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HEALTH RISKS FORUM – Feb 23rd

NATURAL GAS WITH UN-NATURAL CONSEQUENCES:

THE HEALTH RISKS OF SHALE GAS DRILLING

Tuesday, February 23, 6:30-8:30 at The Forum room, Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3), 170 North St, Dryden, NY.
The presenters will be Ron Bishop, lecturer in Chemistry at SUNY Oneonta; Thomas Shelly, chemical safety and hazardous materials specialist; Adam Law, a physician who specializes in endocrinology. Dr. William Klepack, a family practice physician in Dryden, will be introducing the speakers.

Doors will open at 6:00 and talks start at 6:30. The evening will be divided into three half hour presentations, with a question and answer period following the presentations.
The presentations:

Ron Bishop, lecturer in chemistry at SUNY Oneonta, will offer a powerpoint presentation addressing the why and how of the unconventional gas drilling technique known as high-volume, slick-water, hydrofracturing. Bishop holds a B.A. in Chemistry from Youngstown State University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from The West Virgina University School of Medicine. In his 17 years of full-time research, his projects were related to cancer and biosafety. For the last 11 years, Bishop has taught a variety of courses (biology, genetics, general and organic chemistry, biochemistry and environmental sciences) in high schools and colleges. He currently teaches in the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department at SUNY Oneonta, and is nationally certified in chemical hazards management.
Thomas Shelley, chemical safety and hazardous materials specialist and chemist by profession!,will follow Ron Bishop s presentation with a discussion of how the chemicals used at the drilling site are handled, what chemicals come back out of the ground with the drilling waste fluids and the categories of different chemical mixtures. He will also talk about the established links between chemicals and health, and address some of the issues of radioactivity in the waste fluid. Shelley worked in Cornell Environmental Health and Safety for 18 years as a chemical and laboratory safety specialist. For much of that time he was the Chemical Hygiene Officer for Cornell University.
Adam Law is a physician who specializes in endocrinology. He will present a brief overview of the disruptions chemicals can bring to the human body s endocrine system. Adam Law was raised in London, UK where he received his medical degree and his doctorate in molecular medicine. He has 8 years of basic science research experience in molecular biology and biochemistry. He has been an attending physician at the Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca since 1994 and was President of the medical staff 2009. He became aware of gas drilling in the Finger Lakes portion of the Marcellus shale after questions from his concerned patients. As an endocrinologist he has been inspired by the work of Dr. Theo Colborn, founder of the Endocrine Disruptor Exchange.

This forum is sponsored by Shaleshock Citizen s Action Alliance and co-sponsored by the
Center for Transformative Action, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, Gas Drilling Awareness of Cortland County, TC3 Sustainability Council, Dryden R
esource Awareness Coalition, Sustainable Otsego, Sustainable Tompkins, and Marcellus Accountability Project.

For more information contact Shaleshock08@yahoo.com or call Sharon Anderson, Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County at 607-272-2292

PLEASE HELP DISTRIBUTE AND DISPLAY POSTERS!

TC3 health 2-23 risks flyer

Coalition letter to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Cornell University

Cornell alum Michelle Bamberger has written a Coalition letter to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Cornell University, Peter Meinig. She writes, “This might really help get the word out, and would help make more people aware of the drilling issues we face in our part of the state.” Read her letter, and sign on in solidarity!
Letter to Peter Meinig
How to sign on to Meinig letter

Cornell Faculty Senate Marcellus Gas Drilling Resolution

Cornell Faculty Senate passed a Marcellus Gas Drilling Resolution two nights ago:

A moratorium should be imposed on the leasing of Cornell lands for horizontal drilling combined with hydraulic fracturing until a scientifically informed consensus is reached at federal, state and local levels on the long-term environmental, health, economic and community impacts of this activity, federal and state legislation for adequate regulation of this activity is in place, and the infrastructure is in place to enforce these regulations…

Read on for the full resolution.
Continue reading Cornell Faculty Senate Marcellus Gas Drilling Resolution

KyotoNOW Rally against gas drilling at Cornell University

At Ho Plaza (Cornell’s central campus, in front of Willard Straight Hall).

Come rally at Cornell to demand that the university not approve any land leases of Cornell-owned land in New York State! Students are speaking out against NG drilling and calling on the administration to denounce and reject fracking natural gas as a “transition” strategy. They are rallying to raise awareness on campus and to tell Cornell that they care. Please come in support and solidarity if you can! (They will have signs, but more are welcome.)

Hosted by KyotoNOW student organization.

Contact Maria at 845-489-4780 or maria.k.oldiges@gmail.com if you have any questions or need directions.

Cornell forum 12/1 Uris Hall 4:45 pm

Given the very significant interest in the Marcellus Shale drilling, I’m pleased to inform you that the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, the Paleontological Research Institution, the Cornell Water Resources Institute and Cornell Cooperative Extension will host a panel discussion on

“The Marcellus Shale:  Energy, Environment and the Public Interest”

to be held in Uris Hall Auditorium from 4:45 to 6:45  pm on Tuesday, Dec. 1.

This forum is intended to inform the Cornell faculty on the broad range of energy and environmental issues that underlie the current controversy regarding extraction of shale gas from the Marcellus Formation in southern N.Y. and northern Pennsylvania. Cornell experts in geology, energy, groundwater, and public policy will be present to help answer questions regarding the potential risks and benefits associated with this national energy resource.

Cornell Faculty Debate Gas Drilling

Read Elizabeth Manapsal’s Faculty Debate Gas Drilling (Cornell Sun) for a glimpse into the responses to natural gas drilling coming from Cornell University.

CCE Public session on Marcellus Shale exploration, in Liberty

Cornell Cooperative Extension will host a series of meetings across New York’s Southern Tier during July and August to provide opportunities for the general public to gain a basic understanding of the issues associated with the development of natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale.

The meetings, co-sponsored by CCE Association offices, will occur from 7-9 p.m. Residents should contact their local CCE Association for more details. More info: gasleasing.cce.cornell.edu

The complete tentative schedule:

  • Grace United Methodist Church, Corning (Steuben County), July 16
  • Chenango Town Hall (Broome County), July 22 – call 607-584-9966 to register
  • Waverly (Tioga County), July 28
  • Watkins Glen (Schuyler County), Aug. 5
  • Liberty (Sullivan County), Aug. 17