EPIC, IDEAS Center to co-host March 8 forum on fracking

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Fracking, an extraction technique to release natural gas or other substances from underground rock, is considered one of the state’s most-hotly debated issues. To deliberate the facts surrounding fracking in North Carolina, the University is holding a forum on Friday, March 8, that will include expertise from North Carolina legislators, regulators, scientists, engineers, environmental groups and business representatives.

The forum’s keynote speaker will be Seamus McGraw, author of “The End of Country,” which chronicled fracking in his rural community; the work received the Freedom of Information Award from the Associated Press Managing Editors and other honors. Other forum experts will be Frank Yoho, senior vice president of Piedmont Natural Gas, and Mitch Gillespie, assistant secretary for the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The cost to attend this forum is $149 for early bird registration through Friday, March 1; afterward, registration is $199. Students can attend for $50. More information and details on registering are online.