PERCEPTION AND GOVERNANCE OF FRACKING RISKS: US AND EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES

SYMPOSIUM TITLE - PERCEPTION AND GOVERNANCE OF FRACKING RISKS: US AND EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES (note this is a Double Symposium proposal – involving 7 papers plus a discussant) Convenors Nick Pidgeon (Cardiff University, UK:... [ view full abstract ]

SYMPOSIUM TITLE - PERCEPTION AND GOVERNANCE OF FRACKING RISKS: US AND EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES (note this is a Double Symposium proposal – involving 7 papers plus a discussant) Convenors Nick Pidgeon (Cardiff University, UK: contact e-mail PidgeonN@cardiff.ac.uk) and Barbara Harthorn (UCBS, California USA) In this symposium we bring together leading North American and European risk researchers from social and decisions sciences, anthropology, public health and environmental studies to present comparative empirical findings on the risk perception and governance of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the US and Europe. The symposium contains papers reporting recent cross-national comparative studies including: surveys and qualitative studies of fracking risk perceptions in the US and UK; analyses of socio-political context and acceptance in Europe and the USA; and fracking risks as portrayed in contemporary social media in these countries. Throughout this symposium we will ask how differences in perceptions may be accounted for by technological maturity, different perceived benefits, cultural or trust factors, and societal governance differences. PAPER 1 Title: Public Understanding of Fracking as an Environmental Hazard in the US (Terre Satterfield* et al, University of British Columbia, Canada). PAPER 2 Title: Comparing the Relationship between Knowledge and Support for Hydraulic Fracturing between the US and UK (Darrick Evensen et al, Cardiff University, UK). PAPER 3 Title: Public Deliberation of ‘Fracking’ for Shale Gas and Oil in Britain (Nick Pidgeon et al Cardiff University, UK). PAPER 4 Title: Public Deliberation of Hydraulic Fracturing in the US (Tristan Partridge et al UCSB, USA). PAPER 5 Title: Perceptions of Health Risks Associated with ‘Fracking’ in the US and UK (Barbara Herr Harthorn et al UCSB, USA). PAPER 6 Title: Underlying EU/US Differences Contributing to the Lesser Acceptance of Unconventional Shale Gas Development in the European Union (Bernard D. Goldstein et al, University of Pittsburgh, USA). PAPER 7 Title: Comparing Public Understanding of Fracking Risks in the UA and UK Social Media (Ariel A. Hasell UCSB, USA). SYMPOSIUM DISCUSSANT Robin Gregory (Decision Research, Canada)