Anticipating a New Project

In a few short weeks I will embark on a new 2-year research project under the direction of Abby Kinchy, Assistant Professor, at RPI. Here are some excerpts from the grant description to give a sense of where we are heading:

ArcGIS layers

The proposed project uses large-scale spatial mapping as well as key informant interviews and focused case studies to examine the ‘social production of knowledge and ignorance’ about the impacts of unconventional gas drilling on surface water in the areas of New York and Pennsylvania that are affected by Marcellus Shale natural gas development.

The broad question is: what are the social forces that structure what is known and not known about the impacts of unconventional gas drilling on fresh water resources? More specifically, the proposed research will answer the following questions:

Where are public agencies investing in watershed monitoring, and why are these public efforts unevenly distributed across the Marcellus Shale region?
To what extent does civil society research (volunteer or activist water quality monitoring) fill knowledge gaps about the impacts of gas drilling on water quality, and why are these civil society efforts unevenly distributed across the Marcellus Shale region?
How and to what extent do academic scientists aid in filling knowledge gaps about the impacts of gas drilling on water quality?

For more information on the Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling issue see below:

“Gasland” – a film by Josh Fox
This is a wonderful documentary / commentary piece on fracking. PBS summary: Sundance award-winning documentary on the surprising consequences of natural gas drilling. Fox’s film—inspired when the gas company came to his hometown—alleges chronic illness, animal-killing toxic waste, disastrous explosions, and regulatory missteps.”

This American Life podcast: “Game Changer”
Aired: July 8, 2011

“Host Ira Glass tells the stories of two professors, each making a calculation that no one had made before. One gets acclaim. One ends up out of a job. The first, Terry Engelder, a geologist at Penn State, was estimating the amount of natural gas that’s recoverable from the Marcellus shale, a giant rock formation that’s under Pennsylvania and several other Eastern states. The second, Conrad “Dan” Volz, at the University of Pittsburgh, estimated how much toxic crap—chemicals and pollution from gas exploration—might be getting into water supplies.”