Our next Critical Issues webinar, “Planning for Coastal Storm & Erosion Hazards”, will take place on Thursday July 6th, 1:30pm EDT/10:30am PDT. This 1.5-hour webinar will focus on efforts to anticipate, mitigate, and respond to coastal storms, erosion, and associated hazards at the federal, state, and local level. Three case studies from around the U.S. will be featured as examples of how coastal hazard planning can evolve over time, with a focus on how geoscience informs planning at all stages. Registration will open soon on our webinar page.
On April 14th we held our most recent webinar, “State Responses to Induced Earthquakes,” showcasing the steps that Oklahoma, Texas, and Ohio have been taking to monitor and reduce earthquakes triggered by oil and gas operations. We were lucky to have three great speakers: Jeremy Boak (Oklahoma Geological Survey), Michael Young (Texas Bureau of Economic Geology), and Steven Dade (Ohio Department of Natural Resources). Thank you to the 800+ people who registered and almost 400 who attended live. If you missed the live webinar you can find a video recording, copies of the presenters’ slides, and additional resources by clicking here.
How does geoscience affect your state? AGI’s Geoscience Policy program is producing factsheets answering this question for every state in the union. These factsheets cover employment, minerals, energy, hazards, and federally funded geoscience in your state. Find your state factsheet here – we have 19 states covered so far and aim to have the full 50 by the end of the summer. A special shout-out to our spring policy intern, Jeremiah Bernau, who worked tirelessly to make this project a reality.
We have begun publishing a new suite of information products: case studies and factsheets on specific issues at the interface of geoscience and society. Our first factsheet, on groundwater use in the United States, is now live on our website. We will continue to produce and publish these throughout 2017, so if you have any comments, suggestions, or ideas, or would like to guest author a factsheet or case study, please feel free to contact us.
Our next webinar, “State Responses to Induced Earthquakes,” will take place on Friday April 14th at 2pm ET. This free webinar will focus on state-level activities in Oklahoma, Texas, and Ohio to monitor and reduce earthquakes associated with oil and gas activities, particularly the deep underground injection of wastewater. For more information, and to register for the webinar, visit bit.ly/induced-eq-webinar.
On February 8th we held our most recent webinar, “Assessing, Mitigating, and Communicating Flood Risk,” showcasing efforts and resources on federal, state, and local levels, including case studies from South Carolina and Colorado. Thank you to the almost 800 people who registered and more than 500 who attended, and to our superb speakers Marie Peppler (U.S. Geological Survey), Maria Cox Lamm (SC Department of Natural Resources), and Iain Hyde (CO Resiliency & Recovery Office). If you missed the live webinar you can find a video recording, copies of the presenters’ slides, and additional resources by clicking here.
Selected footage from the 2016 Critical Issues Forum is now available on our website and YouTube. This 3-minute video provides a small sampling of the issues discussed during the Forum; if you’re interested in groundwater issues – particularly at the state level – you’ll probably want to take a look. Stay tuned for full videos of the Forum presentations, which we will be uploading to our website soon.
We’ve revamped our website to make it easier to find useful geoscience information. Visit our “Explore the Geosciences” homepage, or check out our updated information portals on climate, energy, hazards, mineral resources, and water to find topical introductory information, FAQs maps & visualizations, case studies, webinars, research database publications, and policy news, all in one place. We hope you like the changes; if you have any feedback please feel free to e-mail us at cipinfo@agiweb.org.
We have some exciting new products coming down the pipeline: case studies and factsheets on specific issues at the interface of geoscience and society. These are written by AGI staff and scientists in the field, and are thoroughly reviewed by both subject-matter experts and our internal team to ensure that they are scientifically rigorous, accessible, and useful for both decision makers and the general public. Stay tuned for the first round of products coming out in the next couple of months.
On Thursday and Friday, December 1-2, the National Academies' Roundtable on Unconventional Hydrocarbons held a workshop on Unconventional Hydrocarbon Development: Legacy Issues, Induced Seismicity, and Innovations in Managing Risk. The meeting brought together experts from industry, academia, state and federal agencies, and environmental organizations to assess recent and potential future developments in understanding, monitoring, and mitigating the risks associated with oil and gas production.
Click “Read More” for a summary of some key takeaways.
We have renovated the Case Studies section of our website, which you can now browse and search much like the Frequent Questions and Maps & Visualizations pages. In addition to case studies from past AGI publications, we have posted 12 new case studies from the U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. These data-rich case studies provide information on the geology, employment, costs, and revenues associated with mining and oil & gas production in specific parts of the United States. Visit the Case Studies page to learn about coal mining in Wyoming and West Virginia; copper mining in Arizona’s Greenlee and Pima counties; gold mining in Nevada’s Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, and Lander counties; iron mining in Michigan and Minnesota; natural gas production in Louisiana and Texas; and oil production in California and Alaska.
We have a brand new update on last year's webinar, Induced Seismicity in the Midcontinent. One of our speakers, Rex Buchanan, former State Geologist of Kansas, has returned to provide us with an update on seismic activity in Kansas. You can watch the short video on YouTube here: http://bit.ly/2flI6Ed
On Monday November 14, the National Academies' Committee on Earth Resources held a meeting on Mineral and Energy Resource Issues for the Coming Decade. The meeting covered a wide range of issues and focused on the scientific and technical advances and challenges that will affect mineral and energy resources in the near future. Click "Read More" for some key takeaways:
On Thursday November 10, The National Academies' Board on Earth Science and Resources and the Committee on Seismology and Geodynamics held a joint meeting on The Cascadia Subduction Zone: Science, Impacts, and Response. The meeting provided a forum for the discussion of progress and future directions in the monitoring, modeling, measurement, mitigation, and communication of earthquake and tsunami risk in the Pacific Northwest. Click “Read More” for a summary of some key takeaways.
