Peter Reinelt, chair of the Department of Economics at the State University of New York at Fredonia, will deliver a presentation to journalists attending the Shale Country Institute, a four-day expedition devoted to all aspects of shale gas, at the Dunkirk pier on Thursday at 3 p.m.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the primary focus of the program organized by the Institutes for Journalism & Natural Resources, a non-profit organization formed to advance public understanding of natural resource issues through professional development for journalists who report on growth, economic development, rural communities, natural resources and the environment.
Specific issues to be address during the institute include economics, ecology and environmental toxicology. Dr. Reinelt will speak to the journalists assembled on the pier, which sits east of the coal-fired NRG plant that will be converted to natural gas.
Reporters and editors from newspapers in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Massachusetts, as well as from The Associated Press, Christian Science Monitor and CTV News, will be among the 18 tour participants. Visits are also planned in Buffalo, Allegheny National Forest, the Finger Lakes region and Youngstown, Ohio, according to the IJNR website.
