RADIOACTIVITY AND TOXICITY IN NYC’S GAS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
Press Conference for Petroleum:238 Big Oil’s Dangerous Secret and the Grassroots Fight to Stop It
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Priscilla Grim, Communications Director, Sane Energy Project, priscilla@saneenergyproject.org 347-682-9783
Chris Dobens, Director of Communications, We Act for Environmental Justice, chris@weact.org, 212-410-1963
WHAT: Press conference unveiling multiple critical issues concerning the presence of radioactivity in New York City’s gas distribution system via recently published investigative book, Petroleum-238: Big Oil’s Dangerous Secret and the Grassroots Fight to Stop It
WHO: Justin Nobel writes on science and the environment for US magazines, investigative sites, and literary journals. His work has been published in Best American Science and Nature Writing. His 2020 Rolling Stone magazine story, “America’s Radioactive Secret,” won an award for longform writing with the National Association of Science Writers and inspired the book Petroleum-238: Big Oil’s Dangerous Secret and the Grassroots Fight to Stop It. Justin’s writing has helped lead to lawsuits, academic research, and public dialogue and has been taught at Harvard School of Public Health.
Annie Carforo is the Climate Justice Campaigns Manager at WE ACT for Environmental Justice. Annie led Out of Gas, In with Justice, the first pilot study in the United States to monitor indoor air quality in homes transitioning from gas stoves to electric induction stoves with residents in-place in affordable housing that found significant reductions in indoor air pollution when transitioning from gas to induction stoves.
Dr. Sandra Steingraber is the Senior Scientist at the Science & Environmental Health Network and the co-founder of Concerned Health Professionals of New York who authored the 9th edition Compendium of Scientific, Medical, and Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking and Associated Gas and Oil Infrastructure, a fully referenced compilation of evidence, spanning many scientific and social scientific fields, documenting continuing and increasing impacts on health and environment.
Kim Fraczek is the Director of the Sane Energy Project, spearheading several successful campaigns in New York against toxic gas projects proposed by some of the world's largest energy corporations. Most notably, in 2023, Sane Energy achieved a significant victory by halting the construction of the North Brooklyn pipeline, which would have impacted several socioeconomically disadvantaged frontline communities. Under Kim's leadership, Sane Energy is now at the forefront of developing Thermal Energy Networks in New York.
WHERE: NYC City Hall Park Fountain near Broadway and Chambers MAP
WHEN: Thursday, April 24, 2024, 10:00 am
WHY: In a concerning turn of events, New York State's recently passed budget signals a retreat from the state's commitment to climate leadership and environmental justice. The budget fails to include the crucial NY HEAT Act, and Governor Hochul's administration has scrapped significant offshore wind projects, bowing to the influence of fossil fuel lobbyists and lawyers. This shift in priorities undermines efforts to protect vulnerable communities and address climate change, setting a dangerous precedent for the state's energy and economic policies.