Sociology 345 present at Focus Frostburg

On April 20th, as part of the annual Focus Frostburg, Dr Kara Rogers and six of her Sociology 345 class delivered a presentation entitled “Energy Extraction and Production in Appalachia”. The talk concentrated on three points of focus; coal, wind and natural gas extraction and production energy in the Appalachian mountain area.

Although listed as the keynote speaker, Dr. Rogers explained that her students were divided into three teams, and that each team would present the disadvantages of one particular focal point as result of their investigation.

Karean Davison and Andre Arthur were the first to present. Their topic was the coal mining process. “It doesn’t really benefit anyone outside of the coal industry. The communities are not getting jobs, only hardships from landfills overflowing,” explained Ms Davison. Mr Arthur added further comment that developments in technology and infrastructure has made coal mining more efficient. “They have taken the coal miner out of the mining process,” he stated. Their presentation revealed that 40% of U.S carbon dioxide emissions come from coal and that those in the industry are trying to cover up and excuse these figures.

The next group explored wind turbines as an alternative energy source. Nhon Vo and Morgan Bauer undertook this task. Mr. Vo noted that noise production and the killing of endangered species of birds and bats were some of the main causes of complaint against wind turbine use. He also expressed that some people feel that the wind turbines reduce the integrity and prestige of mountains, directly affecting tourism. Mr Bauer mentioned vibroacoustic disease, a human medial health condition resulting from constant exposure to the low frequency noise (LFN) of the turbines.

Brody McAllister and Joy Riddal were the last to present on natural gas. Brody explained that there is a serious lack of regulation when it comes to natural gas extraction and production. “It’s a relatively new innovation. All the regulation on it is still kind of iffy,” he said. He also explained that the water supplies to people who live in the areas of natural gas sites do not have to be regulated under the clean water act 1972. At this point Dr. Rogers aptly played the trailer from local Academy Award nominee, Josh Fox. His movie Gasland embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering the secrets, lies and contamination of natural gas companies. Agreeing with Fox, Ms Riddal commented “It’s destroying people’s environment. I’d rather look at a windmill than a natural gas site”.

The presentation was combined with a series of video clips which can be viewed here: clip 1 , clip 2 , clip 3 , clip 4

The floor was opened for a question and answer session after the presentation concluded.