Speaker Series on Energy and the Environment resumes Sept. 9
Youngstown State University will again host the Speaker Series on Energy and the Environment this Fall Semester, starting Sept. 9 and running through Nov. 18. The lectures, free and open to the public, are 7 p.m. every Wednesday in Cushwa Hall Room B100. (The only exception is Thursday, Nov. 12, because YSU is closed on Wednesday, Nov. 11th for Veterans Day.) The series, organized by Ray Beiersdorfer, YSU Distinguished Professor of Geological and Environmental Sciences, emphasizes scientific, public health and policy research surrounding climate change, shale gas development and renewable energy. The majority of the lectures will be via video conferencing technology, but there will be three live lectures.
“We have, not one, but two, famous professors from Pennsylvania State University speaking this semester – Drs. Terry Engelder and Michael Mann,” Beiersdorfer said. “Terry will be speaking in person, so people can meet him and shake his hand. Nobel prize winner Michael Mann will be speaking via skype.” Thomas Linzey, executive director of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, speaks, in person on Thursday, Nov. 12 about the community rights movement.” “This will be an exciting lecture,” Beiersdorfer said. “The whole community rights versus corporate rights issue is a hot topic in Ohio and nationwide.” Other speakers are from the Concerned Health Professionals of New York, Earthworks, Group Against Smog and Pollution, Physicians Scientist and Engineers for Healthy Energy, and the Post Carbon Institute. The schedule: Sept. 9. Earthquake Risks due to Fracking and Injection Wells in Northeast Ohio, by Ray Beiersdorfer, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, YSU. Sept. 16. An overview of microseismic activity associated with high volume hydraulic fracturing, by Terry Engelder, Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University. Sept. 23. Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials Associated with Unconventional Drilling for Shale Gas, by Andrew Nelson, candidate Presidential Graduate Research Fellow Human Toxicology, University of Iowa. Sept. 30. The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars, by Michael E. Mann, director, Earth System Science Center, Pennsylvania State University.
Oct. 7. Towards a Renewable Energy Future: Integration Strategies and Technical Hurdles, by Elena M. Krieger, director, Renewable Energy Program, Physicians Scientist and Engineers for Healthy Energy. Oct. 14. Wasting Away: Four states’ failure to manage gas and oil field waste from the Marcellus and Utica Shale, by Nadia Steinzor, Eastern Program Coordinator Oil and Gas Accountability Project Earthworks. Oct. 21. Sustainability, Energy and the Environment, by Maren Cooke, Group Against Smog and Pollution, Pittsburgh. Oct. 28. Potential Health Impacts of Gas Transport Infrastructure, by Larysa Dyrszka, Concerned Health Professionals of New York. Nov. 4. Induced Seismicity, by Justin Rubinstein, Research Geophysicist, U.S. Geological Survey.
Nov. 12 (Thursday). A Community Revolution: Elevating the Rights of People and Communities Over Corporations, by Thomas Linzey, executive director, Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund. Nov. 18. Shale Gas Reality Check: Revisiting the U.S. Department of Energy Play-by-Play Forecasts through 2040 from Annual Energy Outlook 2015, by David Hughes, Fellow, Fossil Fuels Post Carbon Institute.