HOUSTON -- A recent article from an otherwise obscure newspaper about a fourth-grade class assignment in the otherwise obscure burg of Middletown, N.Y., took center stage at Winter NAPE here last week. The article outlined an activity in which fourth graders were given information from sources that ranged from industry media such as Marcellus Energy In Depth to more mainstream media such as CNN, and asked whether or not the state of New York should allow fracing.

"Fracking is very bad for the earth," wrote one 9-year-old student. "... Gov. ...