Truth, Trust, and Fracking

Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science, Wagner Free Institute of Science, Philadelphia Science Festival, Chemical Heritage Foundation, Temple University Libraries

Sunday, April 22, 2012 2:00 pm EDT

Time: 2:00-4:00pm Location: The Wagner Free Institute of Science

We often see debates between experts on scientific issues that affect our lives and livelihoods. What can we do when the experts disagree but their decisions have enormous impacts on us? Do we try to influence their debate? Do we trust one side? Do we trust our gut feelings? Hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale has brought up these questions and issues. Join us for a panel discussion with speakers from a number of fields and disciplines who will help us understand the way we access and understand information and help us apply lessons learned from history in our decision-making process. This event is free and open to the public, but please:
Register Here
Online event registration with TicketLeap

Panel: Brook Lenker, Director of FracTracker.org, former Manager of Education and Outreach for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and Director of Watershed Stewardship for the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. Susan Phillips, reporter for WHYY and contributor to State Impact PA who is covering the fiscal and environmental impact of Pennsylvania's booming energy economy, with a focus on Marcellus Shale drilling. Sara Wylie develops new modes of studying and intervening in large-scale social issues through a fusion of social scientific, scientific and art/design practices. She co-directed development of web tools for community monitoring of Natural Gas Industry for her dissertation, is presently Director of Toxics and Health Research for publiclaboratory.org and teaches at RISD. Moderator: Babak Ashrafi, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science. Event Co-sponsors: This Philadelphia Science Festival, the Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science, the Wagner Free Institute of Science, Chemical Heritage Foundation, and Temple University Libraries.