Series Recap: Emerging Issues in Shale Gas Development

In the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy’s second annual Policy Workshop Webinar Series, we looked at “Emerging Issues in Shale Gas Development” with the help of a distinguished group of experts from multiple sectors and fields. In case you missed any of our events this year, or would like to review a presentation, I have catalogued our shale gas webinars and interviews below, including links to summary blog posts and video recordings as well as additional readings, videos, and audio clips so that you can learn more about the issues that each of our speakers discussed.

The Policy Workshop Webinar Series will continue next academic year, 2013-2014, with an examination of environmental law and policy issues in the area of food and agriculture.

Emerging Issues in Shale Gas Development

September 18, 2012: Economics and Risk Assessment (Interview): As a prelude to the webinar series, Sheila Olmstead, a Fellow at Resources for the Future, discussed some of the implications of the shale gas boom. Read more and watch this interview here.

October 10, 2012: Overview of Environmental Impacts: Dr. Jim Saiers, Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, presented an overview of shale gas development and its implications for the environment. Read more and watch this webinar here.

November 8, 2012: Climate Impacts: Dr. Ramón Alvarez, a senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) presented research from a paper he recently co-authored on natural gas use and its implications for climate change. Read more and watch this webinar here.  

December 5, 2012: Overview of the Current U.S. Regulatory Framework: Florida State Law Professor Hannah Wiseman provided a comprehensive overview of the current legal regimes governing shale gas development, including state and federal statutes, local zoning, agency directives, and the common law. Read more and watch this webinar here.

January 23, 2013: An Industry Perspective: Mark Boling, President of V+ Development Solutions, a division of Southwestern Energy Company, presented on “Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Impacts of Shale Gas Development Activities.” Read more and watch this webinar here.

February 12, 2013: Electricity Markets and Clean Energy: Jeffrey Logan from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) presented on “Natural Gas and U.S. Electric Power Futures.” Read more and watch this webinar here.

March 5, 2013: Measuring Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Interview): Dr. Garvin Heath, a senior scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), discussed research that he recently completed on the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from shale gas produced from Texas’ Barnett Shale. Read more and watch this interview here.

March 7, 2013: A State Perspective: Tom Hunt from the Colorado Energy Office presented on “The Future of Oil and Gas Production in Colorado.” Read more and watch this webinar here.

March 29, 2013: Community Impacts: Susan Phillips from public radio station WHYY in Philadelphia discussed Marcellus Shale gas development in Pennsylvania. The stories that she presented were originally reported by Ms. Phillips and her colleagues as part of StateImpact Pennsylvania, an award-winning collaboration between WHYY, National Public Radio (NPR), and WITF in Harrisburg. Read more and watch this webinar here.

April 12, 2013: An Environmental Perspective: Kate Sinding, Senior Attorney and Deputy Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)’s New York Program, discussed fracking from the perspective of an environmental organization. Read more and watch this webinar here.

Webinar Recap: Community Perspectives from Pennsylvania’s Shale Gas Fields

On Friday, March 29, as part of our Policy Workshop Webinar Series on Emerging Issues in Shale Gas Development, the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy invited Susan Phillips from public radio station WHYY in Philadelphia to discuss Marcellus Shale gas development in Pennsylvania. The stories that she presented were originally reported by Ms. Phillips and her colleagues as part of StateImpact Pennsylvania, an award-winning collaboration between WHYY, National Public Radio (NPR), and WITF in Harrisburg.

You can watch Ms. Phillips’s full presentation below, in which she tells the story of Pennsylvania shale gas through interviews with local community members who are experiencing the effects, both good and bad, of shale gas development firsthand.

Community Impacts of Marcellus Shale Gas from YCELP on Vimeo.

In addition to watching her presentation, I highly recommend that you visit the StateImpact Pennsylvania website to learn more about the issues and individuals whom Ms. Phillips introduced. You might also be interested in watching “The Frontlines of Fracking: Community Voices from Southwest Pennsylvania,” a video produced by graduating Masters student and Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy research assistant Omar Malik last summer.

Next Time in Emerging Issues in Shale Gas Development

On Friday, April 12, from 1-2pm EDT, the Emerging Issues in Shale Gas Development webinar series will host Kate Sinding from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to discuss “Fracking: State and Local Regulatory Issues.”

