There’s an old saying: “It’s not news until it runs in the Times.”
Thanks to this story, natural gas has officially become America’s energy darling.

Huge shales beds that have been long overlooked are now or will soon generate enormous incomes for producers, taxing entities, and of course landowners. Not only are black or brown shales found in 23 states, but the energy they produce, or more specifically, their emissions, are cleaner than either coal or oil. This is a development that will affect tens of thousands of landowners in all sections of the country, and the writer details the possibilities in an effective, enjoyable read. (Full disclosure: I have been writing for The Times since 1996.) — Eric O’Keefe