A substantial number of top U.S. medical professionals, scientists and engineers will unveil at 2 p.m. Thursday (December 13, 2012) a petition urging the Obama Administration to halt the rush toward large-scale export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) until the health impacts in the U.S. of dramatically expanded fracking can be resolved.
In the petition, the experts will point out that there are ample grounds for concern about the potential harm posed to humans by the hydro fracking of shale gas, and that more research must be done in order to know more about such impacts. In the absence of needed testing, the Obama Administration could expose Americans to potential health harms, according to the joint statement from the experts organized by Physicians, Scientists, & Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE).
Phone-based news conference speakers will include:
* Seth B. Shonkoff, PhD, MPH, executive director, Physicians, Scientists, & Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE), and environmental researcher, University of California, Berkeley;
* Adam Law, MD, physician, Cayuga Medical Center, Ithaca, NY, and Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE);
* Madelon L. Finkel, PhD, professor of clinical public health, and director of the Office of Global Health Education, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City; and
* Louis W. Allstadt, former executive vice president, Mobil Oil Corporation, Cooperstown, NY.
TO PARTICIPATE: Join the live, telephone-based news conference (with full, two-way Q&A) at 2 p.m. EST on Dec 13, 2012 by dialing 1 (800) 860-2442. Ask for the “health impacts of LNG exports” news event.
CAN’T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio replay of the news event will be available on the Web at http://www.psehealthyenergy.org/ as of 5 p.m. EST on Dec 13, 2012.
Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy is dedicated to supplying objective, evidence-based, scientific information and resources on unconventional gas development (high-volume hydrofracking) and other novel energy production methods. PSE’s mission is to bring transparency to the important scientific and public policy issues surrounding energy, helping to level the playing field for citizens, scientists, advocacy groups, media, and policy-makers. For more information, go to http://www.psehealthyenergy.org/.
