Media Advisory from the Southern Environmental Law Center

Media Advisory from the Southern Environmental Law Center

For Immediate Release: March 10, 2015

Contact:  Kathleen Sullivan, 919-945-7106 or [email protected]

MEDIA ADVISORY:
South Atlantic Offshore Drilling Forum

WHAT:  An afternoon of public information sessions with scientific experts speaking on the potential impact of offshore drilling on the Atlantic coast followed by an evening forum illustrating the impact of offshore drilling in states where this industry is active. The federal Bureau of Ocean & Energy Management is currently soliciting public comments on the proposed opening of the Atlantic Coast to offshore drilling.

People interested in attending should register for either or both events at: http://reg.attendeenet.com/profile/web/index.cfm?PKwebID=0x30222272

Reporters interested in attending can RSVP to Kathleen Sullivan at [email protected]

WHEN:  March 12, 2015
Experts Summit 1-5:30 pm
Evening Forum 6:30-8:30 pm

WHERE:  Friday Center for Continuing Education
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
100 Friday Center Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Experts Summit, Sunflower Room, Friday Center
Evening Forum, Grumman Auditorium, Friday Center
Parking is available at the Friday Center.

WHO:  Speakers at the Experts Summit include:
• Dr. Charles “Pete” Peterson, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Marine Sciences, Biology, and Ecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Dr. Larry Cahoon, Professor of Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington
• Former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Willis Whichard, Partner in the law firm Tillman, Hinkle & Whichard, PLLC,  and chair of former N.C. Governor's Scientific Panel on Offshore Energy
• Dr. Andy Read, Stephen A. Toth Professor of Marine Biology, Duke University Marine Lab
• Dr. Chris Haney, Chief Scientist, Defenders of Wildlife
• Dr. Steve Ross, Research Professor, Center of Marine Science, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
• Dr. Douglas Wakeman, Professor of Economics, School of Business, Meredith College
• Dr. Leonard J. Pietrafesa,  Professor Emeritus in the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at NC State University

Speakers at the Evening Forum include:
• U.S. Congressman David Price, NC-4
• Cynthia Sarthou, Executive Director. Gulf Restoration Network
• Margaret Brown (via Skype), Director, “The Great Invisible” which documented the filmmaker traveling to towns throughout the South that are still experiencing the disastrous effects off the Deepwater Horizon oil spill from 2010 even though the headlines have gone away.
• Susan Forsyth, Vice-Chair, Emerald Coast Chapter, Surfrider Foundation

Biographies of the speakers can be found through links on the agenda at the following website:
http://reg.attendeenet.com/profile/web/index.cfm?PKwebID=0x30222272&varPage=agenda

The public event is sponsored by the Southern Environmental Law Center, Natural Resources Defense Council, North Carolina Conservation Network, North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, Oceana, and the Southern Environmental Law Center.

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The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional nonprofit using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC's team of more than 60 legal and policy experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.
www.SouthernEnvironment.org