Educating students on Shale becoming focus

A new teaching resource on one of the hottest topics in the region – natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale – hit the Internet on Tuesday.

Eric Epstein, founder of the nuclear energy watchdog group EFMR (the initials of family members) and the political forum RockTheCapital.com, announced at a press conference at the state Capitol on Tuesday that the two organizations have produced “nonjudgmental” educational lesson plans and a resource guide entitled “Marcellus Shale: Natural Gas Energy.”

Because teachers often incorporate current community issues into their classroom lessons, Epstein thought it important to provide such a resource. His groups put out lesson plans on coal, nuclear, wind and solar energy in the past.

He hired educational consultant Diane Little, a former science teacher, to draw up the lesson plans and resource guide, which provide outlines and potential sources of information for lessons at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

The plans for the lower grades address topics such as what the shale formation is, the processes of drilling and hydraulic fracturing and environmental issues and impacts. The high school plans also address “economics and environmental ethics” associated with drilling.

Little, who runs Harrisburg-based Little’s Science Lessons, holds a bachelor’s in elementary education from Penn State and has done graduate work in science and environmental studies. She said she was instructed to “research a variety of sources and remain as neutral as possible” in her work.

Epstein, who has been described as an anti-nuclear activist and on Tuesday spoke out against some legislative provisions proposed by the gas industry, said he’s not opposed to drilling in the Marcellus Shale, but it’s “an emerging issue that requires much more in-depth study” so it can be done safely.

Wilkes University professor Kenneth Klemow, who is associate director of the newly launched Institute for Energy and Environmental Research of Northeast Pennsylvania, reviewed the plans on Tuesday.

“Overall, it came across to be an honest attempt to educate students at a grade-appropriate level dealing with the science and social science of Marcellus Shale. It’s a good inter-disciplinary approach,” said Klemow, adding that he would have done some things differently.

Klemow liked that the plans and guide “didn’t use emotional language” and instead reference websites “that have good, honest information,” such as state environmental websites, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and the Energy Information Administration.

They also provide links to the website of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, which represents the natural gas industry, and a Penn State report on the economic impact of natural gas funded by the industry.

Klemow said he would have provided websites of groups opposed to hydraulic fracturing and made reference to the anti-drilling documentary film “Gasland,” so students could “see the anti-fracking perspective.” Klemow said he also would have cited reports critical of the Penn State report to promote classroom discussion on the topics.

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Marcellus Shale - Gas Wells

Groups offer “nonjudgmental” lesson plans, resource guide for elementary to high school.

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