Pennsylvania’s Shale Gas Boom: How Policy Decisions Failed to Protect Public Health and What We Can Do to Correct It

Thursday, June 2, 2022 | 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

On June 2, Senators Muth and Brewster will host a hearing regarding the health impacts of shale gas infrastructure in Pennsylvania. A chasm exists between the reliable public health research that has been conducted and the actions taken by legislators, the Governor’s Office, and the Department of Health. These actions demonstrate how the promise of economic benefits outweighed any sense of caution about potential health impacts from shale gas development, how the insistence on irrefutable evidence of health harms became the enemy of reasonable protective measures, and consequently how the burden of proof fell to the communities experiencing the health impacts. The hearing will also address recommendations on what can be done differently to ensure that public health considerations are included in the decision-making process going forward. The hearing will include testimony from impacted residents as well as experts in public health and policy regarding shale gas development. This hearing will be located in the auditorium of CCAC Boyce Campus, located at 595 Beatty Rd, Monroeville, PA 15146. A virtual option will also be available.

Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIlcOyopjIvGtD8_Yqys8tx6HZd4buN8jms

Student Voices in Education

Friday, June 3, 2022 | 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

On June 3rd, Senators Kearney, Muth, Cappelletti, and Collett will hold a hearing on student voices in education. Legislators, stakeholders, advocates, and parents dominate the vast majority of Pennsylvania’s public debate on hot button issues around education, including equity in schools, school climate, and student mental health. Rarely do the students who are the subjects of these debates get to weigh in on the issues themselves. This hearing will be an opportunity for students from 8 diverse school districts in Montgomery County who have been engaged in dialogue and data-driven research on these critical issues to present their research and experiences to policy makers. Specifically, students will present findings from research projects they conducted using the Psychological Sense of School Membership survey within their schools, that speak to questions of belonging within schools and equity between different student groups. The hearing will give policy makers a deeper understanding of school environments that affect youth mental health, school climate and safety, and inequality – all of which have been identified as top education concerns for policy development by members of the Education Committee and the caucus at large.

This hearing will be held at Norristown Area High School | 1900 Eagle Drive, Norristown, PA 19401 with a ZOOM option for those who wish to participate virtually.

If participating virtually, register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUlde-tpz8uHtFraJyxOfzrnbeuesjcXHh-