The Marcellus Shale formation is a 7,500 feet-deep mass covering 50 percent of Pennsylvania and the neighboring states of West Virginia, Maryland, and New York. With the use of newly developed methods of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, scientists estimate that nearly 50 trillion cubic feet of natural gas could be extracted from the formation. Such a volume has the ability to supply the entire United States for about two years. On Thursday, March 18, Temple University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering will hold a one-day summit on the issues related to utilization of this natural resource. Scientists and experts from environmental groups, government and industry will be present to discuss the different dimensions of gas drilling through a series of lectures, panel discussions and poster sessions.
March 18, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Temple University, 1947 N. 12th Street.More information is available here.
