Not everyone agrees with industry estimates of US natural gas reserves. Cold, Hungry and in the Dark: Exploding the Natural Gas Supply Myth argues that reserves are inflated by the industry developers to fuel support for new projects to economically depressed regions hungry for jobs that benefit from federal subsides like New Markets Tax Credits.

Conventional wisdom has North America entering a new era of energy abundance thanks to shale gas. But has industry been honest? Cold, Hungry and in the Dark argues that declining productivity combined with increasing demand will trigger a crisis that will cause prices to skyrocket, damage the economy, and have a profound impact on the lives of nearly every North American.

Relying on faulty science, bought-and-paid-for-white papers masquerading as independent research and “industry consultants,” the “shale promoters” have vastly overstated the viable supply of shale gas resources for their own financial gain. This startling exposé, written by an industry insider, suggests that the stakes involved in the Enron scandal might seem like lunch money in comparison to the bursting of the natural gas bubble.

Coos County has fallen victim to these development pipe dreams before and the developer makes its money off of closing the deal and rarely if ever has any hand in running the ongoing long term operations. Like so many other development schemes, be it a leasing out a regional mall or securing a portfolio of mineral leases, most developers make more money flipping the deal.