Industry Front Group Called "Energy in Depth" Attacks Critics
As the gas industry touts the number of jobs it claims it will create in New York, in neighboring Pennsylvania an estimated 70 percent of gas rig jobs are going to people from out of state, according to Laura Fisher, senior vice president of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.
But with its deep pockets, the industry has been able to push its talking points not just on its economic claims but also on its assertion that fracking is "clean" and "safe." One of the ways they have done this is through Energy in Depth (EID), a front group for gas companies that is connected to the "American Petroleum Institute" and the "Independent Petroleum Association of America."
As documented by blogger Dory Hippauf, EID consists of several interrelated fronts in several states, with ties to various PR firms, gas companies, and political lobbyists. The group has worked extensively to try discredit those who express concerns about fracking, targeting the New York Times and the Oscar-nominated documentary film “Gasland," and its director Josh Fox.
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/08/11730/new-yorkers-rally-urge-gov-cuomo-reject-fracking
