Today, a coalition of environmental organizations and anti-fracking activists deliver the largest petition ever submitted to the Pennsylvania state legislature. It calls for a moratorium on new shale gas drilling permits in Pennsylvania.
The petition, Protect Pennsylvania From Gas Drilling, includes the names and signatures of more than 100,000 Pennsylvania residents, and it sends a stunning message to state legislators and the shale gas industry. This is what it says: (more…)
Yesterday was the long awaited premier of Josh Fox’s new documentary, Gasland Part II at The Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. Can’t. Wait. To. See. It. Some initial tweets about the film, shared by Marcellus Protest and fans:
“Gasland 2 is an essential and worthy follow up to the original. More emotional and just as disturbing.”
“Congratulations to Josh Fox on inspiring premiere of your powerful & timely new film at Tribeca.”
“Part 2 just premiered at Tribeca Film Fest NYC. An absolute must see on fracking, govt, corps. + We, the people.”
“Still choked up by Gasland Part 2. Even more powerful, urgent + compelling than first one.”
Until the new documentary comes to Philadelphia, and it will, I’ll have to content myself with these videos of the Q&A Session that followed the screening, published by sailorsmoon9:
Pennsylvania Stands Witness To The Adverse Impacts of Shale Gas Drilling
More than 1,208 individuals have gone on record (to date) on The List of The Harmed. The list is meticulously compiled by Jenny Lisak of The Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Water and Air. It’s got to be a full time job, as the number of people harmed easily keeps apace with drilling.
Even a list as long as this can’t do justice to the people whose lives have been ruined along with their land, air and water.
Ready or not, Americans have to make a choice. They can believe the slick TV ads, buying into the false promise of safe shale gas, or they can try to understand what impacts large-scale, industrial hydrofracking really brings to our ecology, landscapes and the communities who inhabit them. They can listen to the experiences of people living in the new gaslands of Pennsylvania, and not just the stories that grab headlines, but the common, garden variety suffering wrought by a single extreme extraction industry.
Postcards From The Sacrifice Zone
Rebecca Roter and Frank Finan listen. They listen to their neighbors and friends, and they speak out. They relay the stories they hear, and they encourage others to share their experiences, too.
Stand witness, encourage friends and family with skin rashes, upper respiratory problems, etc that appear shale related to DOCUMENT your experiences in your own voice, let a volunteer health advocate make sure the Dept of Health DOES ITS job and takes your shale related health complaint. Help save the next generation, so the claim cannot be made there are no health impacts in shale corridors. Impacted individuals can call Volunteer Health Care Advocate Celeen Miller 215-680-1452, 215-249-3619, 800-200-2229 to report complaints. Call Dr McKenzie, 215-662-2354, University of Pennsylvania, Occupational Medicine, for treatment.
Forbes Contributor, Jeff McMahon, Joins Hal Harvey In The Methane Fact Bubble
Speaking at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy on Thursday April 11, Hal Harvey, CEO of the lobby firm Energy Innovationand former Energy Advisor to Clinton and H. W. Bush, offered up his playbook for frackers. On April 12, Forbes contributing writer, Jeff McMahon, covered Harvey’s speech in the article, “5 Things U.S. Must Do To Win At Fracking.” I wasn’t there, but I’m guessing it must have been a bit like preaching to the choir. (more…)
This photo is from Gloria Forouzan, Marcellus Shale Protest. She found it on the inarguably vile FracPride facebook page. Good luck it finding now.
“From the ‘FracPride’ FB page, grabbed it before they take it down: I heard that they were pumping at 8500 psig when the 7″ production casing parted, the surface casing parted above that and the Frac Head, BOP’s and all that came with landed square in the middle of the Cased Hole Truck. Have not heard about fatalities.”
Despite the wildly banging gavel, The Delaware Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum would not be silenced at the March 6 Delaware River Basin Commission public hearing – not until she had given full voice to the resolution proposed by numerous environmental groups in the basin. Only then did she yield the floor, and it was to the incredible harmony of the 70 or so activists in attendance singing This Land Is Your Land.
Try as DRBC might, even with a formal acknowledgement of the March 1 letter signed by 67 organizations and a petition signed by thousands of citizens, the Commission can no longer fallback on its routine deferral of pipeline oversight. While the DRBC would continue to kick the can down the road, chainsaws are whirring, and trees are already being felled by the thousands as forests are fragmented for new pipeline routes. This is no longer acceptable to watershed stakeholders, nor was it palatable to the majority of people in that meeting room.
van Rossum delivered their message with succinct, breathtaking force:
“A failure to act is a decision not to act.”
