Fracking, Environmental Health, and Gender Justice
In October 2020, GHJG hosted the Convening on Fracking, Environmental Health, and Gender Justice, which brought together scientists, indigenous environmental justice leaders, advocates, and policy experts to share findings and strategies to address the public health implications of hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking. Fracking involves injecting pressurized water mixed with chemicals and sand into shale formations to break up bedrock and release the oil they hold. Environmental pollutants caused by fracking are known risk factors for congenital heart defects, hormonal disruption, maternal stress, and preterm birth. Despite this, the fracking industry has managed to sidestep an astonishing list of US federal regulations, including the Clean Water Act; the Clean Air Act; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory Program; the CERCLA Superfund bill, which makes polluting parties liable for cleaning up injected fluids used in fracking; the Toxic Substances Control Act; and most state water-use regulations.
Researchers laid out the scientific evidence linking fracking to adverse health outcomes and shared research gaps and challenges while policy experts discussed the extent to which the public’s health is considered in the development and operation of fracking regulation and the obstacles to further regulation on both the federal and state levels. Public health and environmental justice advocates also spoke about effective policy solutions and the importance of partnering with affected communities. The panels explored the leadership of Indigenous advocates, scientists, and policy experts addressing the disparate impact of fracking on their nations and communities by designing innovative legal and advocacy strategies and alternative solutions.
Watch the Convening Here
PANELS
STATE OF THE EVIDENCE: WHAT DO WE KNOW AND WHAT IS MISSING?
Micaela Martinez - Moderator
Assistant Professor, Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Joan Casey
Assistant Professor, Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Christopher Kassotis
Assistant Professor, Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University
Lisa McKenzie
Assistant Professor, Environmental & Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Denver Anschutz Medical Campus
REGULATORY CONTEXT AND GOVERNANCE SURROUNDING FRACKING
Chelsea Clinton - Moderator
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Seth Shonkoff
Executive Director, PSE Healthy Energy
Visiting Scholar, University of California, Berkeley
Kate Konschnik
Director, Climate & Energy Program, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University
Amy Mall
Senior Advocate, Dirty Energy, Lands Division, Nature Program, Natural Resources Defense Council
IMPACT/LEADERSHIP OF INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AND GENDER JUSTICE
Ana Navas-Acien - Moderator
Director, Columbia University Superfund Research Program
Professor, Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Kandi (Mossett) White
Native Energy & Climate Campaign Coordinator, Indigenous Environmental Network
Janene Yazzie
Sustainable Development Program Coordinator, International Indian Treaty Council
Co-Convener, Indigenous Peoples Major Group for Sustainable Development
Rochelle Diver
Environmental Health Program Coordinator, International Indian Treaty Council
EVIDENCE TO ACTION
Terry McGovern - Moderator
Chair, Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Helen Slottje
Attorney, Slottje Law, PLLC
Mad Stano
Senior Legal Counsel, Energy Equity, The Greenlining Institute
Read an Op-Ed by Chelsea Clinton, Terry McGovern, and Micaela Martinez
"End fracking exemptions, a threat to maternal and public health"
Along with GHJG Affiliate Faculty Drs. Chelsea Clinton and Micaela Martinez, Director Terry McGovern published a commentary on the need to prioritize health and end fracking exemptions in the US for STAT. Read the op-ed here.