As part of the Earth Day celebration in Dallas, Texas, last month, the Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation (CLEAR) at U.T. Arlington hosted the first annual Responsible Shale Energy Extraction (RSEE) symposium (www.shalescience.org). We had an exceptional range of speakers who conveyed all sides of the issue, including U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and atmospheric scientist Dr. Katherine Hayhoe from Texas Tech University, one of Time’s top 100 most influential people. We had representatives from major oil producers, environmental groups, land management groups, water recycling service companies, and scientists conversant on many key issues related to unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction. Even though we have been very involved in this conversation for the past several years, several points stood out.
As part of the Earth Day celebration in Dallas, Texas, last month, the Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation (CLEAR) at U.T. Arlington hosted the first annual Responsible Shale Energy Extraction (RSEE) symposium (www.shalescience.org). We had an exceptional range of speakers who conveyed all sides of the issue, including U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and atmospheric scientist Dr. Katherine Hayhoe from Texas Tech University, one of Time’s top 100 most influential people. We had representatives from major oil producers, environmental groups, land management groups, water recycling service companies, and scientists conversant on many key issues related to unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction. Even though we have been very involved in this conversation for the past several years, several points stood out:
And for you separation scientists out there, Prof. Guido Verbeck of the University of North Texas spoke about “Earth-Based Separations,” and how the volatility, diffusion rates, and weather patterns can be used for sourcing detected air emissions. In fact, he spoke of a significant amount of research performed in collaboration with CLEAR in the Eagle Ford shale, where a hybrid electric car, equipped with a membrane inlet mass spectrometer was used to monitor BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) emissions from UOG well-pad sites (1). Various new technologies are being introduced to help with monitoring of air, soil, and water that can be useful in the effort to help ensure responsible shale energy extraction.
This is just a snapshot of the wealth of information and views conveyed at the RSEE symposium. We are working now to post all of the presentations, so that all of the information can be shared with the public to increase understanding of the critical issues. There are some truly exceptional presentations in that collection. We want to thank all of those that participated in the presentations and discussions. The names include many more than those listed above. We would also like to thank the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation and Earth Day Texas for their support of the program. We plan to do it again next year, in hopes that this continuing dialogue can help better create a middle ground where opposing opinions can open honest discussions to increase knowledge, awareness, and the development and use of best practices in the UOG extraction industry.
Reference
1. Z.L. Hildenbrand, P.M. Mach, E.M. McBride, M.N. Dorreyatim, J.T. Taylor, D.D. Carlton Jr., J.M. Meik, B.E. Fontenot, K.C. Wright, K.A. Schug, and G.F. Verbeck, Sci. Tot. Environ.573, 382–388 (2016).
Kevin A. Schug is a Full Professor and Shimadzu Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at The University of Texas (UT) at Arlington. He joined the faculty at UT Arlington in 2005 after completing a Ph.D. in Chemistry at Virginia Tech under the direction of Prof. Harold M. McNair and a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Vienna under Prof. Wolfgang Lindner. Research in the Schug group spans fundamental and applied areas of separation science and mass spectrometry. Schug was named the LCGCEmerging Leader in Chromatography in 2009 and the 2012 American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Young Investigator in Separation Science. He is a fellow of both the U.T. Arlington and U.T. System-Wide Academies of Distinguished Teachers.