Sandra Steingraber on Democracy Now!: Health Crisis and Shale Gas

About 30 states allow hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” the natural gas drilling process that injects millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals deep into the earth in order to break up shale rock and release natural gas. New York has imposed a partial moratorium on the drilling process pending the outcome of an environmental impact study this July. Yesterday, New York state lawmakers held a hearing on the health impacts of fracking, an issue that until now has received little media attention. We talk with Sandra Steingraber, a biologist who testified at the hearing. She is author of Raising Elijah: Protecting Children in an Age of Environmental Crisis.

Sandra Steingraber, biologist who has testified on natural gas hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) at state and federal hearings and before the European parliament. She is the author of several books that link the U.S. reliance on fossil fuels with environmental hazards and the climate crisis, including Living Downstream and her latest, Raising Elijah: Protecting Children in an Age of Environmental Crisis.

May 27, 2011