New York Democrats who are asking Congress to supply them with what is widely described as a “coronavirus bailout” would be in a stronger economic and political position today if they took advantage of their state’s natural resources.

Unlike neighboring Pennsylvania, New York has banned the use of hydraulic fracturing that can be used to extract oil and natural gas deposits available within an underground rock formation known as the Marcellus Shale. For this reason, New York residents have lost out on an energy production boom that would have enabled the state to produce more than enough natural gas to cover its own heating, electrical, and industrial needs. In fact, New York has enough untapped resources to become an exporter of natural gas to other states.