Video: Award-Winning Author Talks About Fracking

Body

Image
Leading Voices

Author Seamus McGraw was on campus last week to deliver the final “Leading Voices in Energy, Sustainability, and Security” lecture.

After riding his motorcycle from his home in Pennsylvania to Hanover, he spoke with Dartmouth Now about energy issues and why they need to be dealt with through an interdisciplinary approach.

“I think it’s absolutely crucial that these issues be tackled across disciplines,” says McGraw. “If you simply talk to scientists, if you simply talk to engineers, if you simply talk to environmental activists—you’re never going to get the whole picture.”

McGraw has been awarded the Freedom of Information Award from the Associated Press Managing Editors. He has also been honored by the Casey Foundation and the Society of Professional Journalists.

In The End of Country, McGraw writes about his native northeastern Pennsylvania and the conflict between area residents and gas companies that arose after it was discovered that the land holds some of the world’s richest natural gas deposits. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune called the nonfiction work “a rare, beautiful, and, yes, sometimes heartbreaking examination of the echoes of water-powered natural gas drilling—or fracking—in the human community.”

The “Leading Voices” series started in 2011. The first series, “Leading Voices in Politics and Policy,” brought national political figures, presidential candidates, and policymakers to campus. Last summer’s “Leading Voices in U.S. Foreign Policy” included talks with a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a former Defense Department official, and a retired Navy admiral. The “Leading Voices in Higher Education” series, part of the strategic planning process, featured visits from prominent figures in higher education and concluded this spring.

Keith Chapman