Low Cost, High Expense?

Anita Barkin is on a mission for public health.

That's not surprising for Carnegie Mellon's director of Health Services, but this effort stretches far beyond the university's Pittsburgh campus. And far below.

Barkin's mission is to educate the public about the process and impacts of drilling into the Marcellus Shale for natural gas and to advocate for safeguards. Her message to the industry and government officials is to slow down and weigh all of the factors involved. 

While drilling companies and politicians boast about the positive effects of drilling, such as the low-cost clean energy it provides and the economic boost it gives to residents and communities, Barkin argues that the negative environmental and health impacts may far outweigh the positives. She notes that the economic boost it fosters may be exaggerated as well.

In a Learning & Development session this semester titled "Health Concerns Related to Marcellus Shale Drilling," Barkin, who currently serves as president of the American College Health Association, discussed some of the negatives, the need for a closer examination of the impacts and greater regulation and oversight of the industry.

http://www.cmu.edu/piper/stories/2011/december/barkin-drilling.html#.TuoncguRHwM.email