News

February 01 2011 » News Clippings » Daily Utah Chronicle

National Geographic speaker to examine effects of drilling

~By Doug Jennings

Wade Davis, a Canadian anthropologist, ethnobotanist and Explorer-in-Residence at National Geographic, will be speaking at the City Library on Thursday on environmental preservation in British Columbia. Davis will focus specifically on plans threatening the Sacred Headwaters, an ecosystem that could potentially be threatened by mining and development.

“Royal Dutch Shell wants to drill more than 1,000 coal bed methane gas wells in the Sacred Headwaters, threatening communities, wildlife and wild salmon,” according to Sacred Headwaters’ website. “Concerned citizens from around the world are calling for steps to safeguard the Sacred Headwaters from Shell’s gas drilling.”

The site is located in an alpine basin that is the source of three different rivers and acts as an important cultural location for the indigenous Tahltan of the region. Canadian environmental think tank, the Pembina Institute, has expressed concerns over what kind of effects mining and development could have on untouched wilderness and Tahltan communities.

Davis is a visiting scholar for the environmental humanities program, said Heidi Camp, assistant dean of the College of Humanities. He visits campus regularly, meeting with graduate students in the department to discuss their research in addition to speaking in the community.

In 2010, he joined efforts with Bobby Kennedy, son of former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, to create an IMAX documentary about changes in the Colorado River since its original exploration by 19th century explorer John Wesley Powell. The film was screened at the U, and included an appearance by Bobby Kennedy’s daughter.

February 3rd 7-9pm @ Salt Lake Main Library Auditorium, Salt Lake City Utah
Admission is FREE
More info

d.jennnings@chronicle.utah.edu

Back to news index