What the Shell Cracker Plant Looks Like: The Visible and Invisible
How residents of Beaver County will experience the new Shell petrochemical complex in Potter Township depends on a lot of things. The time of day. The particular equipment that’s churning or not churning inside the fenceline of the sprawling industrial site that spans nearly 400 acres on the Ohio River. Whether the trains that will carry plastic pellets to customers are running. Shell, a Dutch energy and petrochemicals giant, built the complex in Beaver County because it sits on top of one of the largest reserves of natural gas in the world, the Marcellus and Utica shales.
The Titans of Plastic: Pennsylvania Becomes the Newest Sacrifice Zone for America’s Plastic Addiction.
For the residents who live nearby, Shell’s big bet on plastic represents a new chapter in the same story that’s plagued the region for decades: An extractive industry moves in, exports natural resources at a tremendous profit—most of which flow to outsiders—and leaves poverty, pollution, and illness in its wake. First came the loggers, oil barons, and coal tycoons. Then there were the steel magnates and the fracking moguls. Now it’s the titans of plastic.
Collision Course: Will the Plastics Treaty Slow the Plastics Rush?
The interlacing pipelines of a massive new plastics facility gleam in the sunshine beside the rolling waters of the Ohio River. I’m sitting on a hilltop above it, among poplars and birdsongs in rural Beaver County, Pennsylvania, 30 miles north of Pittsburgh. The area has experienced tremendous change over the past few years — with more soon to come. The ethane “cracker plant” belongs to Royal Dutch Shell, and after 10 years and $6 billion it’s about to go online. Soon it will transform a steady flow of fracked Marcellus gas into billions of plastic pellets — a projected 1.6 million tons of them per year, each the size of a pea.
The Toxics Tour - A Trip Through the Ohio River Valley
Beyond Plastics’ Organizing Director, Alexis Goldsmith took a toxic tour through the Ohio River Valley where the fracking boom has led to a buildout of petrochemical infrastructure. Follow along with her meetings with the dedicated individuals and organizations working to hold this industry accountable and stop the petrochemical build-out.
Environmental advocates call for ODNR public hearing
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources must provide a public hearing on Powhatan Salt Company LLC’s permit applications to carve solution mining wells from the Salina salt formation along the Ohio River in Monroe County, Ohio.
Appalachia’s fracking boom has done little for local economies: Study
Appalachia's fracking boom has failed to deliver on promises of jobs and benefits to local economies, according to a new study.
The Climate Crisis: Interview With Judith Enck
Climate change advocate and author Bill McKibben interviews Beyond Plastics President and former EPA Regional Administrator, Judith Enck about plastics’ role in our climate crisis.