Report on “Water & Wellness Seminar” in Morgantown on September 8th

For those unable to attend the “Water and Wellness” seminar yesterday, you can watch the entire program of speakers on the video clips referenced below. The program was held in Morgantown, Saturday, September 8th and sponsored by the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, the WV Sierra Club, and WV Highlands Conservancy. Focus was on Marcellus shale gas development (MSD) and mountain-top removal coal mining (MTR).

Dr. Wilma Subra was keynote speaker, with presentations also by Dr. Michael Hendryx, Dr. Jill Kriesky, and Dr. Ben Stout. Additional speakers included residents of WV and PA who have personally been impacted by either shale drilling or mountain top removal coal mining and they shared their personal stories.

Dr. Wilma Subra presented information about the harmful toxins associated with shale gas drilling and their effects on human and animal health and environment. She presented statistical research about the levels of these chemicals that have been measured and documented all around these drill sites, compressor stations and beyond. It should be enough to lead even the most skeptical person into a call for action to demand a closer look by our regulatory agencies and legislators to determine if this “unconventional drilling” is as safe as the industry claims that it is! The industry rushed into the Marcellus drilling frenzy without really knowing all the facts about the short and long term impacts to health and environment. The resulting evidence coming from these communities now is just too serious to ignore!!!

>>> Diane Pitcock, www.wvhostfarms.org (See Part 12 below.)

NOTE: Everyone who lives anywhere in the region of drilling should watch these first two videos, where Dr. Wilma Subra describes the toxins and risks associated with shale gas development. You don’t have to live close to a well site to be affected… Robert Donnan.

Water & Wellness: Health Impacts of Fossil Fuel Extraction
Saturday, September 8, 2012 seminar in Morgantown, WV

Part 1 – Opening greetings and a presentation by environmental scientist Dr. Wilma Subra who begins her presentation at the 12-minute mark of the video.
http://youtu.be/znFOo7CloVg (36:32)

Part 2 – End of presentation by environmental scientist Dr. Wilma Subra.
http://youtu.be/LiV1XAWeSac (17:04)

Part 3 – Presentation by Greene County, Pennsylvania resident Pam Judy describing the health effects her family has experienced from a compressor station that was built 780 feet from their new home.
http://youtu.be/-qVGWAZXi7s (7:14)

Part 4 – Presentation by Christina Woods of Doddridge County, West Virginia who describes problems with dust from drilling traffic on the road near their home which were compounded when flowback being was applied to the road for dust control.
http://youtu.be/vjDBCyf8Ypo (5:18)

Part 5 – Presentation by Linda Headley of Fayette County, Pennsylvania who describes how being surrounded by Marcellus Shale drilling sites has adversely affected her family’ health and wellbeing.
http://youtu.be/JPIauYgBNYo (3:16)

Part 6 – Presentation by Nada White of Boone County, West Virginia who describes the health effects of coal mining and mountaintop removal.
http://youtu.be/uM9Mi1LSJDw (4:53)

Part 7 – Presentation by panelists Dr. Michael Hendryx – Professor in the School of Public Health at West Virginia University; Dr. Jill Kriesky – Center for Healthy Environments and Communities (CHEC) at University of Pittsburgh; Dr. Ben Stout – Aquatic Biologist at Wheeling Jesuit University.
http://youtu.be/umfg0PO5xg8 (31:42)

Part 8 – Q&A session with panelists Dr. Michael Hendryx – Professor in the School of Public Health at West Virginia University; Dr. Jill Kriesky – Center for Healthy Environments and Communities (CHEC) at University of Pittsburgh; Dr. Ben Stout – Aquatic Biologist at Wheeling Jesuit University.
http://youtu.be/02Gc5fjzEuM (36:33)

Part 9 – Q&A session with panelists Dr. Michael Hendryx – Professor in the School of Public Health at West Virginia University; Dr. Jill Kriesky – Center for Healthy Environments and Communities (CHEC) at University of Pittsburgh; Dr. Ben Stout – Aquatic Biologist at Wheeling Jesuit University.
http://youtu.be/OkUV8SsYR2Q (4:51)

Part 10 – Lorelei Scarbro of Raleigh County West Virginia describes what happened during and after mountaintop removal mining took place behind her house.
http://youtu.be/LLwEP1QUCX0 (9:15)

Part 11 – Danny Cook of Boone County West Virginia describes what happened during and after mountaintop removal mining took place behind his house.
http://youtu.be/DKMftkX7jgA (6:18)
Magazine story:
http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201203/coal-mining-appalachia102.aspx

Part 12 – Diane L. Pitcock describes the WV Host Farms Program.
http://youtu.be/5YhCyf-WbCg (6:30)

Tagged as: coal, drilling, drinking water, fracking, marcellus shale, methane, mining, MTR, natural gas, public health, water pollution, water resources, wv