Below are the exciting topics of interest that will be discussed during the breakout sessions along with their respective speakers at the Earth, Wind, and Fire Conference. To learn more about our dynamic list of presenters, please visit the speakers tab on this website.
As Texas continues to grow, there is an increasing demand for additional water supply to support growth and to meet the DFW region’s needs in times of drought. However, is our region doing all it can in water efficiency, reuse, and conservation to avoid conflicts with neighboring parts of the state that will sacrifice their land to build new reservoirs? Learn more about this ongoing problem since we have two North Texas regions now facing such a dilemma in meeting these challenges.
Panelists: Jim Thompson, Galen Roberts
The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) is working with stakeholders across the North Texas region to achieve comprehensive air quality improvement by developing the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Air Quality Improvement Plan (AQIP). The DFW AQIP will create a roadmap for the region to improve air quality by reducing criteria pollutants and greenhouse gases, protect public health, and reduce impacts of extreme weather events. The development of this plan is funded through the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program. Hear what plans are in the works to clear the air for DFW.
Panelists: Alyssa Knox, Daniela Tower, Jenny Narvaez, Savana Nance, Susan Alvarez
In 2024, the EPA set its first set of standards for five types of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in drinking water. These substances are often called “forever chemicals” because they can take years to break down in water and soil and accumulate in the body. In Texas, 49 public water utility systems, including some
utilities in DFW, exceeded the new federal limits on these substances. A study has
found that almost 97% of Americans have these chemicals in their bloodstream. Hear more about the negative health effects and the solutions to clean up our water from an expert in this field.
Speaker: Brian Dye
Plastic pellets and microplastics that pollute our oceans, lakes, and rivers pose environmental and potential public health threats. These tiny, lightweight microplastics can accumulate in waterways where they can leach toxic additives as well as absorb other toxic chemicals including DDT, PCBs, and mercury. At least 35 facilities that produce microplastics in powder, flake, or pellet form are currently operating in Texas. What kind of harm is being done with these materials and how is this mounting problem with plastics being addressed? Hear about this ongoing issue from a Texas expert actively addressing the plastics problem.
Speaker: Jace Tunnell
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), developed in the 1930s, were once considered miracle chemicals and were used in applications from coating nonstick pans to treating fire-fighting jackets and fast-food containers. Today we know that these chemicals can be found in our drinking water and are linked to negative health effects including birth defects and cancer. A 2023 report now shows there is wide use of PFAS in oil and gas drilling. Learn more about “Fracking with Forever Chemicals” from one of the co-authors involved in conducting the research in Texas.
Speaker: Barbara Gottlieb
Ethylene oxide (EtO) is a flammable, colorless gas used in chemical manufacturing and to sterilize medical equipment and some spices and plastics. Half of all medical equipment is sterilized with EtO. Exposure to EtO can increase one’s risk for cancer and other negative health effects. More than 13 million people in the U.S. live within 5 miles of a sterilizer plant. There are two EtO plants in Grand Prairie and more plants located around the state putting workers and families at risk. New EPA rules have recently been finalized to require these facilities to significantly lower their EtO emissions.
Learn more about the problem and the solution to lowering ethylene oxide in this
panel presentation.
Panelists: Marvin Brown, Darya Minovi
In Texas, more than 5.3 million people live within one half mile of an oil and gas well. Within the Barnett Shale, Tarrant County is one of the top two counties in America for urban fracking with more than 400 wells exposing over 1 million people to the emissions from drilling. What are the harmful pollutants affiliated with fracking? And what are the short and long-term health effects due to ongoing exposure? Learn more about urban fracking, the health effects, and the new federal rules to combat pollution from oil and gas operations.
Panelists: Tim Doty, Anne Epstein, MD
In November of 2023, Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment to create the Texas Energy Fund. The amendment would inject $10 billion into energy infrastructure, including $7.2 billion to build new power plants in Texas. It is anticipated that most of these funds will be for natural gas plants, but it may also include coal and nuclear.
Will building these plants make the grid more reliable and avert the shutdown of the grid we saw with storm URI years ago? What will be the impact of these new plants be on our environment?
Speaker: Doug Lewin
At one time, the DFW area was experiencing earthquakes attributed to waste disposal by deep injection related to shale gas operations. Though the earthquake rates have subsided in the DFW area, there has been a significant increase in seismicity rate and magnitude in the Permian Basin and other oil and gas fields in Texas. Learn more about the causes of induced seismicity and the related hazard and risk of earthquake occurrence in Texas.
Speaker: Heather DeShon, PhD