Preliminary lessons from the “Hellmouth”: The intensification of a sacrifice zone

• In Event: 2251 - Section on Environmental Sociology Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 3. Community Impacts of Industrial Production

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a preliminary study of the impacts on property owners in the widening sphere of natural gas production, processing and transportation. Although southern West Virginia has long experienced coal industry domination of their communities, economies, and politics, for those in northern West Virginia, the growth of natural gas production, storage and processing, and transportation brings a new level of impact on their lives and communities. This article draws on a pilot study of six interviews with property owners in the natural gas play and areas targeted for pipeline construction. The interviews were conducted in the West Virginia counties of Wetzel, Ritchie, Doddridge, Lewis and Summer, during the summer of 2017. These interviews provide an insight into how property owners are experiencing the increasing presence of the natural gas industry in their communities and on their land. Specifically, I seek to uncover how this expanding industrial extraction affects the daily lives, practices, and enjoyment of these rural residents.

Author

• Rebecca R. Scott, University of Missouri-Columbia