Dueling Drilling Conferences To Bring Insight And Protest To Philadelphia

• Katie Colaneri
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  Katie Colaneri is a reporter for StateImpact Pennsylvania and WHYY in Philadelphia covering energy and the environment. Before joining StateImpact, Katie worked as an investigative and enterprise reporter at WBGO in Newark, New Jersey. She covered some of New Jersey's biggest stories including the devastation and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, as well as the day-to-day triumphs and struggles to revitalize state's largest city. A native of New Jersey with roots in South Central Pennsylvania, Katie holds a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College.

Drilling industry leaders and fractivists will meet again (separately) in Center City Philadelphia this week to rally and inform their constituents.
For the third year in a row, the Marcellus Shale Coalition is hosting the Shale Insight (formerly known as “Shale Gas Insight”) Conference at the Pennsylvania Convention Center which brings together some big names in the industry. There’s a lot of elbow-rubbing with policymakers and politicians. But it’s also a chance to hear about what’s next for domestic energy production.
The two-day conference starts Wednesday and will feature a number of high-profile speakers. This year, the MSC is bringing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to cap things off on Thursday. The former Republican presidential candidate who currently hosts CNN’s “Crossfire” will be giving a speech to more than 1,000 attendees.
The event often brings out protestors calling for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing or fracking. This year, environmental groups are collecting water for Pennsylvanians who say their wells have been tainted by nearby drilling operations.

They’ll also hold their own Freedom from Fracking Conference at the Friends Center to discuss the environmental impacts of drilling on Pennsylvania. Wyoming rancher John Felton, who was featured in the Josh Fox documentary “Gasland,” will deliver a keynote address.

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