Welcome to the Boomtown . . . really?

Most readers have bought a car from a dealership at some point in their lives. As you know, one of the keys is to get you, the buyer, to buy now: “What’s it gonna take to put you behind the wheel?” 

Why the rush? Well, as we know, it’s so that you can’t change your mind; it’s so that you don’t have time to gather more information.  You just might find a better deal down the road or talk to a mechanic who informs you that Ford Pintos don’t make great second-hand cars.

It reminds me a bit of fracking (some prefer “hydraulic fracturing” when describing the drilling technique). With even the mayor so giddy that he wants to rename Canton the “Utica Capital,” and several local leaders, including an official in Salem, declaring they want their burgh to become a “boomtown” (these folks should probably review what a boomtown actually is—hint: it’s not good), it’s tough not to get swept up in the rush.

But just a few sticking points:

-after partnering with Chesapeake Energy, a French company now is part owner of the majority of leases here in Ohio

-the gas/oil extracted from Ohio doesn’t stay here; it goes onto the global market.

-the industry announced, quite surprisingly, they were cutting gas production in order to keep prices from falling too far(?!)

-according to an official in Carroll Co, “There is no extra money coming into the townships or the counties to handle the extra costs we are seeing.”

-the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, in another surprise, found the deep injection wells in Youngstown were, in fact, “inducing” the dozen or so earthquakes recently felt there.

So, I know it’s just going to be fantastic, but tell us again why we have to buy this lemon? 

*a version of this piece appeared in The Canton Repository