ĭuring the height of the drilling in Bakerton, a community activist, Lorne Trexler, comes to town in an effort to encourage the community to reject the drilling and pursue legal action. Throughout it all, the book describes the varying impact of the activities on Rich and his family, Rena and Mack and Kip and his family. Ultimately, the energy company’s sole interest is making money and when it becomes clear that the drilling is a losing venture, they simply clear out leaving their mess behind. The noise levels are unbearable and the land is effectively ruined. The well water becomes contaminated with methane and vendors do not want to purchase animal products raised on farms either directly or indirectly impacted by the drilling. Relationships develop between the workers and the residents, which of course are only temporary. First is the presence of many workers from out of state, creating additional traffic, higher rents and crowded amenities, although notably, none of the local residents are hired to work on the rigs. The book describes the varying impact of the drilling. When the owner of one of the properties who has refused to sign a lease conveniently dies of a heart attack, his property is leased to Dark Elephant and the drilling begins. Mackey Farms supplies some of Pennsylvania’s finest restaurants and markets with organic products from their farm. One of those properties is Mackey Farms, run by a lesbian couple (Rena and Mack) who have rejected Dark Elephant, the result of which has been threats and vandalism to their property.

The properties need to be bundled and the owners of the acreage in the middle of the bundle refuse to agree. Unfortunately, Dark Elephant is unable to start drilling because some of Rich’s neighbors have not agreed to terms. Rich immediately signs, accepting Dark Elephant’s first offer, thinking only about the money he will receive to enable him to realize his dream of farming. Dark Elephant sends its best salesman to Bakerton, Pennsylvania to start signing up leases so that it can accumulate enough land to begin mining shale. Kip Oliphant is the founder and CEO of Dark Elephant Energy, which, among other things, is a giant in hydraulic fracturing. Rich is married to Shelby and they have two children, the chronically ill Olivia and her younger brother, Braden. Rich’s goal is to farm the land once farmed by his grandfather and he buys out the interests of his brother and sister, but does not have the financial means to get the farm up and running.

Rich Devlin has spent his entire life in Bakerton, Pennsylvania and works as a prison guard and sometime bartender at his father’s bar. “Heat and Light” is a story about small town life in Pennsylvania, the impact of fracking and other energy extraction activities and the hypocrisy and opportunism on both sides of the energy debate.

Heat and light haigh