Penn State Berks will host a screening of the film “What Lies Upstream,” followed by a panel presentation and discussion on Friday, Nov. 9, in room 5 of the Luerssen Building. Light refreshments will be served starting at 6:30 p.m. and the film will begin at 7 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.
“What Lies Upstream” follows investigative filmmaker, Cullen Hoback, as he travels to West Virginia to uncover the truth behind the massive 2014 Elk River chemical spill that left 300,000 people without drinking water for months. There he uncovers a shocking failure of regulation from both state and federal agencies and a damaged political system where chemical companies often write the laws that govern them.
Panelists will include two teams of environmental science students who, as part of their Environmental Awareness and Community Action Project (EACAP), participated in a citizen scientist project sponsored by the Sierra Club Wastewater Residuals Grassroots Network (WR-GN), as well as Sierra Club and Penn State members who led and supported the project.
Mahsa Kazempour, associate professor of science education at Penn State Berks, and Jayne Park Martinez, instructor in science and coordinator of the Research, Planning and Assessment Office, will serve as panelists, along with Darree Sicher and Jonathan Day from the Kittatinny Sierra Club, and Rachel Rosenfeld from the Sierra Club. Panelists will discuss the project, student findings about what lies upstream and downstream along the Berks County portion of the Schuylkill River, and our role in water quality.
For more information, contact Kazempour at 610-396-6312 or via email at muk30@psu.edu.