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

 

https://youtu.be/xcJGZ21x7MU

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.