Keep Tap Water Safe

The more I learn about the shale gas boom, the more I respect the pioneer spirit of Pennsylvanians, and the more disgusted I am by the frontier mentality of the gas drilling industry. We’re a commonwealth, after all, and I equate wealth with a healthy society and a flourishing ecology. I often think of Ben Franklin’s famous quote: “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”When it comes to the cumulative environmental impacts of pollution from Fracking, I’m afriad we all live downstream.

Voluntary Simplicity

Fractivism, like so many endeavors, is best tackled with tangible goals in mind. The greater arc of the cause informs the goals, and joining with others aligns the energy behind the cause. It’s all very Zen.

Which I’m not. I need lists!

Clean Water Actions – December, 2011:

1.  Express my opposition to the revised New York environmental study and proposed regulations and permits. Insist that New York conduct a comprehensive impact study before lifting their state’s moratorium on drilling in our common watershed.

2.  Read up on the current status of  SB1100 and HB1950 by visiting PA Environment Digest Daily Blog and NPR’s StateImpact. SB1100 imposes a relatively puny “Impact Fee” on gas drillers; HB1950 will weaken local communities’ attempts to control Marcellus drilling through the zoning process. Sign the Change.org petition.

3.  Send a note to Delaware River Basin Commission Director Carol Collier, P.O. Box 7360, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360, thanking the DRBC for postponing the November 21 vote on gas drilling regulations and for maintaining the moratorium on drilling in our watershed.

4.  Get on the horn: Tell the leadership in Harrisburg why I oppose SB1100 (because it sells Pennsylvania cheap) and HB1950 (because I never want a compressor station in my backyard, or anyone else’s). Governor Corbett has said he wants to sign legislation by the end of this year. In other words, lightening speed. Find your State Representative at seventy.org or legis.state.pa.us

• Rep. Mike Turzai [R], Majority Floor Leader (District 28) (717) 772-9943

• Rep. Frank Dermody [D], Democratic Floor Leader (District 33) (717) 787-3566

• Senator Scarnati [R], Senate President, (district covers Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, Mckean, Potter, Tioga and Warren Counties), jscarnati@pasen.gov, 717-787-7084, 814-726-7201

• Senator Pileggi [R], Majority Leader, (Chester and Delaware County), dpileggi@pasen.gov, 717-787-4712, 610-358-5183

• Senator Costa [D], Minority Leader, (Allegheny County), costa@pasenate.com, 717-787-7683, 412-241-6690

• Senator Hughes [D], Minority Appropriations Chair, (Philadelphia and Montgomery County), hughes@pasenate.com, 717-787-7112, 215-879-7777

5.  Donate $20 to Food & Water Watch. Been reading Blue Covenant by Maude Barlow (The New Press), and I remain astounded by the fact that 40% of our nation’s rivers and streams and 46% of our lakes are too dangerous for fishing, swimming or drinking.

Tags: Fractivism, HB1950, Maude Barlow, SB1100

This entry was posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:53 pm and is filed under Environment, fresh water pollution, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.