Pittsburgh gas giant EQT Corporation is America’s largest producer of fracked natural gas. Amid a global rush to decarbonize, the company’s CEO, Toby Rice, touts EQT’s gas exports as “the largest green initiative on the planet.” But among the rural communities in northern Appalachia where the company operates, the harsh realities of gas extraction hit home.
In Knob Fork, West Virginia, four neighboring families abandoned their homes after experiencing years of symptoms consistent with exposure to airborne volatile organic compounds, the same chemicals released by EQT’s natural gas extraction in the rural hollow next door.
Nearby, residents of New Freeport, Pennsylvania, endured more than two years of undrinkable groundwater after a June 2022 “frack-out” sent fluid erupting along Main Street. Residents reported rashes after showering, and foul, methane-spiked water in local wells. A federal class action lawsuit is pending.
“These issues exist everywhere at some scale. It’s almost expected: illness in proximity to industry.” Photographer Quinn Glabicki asks, “How do we document this banality of horror?”
This story was originally published in partnership with PublicSource in March 2024.
Artist Bios
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Quinn Glabicki
Quinn Glabicki is a photojournalist and writer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Born and raised in the Rust Belt, Glabicki’s long-term work focuses on communities impacted by climate change and the footprint of industry in Appalachia. Glabicki’s work has been published by The New York Times, Reuters, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian, among others. Glabicki currently covers climate change and the environment for PublicSource.
Organizations
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Pulitzer Center
The Pulitzer Center makes possible in-depth reporting on important systemic issues, from climate change to health to the impact of AI. We make sure that the journalism reaches the right audiences to inspire curiosity, understanding, and action.
Our grants, trainings, and tools support more than 200 journalism projects each year, published by hundreds of news outlets all over the world. Over our 20-year history, that adds up to 11,000 stories illuminating some of the most urgent, complex issues facing the world today, and the intersections between them.
The journalism we support has led to the repeal of harmful laws, helped change government programs, and borne witness to events and atrocities that otherwise would be hidden from public scrutiny—and garnered the industry’s top accolades, including Pulitzer Prizes and Emmy awards.
Journalism also is a driver of civic engagement. We connect our projects to classrooms, communities, and public forums worldwide, extending impact far beyond publication. As the ways people get their information change, our impact-driven, audience-driven approach is even more necessary for a healthy society.
Breakthrough Journalism, Stronger Communities. That’s been our mission and our passion for two decades. We’re excited to see what the next 20 years bring.
Hollowed Out
Featuring: Quinn Glabicki
Curated by: Lucy Crelli Mikaela Schmitt
Locations
View Location Details Download a detailed map of this location Brooklyn Bridge Park – Emily Warren Roebling Plaza1 Water St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
This location is part of Brooklyn Bridge Park
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The views and opinions expressed in this exhibit are those of the exhibition artists and partners and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Photoville or any other participants and partners of the Photoville Festival.
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Visualizing the Invisible: Photojournalism in Underreported Communities
Photojournalist Quinn Glabicki explores how he built trust with vulnerable Appalachian communities confronting the unseen impacts of extractive industries. Join the Pulitzer Center and PublicSource’s Glabicki and Stephanie Strasburg to discuss the power of local news and community-centered, responsive storytelling.
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