greed blinds it to the human cost: daily assaults of noise, intimidation, pollution, and toxic contamination across populations of victims and landscapes.
Their tactics are consistent. They buy influence through donations, politicians, and advertising. They spread lies and fake science. They co-opt local influencers at every level.
Even as study after study shows their operations impact millions of families living near wells, they remain unconcerned. Instead of addressing the harms they orchestrate confusion through sophisticated public relations campaigns and strategic payoffs.
The human toll is staggering
This is not a complete documentation of harms (not even close). One such resource on the human toll is the Fracking Compendium.
Low birth weight babies. Pennsylvanian children born within 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) of a fracking site were 25 percent more likely to experience low birth weight. That risk decreases the farther away a child is born. Low birth weight, defined as being born under 5.5 pounds, has previously been linked with an increased risk of childhood mortality and poorer educational outcomes. See Science Advances, Hydraulic fracturing and infant health: New evidence from Pennsylvania
Increased childhood cancer rates. Participants 0-24 years old, living in rural Colorado, and diagnosed with cancer between 2001-2013. For each child in the study, exposure was calculated by distance to oil and gas well counts. Overall, ALL cases 0-24 years old were more likely to live in the highest well count compared to controls. See Pubmed, Childhood hematologic cancer and residential proximity to oil and gas development
Asthma and breathing problems. Analysis of over 400,000 patients from the Geisinger health system found strong associations between fracking proximity and increased rates of asthma. See Jama, Association Between Unconventional Natural Gas Development in the Marcellus Shale and Asthma Exacerbations.
Deteriorating mental health. Studies examining the psychological impacts of fracking operations have revealed significant mental health consequences for affected communities. See this report from Environmental Health Project; Mental Health in Communities with Unconventional Oil and Gas Development (UOGD): A Summary for Health Care Providers, and reporting from Environmental Health News, Fractured: The stress of being surrounded.
Decreased life expectancy across populations. The most comprehensive mortality study to date examined over 15 million Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older living in major U.S. fracking regions from 2001 to 2015. Found that elderly people living near or downwind of unconventional oil and gas development had a 2.5 percent higher risk of premature death compared to those not living near such operations. See Harvard School of Public Health, Living near or downwind of unconventional oil and gas development linked with increased risk of early death
Economic stagnation in affected communities. The Ohio River Valley Institute’s analysis of the 22 counties in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia that produce more than 90 percent of Appalachian natural gas found that these counties lost jobs and residents at worse rates than other counties with similar data but no gas production. See Ohio River Valley Institute’s report, Fracking Counties Economic Impact Report.
Worker deaths and injuries. Justin Nobel’s research, detailed in his book “Petroleum-238,” documents how workers routinely handle radioactive sludge from brine production without adequate protection or knowledge of the hazards. See Allegheny Front, A new book takes on the dangers of radioactivity in the oil and gas industry
Beyond these documented impacts, we’ve witnessed;
Rampant use of undisclosed chemicals. Example 2025 Colorado release reports by Physicians for Social Responsibility and others details how oil and gas companies in the state pumped millions of pounds of secret chemicals into the ground without making legally mandated disclosures. See PSR Report, Oil & Gas Chemicals, Still Secret in Colorado, and CPR News, Chemicals used in fracking in Colorado underreported under new state law.
Widespread water and air pollution. Peer-reviewed research has identified many pathways through which hydraulic fracturing operations contaminate groundwater resources.
These contamination routes include pre-drilling, surface spills, accidents, well integrity failures, chemical migration between geological formations, methane migration, air leaks and permitted off-gassing, ineffective flaring, and produced water movement from disposal operations.
See Desmog, Fracking Company Pleads No Contest in Iconic Water Contamination Case in Dimock, and University of Chicago, Surface Water Vulnerable to Widespread Pollution From Fracking, a New Study Finds
Systematic regulatory capture. This happens in every state. To give one example, it’s evidenced by nearly 40 high-level officials switching between government and the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania. See Allegheny Front, The Blurred Lines Between the Gas Industry and Government and ProPublica’s investigation of oil industry lobbying revealed systematic weakening of well plugging regulations across multiple states, and AJPH, The Environmental Protection Agency in the Early Trump Administration: Prelude to Regulatory Capture
Coordinated misinformation campaigns, front groups, and astroturfing. The industry employs sophisticated communication tactics to manipulate public opinion and create an illusion of grassroots support. These astroturfing efforts involve creating fake community groups, paying for favorable “independent” research, and deploying professional spokespeople posing as concerned citizens. These multi-million dollar campaigns specifically target vulnerable communities and intentionally sow confusion about scientific evidence. See Desmog, Gas Industry Lobbying Muscle.
These aren’t just statistics. It’s our friends, families, and communities being harmed.
They (and you) are our motivation to fight for fairness, democracy, public health, and environmental protection.
Seven years into building this network and we’ve now grown to 5,000 leaders from nearly 900 organizations across the country. Every day we get glimpses into many of their stories – a regular reminder that none of us are alone.
You’re not the only one to see the empty storefronts, broken promises, job loss, and a growing health crisis as the behest of the oil & gas industry.
While the science and reporting provides evidence, it’s our lived experience that gives us conviction to continue the fight.
Your stories – a sick family member, trucks rumbling through your neighborhood, a well appearing next to your school – resonate more than big datasets and broader narratives.
We’re here to amplify your story. You’re the expert in your lived experience.
As long as this industry sprawls across our landscape, there will be victims of its harms and therefore a legitimate resistance to its pollution.
An effective network must support them, connect them, and resource them. This is our first and most important principle.
We don’t provide directives. Instead we believe in letting each participant find their own pace and path. Our role as network coordinators is to connect you with other people and build strategy together.
We connect people with relevant evidence – whether that’s scientific research, threat assessments, or peer experience.
We communicate with thousands of people affected by the harms of fracking and the oil & gas industry.
All of this gives us a unique perspective on the industry’s playbook.
While the industry remains rich, forceful and polluting, our movement grows stronger, and our ability to support and resource each other increases daily.
Your Turn: Every person in this fight has a story – a moment when they realized they needed to act.
Whether it’s a family member’s illness, a threat to your community’s water, or a conviction that we must protect future generations, sharing these stories strengthens our collective resolve.
What brought you into this fight?
Share your story in the network! it might be exactly what another community leader needs to hear today. If you’re not a member, you can sign-up here.