Thank you, protestors. Thank you, Delaware Riverkeeper, for standing up for our right to a clean, safe watershed.
“Somebody has to do something to protect these waters,” Joe Zenes, Pike County PA resident. Posted by Delaware Riverkeeper Network, March 7, 2013
“The Delaware Riverkeeper Network and concerned citizens from four states vented their anger at the Delaware River Basin Commission when the agency refused to take action to regulate shale gas pipelines in the watershed. The protestors shutdown the meeting at one point.” (more…)
We know the Marcellus Shale Coalition never put it to a vote, but does Pennsylvania DEP Secretary, Michael Krancer, believe that climate change might determine the new “price of doing business” in our state?
On February 20, 2013, at a Pennsylvania House Budget Hearing, Rep. Scott Conklin [D-77th, Centre County] asked the Secretary exactly that, but the newly bearded Krancer didn’t want to answer.
Published on Feb 20, 2013
Rep. Conklin deserves kudos for asking about the cost of climate change. So does Rep. Matt Bradford [D- 70th, Montgomery County] for following up, as State Impact Pennsylvania’s Marie Cusick reports in DEP Secretary Michael Krancer Clarifies Views on Climate Change, February 21, 2013:
“Climate change. Is it real?”
“Representative, I couldn’t be more clear,” Krancer replied, “the lowering of greenhouse gases and carbon emissions is a good thing.”
“You couldn’t be more opaque!” shouted Bradford.
And, so, the question remains: Is Pennsylvania’s rush to frack increasing or decreasing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere?
Methane may be a cleaner fuel to burn (until it explodes) but it’s certainly not a clean fuel to frack from the ground. One glimpse at this infrared video of gas production sites shows how much gas is released, intentionally and otherwise.
Are we really willing to bet it all on gas drillers best practices, minimal air sampling and lousy DEP record-keeping? This seems ignorant and brash when our planet is so perilously close to an atmospheric carbon tipping point.
“Witnesses criticized the state Department of Environmental Protection for failing to enforce drilling regulations. Some residents in drilling areas brought what they consider as evidence — jugs of orange-brown tap water.”
“Many times over the last few years, we have reached out to the DEP for help, with little or no success,” Headley said. His family has had issues with contaminated water and grass that refuses to grow, as well as issues with a pipeline going in under their stream, he said. “I think DEP stands for ‘don’t expect protection,’ ” Headley said.
“At issue is whether deliberate actions by state officials are letting Texas gas industry robber barons do more damage to the environment than was done by coal industry robber barons in the last century, and are endangering people’s health in the process.As I reported in September, I submitted several questions to DEP, in writing, about new DEP rules supposedly designed to protect the environment. Many of the rules, it seemed to me, did the opposite. For example, DEP now allows fracking fluids to accumulate in pits that are only 20 inches above groundwater tables. I’m still waiting for answers.”
“There is no uniformity within the scientific community on how much the warming is occurring,” said Krancer, “And there’s no agreement about how much is attributable to the human part of it and how much is attributable to other factors.”
It’s difficult to pick one favorite, but four-out-of-five fractivists agree the ultimate anti-gas image is by Artist/Activist LMNOP. based in Brooklyn, NY.
Interviewed, and often talked over, on Fox News’ Varney & Co., Sierra Club Executive Director, Mike Brune, not only keeps his cool but remains a polite and informative guest.
Despite Stuart Varney’s ill-informed scoffing and scorn, the unflappable Brune manages to state a few facts on climate change, solar power, wind, natural gas and the Keystone XL Pipeline – facts like how KXL isn’t any more inevitable than other planned, non-existent pipelines; and how the number of US solar installations broke the record in 2012, and will do so again in 2013.
A vociferous climate denier, Varney appears to think fossil fuels will last “forever” while one of his co-hosts would simply deny wind power altogether because he’s never seen a windmill turning. (Here’s a hint: just like the sun is more likely to shine in the daytime, the wind is more likely to blow at night – maybe go look then?)
