From a rural idyll to an industrial site: an analysis of hydraulic fracturing energy sprawl in Central Appalachia

Abstract

This paper analyzes land-system dynamics changes due to energy infrastructure development and explores the environmental and social ramifications of hydraulic fracturing, through a case study in Central Appalachia. Grounded in photographic data, satellite images, and ethnographic material, this study demonstrates landscape and embodied experiences of change over time. Data show major shifts in terms of wildlife behavior, possibilities for farming and gardening, and byproducts of construction like noise, pollution, and excavation. However, what we argue is crucial to examine is the emotional toll that these changes have taken on rural residents. Interviewees chose to live in West Virginia because of deep enchantment with the surrounding natural beauty, which they feel they have lost due to energy development. While energy research has been dominated by technical disciplines and explanations, we advocate for an emotional-oriented analysis that accounts for individually lived experiences in the context of these landscape-level changes.