UTA organizes inaugural ‘Responsible Shale Energy Extraction’ Conference as part of Earth Day Texas 2017
The University of Texas at Arlington is organizing the inaugural “Responsible Shale Energy Extraction” Conference on April 21-22 at Fair Park in Dallas as part of Earth Day Texas, the world’s largest annual forum for sharing the latest initiatives, discoveries, research, innovations, policies, and corporate practices that are reshaping our world.
This free event, chaired by UTA’s Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation or CLEAR lab, will bring together concerned citizens, scientists, oil and gas operators, regulators, and technology developers to have a series of constructive discussions about environmental stewardship within the shale energy sector.
“We believe that it is important to host a variety of perspectives at a venue like Earth Day Texas where we can have honest discussions about the strengths and weaknesses of shale energy extraction,” said Kevin Schug, UTA’s Shimadzu Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry and director of the CLEAR lab.
“Our goal through this conference is to facilitate new collaborations that will have a positive impact on the environment,” he added.
“Responsible Shale Energy Extraction” will feature keynote presentations by Scott Anderson of the Environmental Defense Fund, Scott Tinker of the Bureau of Economic Geology and Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University, who has been named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People for her work as a climate scientist and communicator.
The event will also feature roundtable discussions, and live technology demonstrations covering a wide range of topics, including the detection and remediation of environmental contamination events, the management of light pollution and induced seismicity and the intelligent recycling of brackish and waste waters for commercial applications.
“With our knowledge of the relationship between shale energy extraction and the environment continuing to grow, so too does our need for new partnerships to help guide the development of better resource management practices,” said Zacariah Hildenbrand, scientific contributor to CLEAR and conference co-chairman.
“We believe that having leaders from the environmental, governmental, academic, and private sectors coming together and sharing ideas will lead to better environmental stewardship and improved efficiency within the shale energy basins,” he added.
The ‘Responsible Shale Energy Extraction’ conference is free and open to the general public thanks to the generous support of joint sponsors Earth Day Texas and the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation. Those interested in attending are asked to pre-register at the conference website. On-site registration will also be accepted.
For more information, pre-registration, and a detailed program, see: www.shalescience.org
About The University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington is a Carnegie Research-1 “highest research activity” institution. With a projected global enrollment of close to 57,000, UTA is one of the largest institutions in the state of Texas. Guided by its Strategic Plan 2020 Bold Solutions|Global Impact, UTA fosters interdisciplinary research and education within four broad themes: health and the human condition, sustainable urban communities, global environmental impact, and data-driven discovery. UTA was recently cited by U.S. News & World Report as having the second lowest average student debt among U.S. universities. U.S. News & World Report lists UTA as having the fifth highest undergraduate diversity index among national universities. The University is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is ranked as the top four-year college in Texas for veterans on Military Times’ 2017 Best for Vets list.