An unprecedented oil and gas drilling boom means more jobs and more money for local governments and industry. But it also has overwhelmed communities and sparked major environmental concerns. Join The The Texas Tribune, Newsy, AP and the Center for Public Integrity for a half-hour screening of the documentary "Blowout" — filmed partly in Midland — followed by a panel discussion on how industry and local communities are trying to balance the boom with health and environmental concerns. Is there any room for consensus?

Panelists will include:

• Zacariah Hildenbrand, co-founder of the University of Texas at Arlington CLEAR research team and chief technical officer of Inform Environmental
• Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association
  
• Sharon Wilson, senior organizer at Earthworks
• Moderated by Kiah Collier, energy and environment reporter for The Texas Tribune

Details

This event will be held in the Jack Rodgers Auditorium, located in Jack Rodgers Fine Arts Building on the Odessa College campus. The event, which is free and open to the public, includes light bites and refreshments. Complimentary visitor parking is available in the lots on the East and West sides of the Fine Arts Building.

This event is co-presented by The Texas Tribune, Newsy, AP and the Center for Public Integrity. It is supported by Pearson and hosted by Odessa College. Media support is provided by the Odessa American and KOSA-TV Odessa.

Tribune events are also supported through contributions from our founding investors and members. Though donors and corporate sponsors underwrite The Texas Tribune events, they play no role in determining the content, panelists or line of questioning.