To register for this webinar, please click here. As always, the webinar will be free and open to the public, but registration is required to participate.

Introducing “On the Environment”

The Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy is a joint initiative between Yale Law School and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, and we see a lot of interesting and inspiring people come through the doors of both schools throughout the course of a year.

These visionaries will stay a few days, give a lecture or two, and then be on their way again—sometimes with very little record of their visit, the insights they’ve shared, or the passion they’ve breathed into the community inspiring action, change, and possibility.

We launched On the Environment, a podcast series hosted by Center staff and students, to better document these visits and, most importantly, to invite the larger community into the conversation we’re having here about key issues in environmental science, law and policymaking.

The first six podcasts are linked below, but please keep your eye on the On The Environment iTunes or SoundCloud sites, because we will update frequently.

We hope you enjoy the podcasts and the speakers as much as we’ve enjoyed producing the series.

Episode 1: Marissa Knodel, a research assistant at the Center, visits with Andrew Guzman about his new book Overheated: The Human Cost of Climate Change, which explores the real-world consequences of climate change.

Episode 2: (part 1 and part 2): Marissa Knodel talks with Julian Aguon, a writer, activist and attorney, about his work on human and indigenous rights under international law.

Episode 3: (part 1, part 2, and part 3): Aaron Reuben, a Center research assistant, talks with Rolling Stone Contributing Editor Jeff Goodell about his work, the future of environmental journalism, and geoengineering.

If you have comments or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at ycelp@yale.edu.

No Farms No Food?

Most have likely seen the green and white bumpersticker declaring “No Farms No Food”.  Without reservation I support the message of American Farmland Trust, the group that created and distributes this sticker. In the words of American Farmland Trust:

“The message is simple and couldn't be more clear—America's farms and ranches provide an unparalleled abundance of fresh, healthy and local food, but they are rapidly disappearing.

Ninety-one percent of America’s fruit and seventy-eight percent of our vegetables are grown near metro regions, where they are in the path of development. And America has been losing more than an acre of farmland every minute. That's why supporting local food and farms is more important than ever!”

Recently, however, I was walking to work when I passed a truck that donned the green and white sticker as well as the familiar red and black bumper sticker showing support for the National Rifle Association. Seeing these two stickers side by side, it occurred to me that the message “no farms no food” simply isn’t true. Take a quick trip to NRA.org and you will see that hunting is a pillar of their mission.

There is, in fact, food without farms and it comes from, among other places, hunting wild animals, or harvesting wild plants.

Research suggests that human agriculture arose around nine thousand years ago. For the sake of argument, let’s round that to ten or even 20 thousand years ago. Homo sapiens have been on earth for somewhere around 200,000 years. That means that for over 180,000 years there were no farms, but there was food.

It would take too long to list all the incredible benefits of agriculture; suffice it to say that agriculture is more than just a critical part of human life today.  The American Farmland Trust and likeminded organizations similarly play a critical role in reminding us that our food does come from somewhere— typically a farm—and awareness about the origins of our food is important to protecting the source. By and large that source is farms, but it is worth remembering that there is more to our food system than farms alone. To sustain our broader environment and our complete food system we need to remember the boar, bass and berries that can also nourish us. 

Climate Change Triage: The Northeast and Sea Level Rise

Sobering look at sea level rise in the Northeast and the hard choices it puts before us.  Do taxpayers pay to defend coastline with expensive sea walls in what looks to be a losing battle?  Do emotionally-invested homeowners on the coast retreat now while their property may be at its optimal value?  What can we save from the sea's rise, if anything?  How will we as a society triage the many victims of this climate change harm?      

I detect no real sense that policy makers have a good handle on how to resolve, or even approach, these kinds of terrible choices.  Unfortunately, going forward blindly is also a choice, and one that usually doesn't end too well.

Earth Day 40: Connecticut’s Environment Past, Present and Future

This video looks back at Earth Day April 22, 1970 and the environmental successes and challenges that Connecticut faces.  Over the past 40 years, Connecticut has made great progress in cleaning up our air, waters and lands, preserving open space, protecting fish and wildlife, and protecting the public health. Watch here.