Environmental journalists featured in energy lecture series

The Youngstown State University Lecture Series on Energy and the Environment continues this semester with an array of presentations that features three award-winning journalists.

The free lectures, sponsored in part by the James Dale Ethics Center, are 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Jan. 24 through April 18, in Room B100 of Cushwa Hall on campus.

The lecture series is organized by Ray Beiersdorfer, YSU Distinguished Professor of Geology. All but one of the presentations is via Skype.

Among the speakers is Neela Banerjee, who used to report for the Los Angeles Times and also won awards for her reporting with Inside Climate News; Greg Palast, who writes for Rolling Stone magazine and reports for BBC Television; and Jill Peeters, a nationally famous TV meteorologist in Belgium and one of the few TV meteorologists that makes the connection between extreme weather events and global warming.

Also featured this year on Feb. 14 is a presentation by Kathleen Buckingham of the World Resources Institute, who will talk about the environmental costs of Valentine’s Day flowers and her research on forest and landscape restoration.

Glenn Gall, a locally known organic farmer from Oberlin, Ohio will speak on Growing a Livable Climate: Agriculture, Moisture, and Carbon on Wednesday, January 24, at 7 p.m. Cushwa Hall Room B100 Youngstown State University.

YSU 2018 Spring Semester Speaker Series on Energy and the Environment

• Jan. 24, Glenn Gall, a locally known organic farmer from Oberlin, “Growing a Livable Climate: Agriculture, Moisture, and Carbon.”
• Jan. 31, Alexander Krokus, Institute for Sustainable Solutions, Portland State University, “The Neoteric Induced Seismicity Legal Conundrum.”
• Feb. 7, Carolyn LaFleur, Houston Advanced Research Center, “Hydraulic Fracturing for Domestic Energy Development – Best Practices for Environmental Management.”
• Feb. 14, Kathleen Buckingham, World Resources Institute, “Implementing Successful Forest and Landscape Restoration, and the Environmental Costs of Valentine’s Day Flowers.”
• Feb. 21, Raina Rippel, SWPA Environmental Health Project, “Protecting Your Family's Health When Fracking is Your Neighbor.”
• Feb. 28, Dr. Margaret Cook, University of Texas, “Water Resources and Hydraulic Fracturing in Texas.”
• March 14, Dr. Anthony Ingraffea, Cornell University, “The Science of Shale Gas & Oil.”
• March 21, Dr. Brian R. Ellis, University of Michigan, “Toxic Element Mobilization in Gas-Bearing Shale.”
• March 28, Joe Mangano, Radiation and Public Health Project, “Infant Mortality and Fracking in Pennsylvania.”
• April 4, Neela Banerjee, Inside Climate News, “Industrial Strength: How the U.S. Government Hid Fracking's Risks to Drinking Water.”
• April 11, Greg Palast, Rolling Stone, BBC, “The Billionaires Who Bought the Air You Breathe.”
• April 18, Jill Peeters, TV Meteorologist Vlaamse Televisie Maatschappij and Vlaamse Radio-en Televisieomroeporganisatie, Belgium, “Climate Without Borders.”

For more information, contact Beiersdorfer at 330-941-1753 or ray@cc.ysu.edu.