Energy demand around the United States is becoming a major problem. Due to climate change and environmental issues, the need for increased energy is increasing. As if natural gas has become an alternative fuel source for power plants, it also has the power to heat homes and serve as fuel for vehicles. Having natural gas is an advantage to reducing oil and coal in the United States. Drilling the Marcellus Shale can provide many advantages, disadvantages and financial growth for the development of energy sources. The Marcellus Shale, or known as the Marcellus Formation, is a marine sedimentary rock located in the eastern part of North America. Shales are found underground beneath much of Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York. Small areas of Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia are also underlain by the Marcellus Shale (Marcellus Shale - Appalachian Basin Natural Gas Play). Shales contain natural gas throughout the rock and are known as an alternative hydrocarbon reservoir because oil and gas come from the sandstone. In the overview of the Marcellus Shale it is stated that “the shales extend for approximately 600 square miles beneath New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, and West Virginia. Shales extend beneath the Great Lakes and into Ontario, Canada. Until recently, this project had been neglected because a vertical gas well drilled through the shale would not produce sufficient yield to be economically feasible. » The Marcellus Shale extends throughout the eastern United States. The article Marcellus Shale - Appalachian Basin Natural Gas Play states that natural gas plays a role in the Marcellus Shale in three ways. One of them is inside the pores of the shale. Two are found in vertical fractures that cut through the shale and the third is absorbed by mineral grains and organic matter. Gas that enters the interstitial space is very difficult to escape because it is very small and poorly connected. Many factors come into play in the development of the Marcellus Shale. The first is that natural gas prices have increased. Pop City Media said that "prices climbed from around $3 per thousand cubic feet in 2002 to more than $11 in the summer of 2008." Another factor is the use of hydraulic fracturing, drilling into shale in this way making it more available and less expensive for development. Finally, the climate movement has made natural gas a fuel source.