New Energy Developments: Social and Environmental Impacts
2:00 pm US Eastern Time
Slides & Resources
Dr. Perry's slide presentation: A Home Worth Fighting For: Social, Psychological, and Politial Consequences of Shale Gas Development in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania (PDF)
Presentation at the 2nd Annual Conference on the Health Effects of Shale Gas Extraction, University of Pittsburgh, November 18, 2011
Forum on Public Policy On-line, Vol. 2011 (2)
This call was hosted by the Cumulative Impacts Working Group.
Dr. Simona Perry is an applied social and environmental scientist whose current research focuses on emerging social and environmental conflicts around new energy development projects in North America. For the past three years, Simona has been documenting the quality of life and environmental changes being experienced by local farmers and forest landowners in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. As of March 22, 2012, 1,073 Marcellus shale gas wells have been drilled in the county, miles of pipeline and acres of new compressor stations have been installed across the landscape, and water withdrawal sites continue to be developed along the Susquehanna River and its tributaries. All of the developments associated with the Marcellus shale gas industry amount to a rapid industrialization of the landscape in which farmers, forest landowners, families and neighbors increasingly feel confusion, frustration, anger, depression and high levels of stress over the future of their land, water, soil, and lives.
Simona's broad theoretical and practical focus is on understanding the everyday lives of individuals and communities in a rapidly changing world, a sense of place phenomena in the face of globalized markets and identities, and creating locally informed and culturally relevant policy dialogues that empower local citizens to engage in regional, national and global deliberations. She received her Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in human dimensions, and holds a master’s degree in marine and environmental policy from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Science in wildlife biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The call was moderated by Carolyn Raffensperger, SEHN.
