Abstract: 

    In recent years a new technology has been developed that could change the world as we know it.  It holds the promise of making huge quantities of domestic “shale gas” available to many energy-starved nations around the world, including China and the United States.  Access to relatively clean-burning shale gas (largely methane) has already impacted the energy structure in the United States, to the point that some projections show that country becoming an energy exporter.

    However, significant concerns have been raised about the recognized and unrecognized environmental risks associated with this new technology. 

    This lecture will describe the fracking process and discuss how the critical scientific, and political decisions about the process are being made in America.

Speaker: Dr. Donald Barnes AND Dr. Karen Barnes

Time：15th, June, 2013, 9:30-11:30 am

Location：Room 301, Old Geology Building

Introduction：

Donald’s PhD in chemistry led him to teaching at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, NC for ten years, followed by a 22-year career with the US Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, where he was a member of the Senior Executive Service and Director of the Science Advisory Board.  He is a lifetime Fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis and a 50+-year member of the American Chemical Society.  He has published more than 40 professional articles, as well as overseeing the publication of more than 100 reports of the Science Advisory Board.

Karen’s PhD in chemistry also led her to St. Andrews.