Peter DeCarlo PhD
Peter DeCarlo, a professor of Environmental Health and Engineering, studies atmospheric air pollution with applications to ambient air quality, including atmospheric aerosols and emissions from anthropogenic activities including natural gas development. He has published extensively in the areas of atmospheric aerosols (particulate matter), air quality, and climate and performed air quality measurements all over the world, and visited with many Congressional offices to discuss climate change and air quality issues.
DeCarlo received his PhD in Atmospheric Science from the University of Colorado and earned a postdoctoral fellowship at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland and an AAAS Science Policy Fellowship in Washington D.C.
855: Peter DeCarlo PhD: Shocking Cancer Alley research from the scientist who did it
That this country has a region called Cancer Alley is beyond tragic. We know we’re causing it, not just the companies operating the polluting refineries and other industrial plants. All of us who buy their products are funding them.
I wondered if it was fair to call the region Cancer Alley. Is the evidence clear enough, even if not for a court to award damages?
Peter DeCarlo is a researcher at Johns Hopkins who did original research and answered definitively: Yes. In our conversation, he described what motivated him to this research, the research, interacting with residents of Cancer Alley, how it affects him, physically and emotionally, and why he keeps going. It turns out his motivation started long before the research.
The conversation returns at the end to some parts of his life at the beginning. I hope it motivates some to act out of the potential for life fulfillment.