07 - Sara Rasmussen and Heather Harr – Fracking and Public Health

On this episode we've got two guests, Heather Harr and Sara Rasmussen – we're talking about the impacts of fracking on public health.  

Heather Harr is the project director for the League of Women Voters in Pennsylvania's Straight Scoop on Shale Drilling. She talks about the upcoming Shale and Public Health Conference, and also shares some valuable resources about public health impacts of fracking. The conference is for health professionals and community members interested in how the fracking industry impacts public health.

Sara Rasmussen MHS, who you'll hear in the second half of this episode, published new research that shows a clear connection between fracking and asthma.

She is a PhD candidate in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Environmental Health and Engineering. She has been involved in three studies on unconventional natural gas development and health outcomes. In this interview Sara explains how they collected data to show the impacts of fracking on public health.

I also learned a new word – epidemiology, which is (noun) "the branch of medicine that deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health". This is why I'm asking the questions here ;-)

As Mentioned in This Episode:

• Upcoming Shale and Public Health Conference – November 16th, 2016
• The Pennsylvania League of Women Voters
• Shale Info & Resources from the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters
• Study :
  • Association Between Unconventional Natural Gas Development in the Marcellus Shale and Asthma Exacerbations
• http://skytruth.org/

This podcast is a project of halttheharm.net, a powerful resource for anyone confronting the fracking industry. Halt the Harm is a network of leaders who are taking action, sharing resources and information, and supporting each other’s campaigns. Find out more at halttheharm.net

What is Halt the Harm Podcast?

This movement is created by leaders who are inspired to take action. While we are all connecting by our shared goals to fight fracking’s harms, each and every leader brings a different perspective to this fight. And each perspective has a unique story behind it – a story to tell and to inspire.We’ve teamed up with producer Ryan Clover from Eco-Defense Radio to interview leaders in the Halt the Harm Network about everyday life, and what inspires them to action, day in, day out.