Energy Forum Next Monday to Highlight Marcellus Shale
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
4 April 2011
Western Pennsylvania is at the epicenter of conflict over global energy
resources, as governments, energy companies, landowners and
environmentalists grapple with how to best tap its vast Marcellus Shale
natural gas deposits.
To help residents sort through the facts and the arguments, the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will co-sponsor a series of three
Energy Forums, featuring experts representing all perspectives. The
first 90-minute forum will be next Monday at 6 p.m. at the Heinz
History Center in the Strip District. The topic is "Balancing the Need
for Energy and the Desire for Environmental Protection."
The five panelists represent the natural gas industry, environmental
concerns and include legal and engineering experts:
Lou D'Amico is president and executive director of the Pennsylvania
Independent Oil and Gas Association, a trade association representing
more than 850 oil and natural gas producers, drilling contractors,
service companies, professional firms and royalty owers. He has a
background in engineering, gas marketing and operations management.
Ray Walker Jr. is senior vice president of Range Resources, a major
developer of the Marcellus Shale fields, and chairman of the Marcellus
Shale Coalition. He is a registered petroleum engineer with more than
34 years of oil and gas management experience.
Jan Jarrett, president and CEO of Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future,
has spent more than 20 years working on environmental and conservation
concerns.
Ed Rubin, professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon
University, is a member of the United Nations Intergovermental Panel on
Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former
Vice President Al Gore.
John Hanger, special counsel at the Eckert Seamans law firm,
specializes in energy, utility and environmental law, with a special
focus in alternative and clean energy, transportation infrastructure,
energy efficiency, smartgrid and competitive energy markets. He is a
former secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The forum will be moderated by David Shribman, executive editor of the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The co-sponsor is Babst Calland, a law firm
specializing in issues related to Marcellus Shale development.