Photo: sierra.org
Brune isn’t baited or cowed by Varney & Co.’s carnival-esque atmosphere. I’ve been unable to embed the video, as is usually the case with Fox clips, but here’s the link:
Lately, it seems like anti-fracking artistic expression is exploding out of gaslands everywhere. Maybe the message is mainstreaming? You know when Yoko Ono starts speaking out, the cause is officially big. She may be polite and petite, but she’s got a mighty big bullhorn and she’s obviously peeved.
Sad truth is, the harsh light of reality is unkind to the invasive, destructive processes of shale gas production and frack waste disposal. Across the country, there’s a heightened demand for clean, sustainable energy and increasing local efforts for conservation. Artists, filmmakers, videographers, photographers, musicians, writers and poets have become so passionate about this cause, they’re shouting from their respective rooftops. And voyeurs, if they’re anything like me, are left wondering what we can possibly do when a single industry is systematically destroying our water tables, air quality, and the loamy soil beneath our feet?
We can live without gas but we can’t live without water. It’s the stuff of life pulsing through our veins. Frack with that, and people tend to go hardcore. So go on, get schooled, and enjoy a sampling of the creative contributions inspired by the shale gas boom, in what is rapidly becoming the biggest public push-back the world has ever seen.
“C’Mon EPA, We’re Worried For Our DNA”
What lurks deep beneath Sesame Street? It’s a scary place yet this video is suitable for all ages.
Since New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has declined meet to with Yoko Ono as of yet, she has taken the truth to television. Ono makes it easy for Cuomo – and all the world – to see what’s wrong with Fracking in her new ad. (more…)
The Impacts of Drilling on Human and Animal Health
Groundbreaking Study Presented
Researchers Robert Oswald PhD & Michelle Bamberger, MS, DVMoffer viewers “a general introduction to the potential hazards associated with shale gas development. Specifically, it will draw on the descriptive epidemiology and case studies of Drs. Bamberger and Oswald to examine how and why animals can be used as sentinels for human health.”
Harbingers of Human Wellbeing
Published on Jan 30, 2013, Continuing Medical Education (CME) Activity Jointly Sponsored by Physicians Scientists & Engineers for Healthy Energy and the Medical Society of the State of New York. Source: YouTube
“According to Rende’s logic, it is the plaintiff’s own fault for believing the Range Resource test report was accurate and truthful. Does this mean Rende is also saying Range Resources is not to be trusted?”
“As they fight the expansion of fracking and push for tighter regulations on it, concerned citizens can count on an opponent nearly as powerful and monied as Big Oil: Big Ag…”
The Marcellus Shale Documentary Projecthas finally come to Philadelphia. The images collected “tell stories, through photographic images, of how the lives of Pennsylvanians are affected by the Marcellus Shale Gas Industry. By creating a visual document of the environmental, social and economic impact of drilling, the work aims to engage communities in the current Marcellus debate while providing important historical images for the future.”
Images, like this pipeline cutting through a southwestern Pennsylvania cow pasture, leave an impression. This stirring collection is on display at The Gershman Yin Philadelphia until February 14, 2013.
PA State Senators Want To Give Away The Farm, Along With Our Property Rights
If passed, Senate Bill 166 and the flash of an industry ID would give gasland surveyors full access to private property in Pennsylvania. That’s right. Landowners must grant the gas industry full access to their land.
In other words, private property is no longer private. (more…)
No NIMBYs In SEPA: Citizens Say “Yes!” To Clean Energy In Everyone’s Back Yard!
PA Dems to hold a hearing on non-fossil renewable energy for Delaware and Montgomery counties in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Show your support for solar and wind! Free, open to the public.
I’m in a love-hate with Facebook. Heaven knows I let it consume me at times. Just when I think we’ve got something going, it blocks me, makes me stop and fill in endless, annoying security codes. Maybe if I only posted pictures of my dinner and other people’s cats?
The upcoming onset of FrackNation, a pro-gas mockumentary which by all reports is chock full of industry half-truths and overt lies,demonstrates a clear dichotomy in America. We’ve quickly become a nation of Pro-Gas v. Anti-Fracking, Anti-Renewables v. Pro-Land, Air & Water. No matter how much you want to avoid polemicizing the issues, there remains a detailed and widening divide. (more…)
This week, I tabled at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg. The booth was co-sponsored by Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Food and Water Watch, PennEnvironment, Protecting Our Waters and Berks Gas Truth. It was an amazing experience, despite the fact that I had to park in Pittsburgh.
We put a lot of good information in the hands of farmers, food producers, land owners, students and laypeople. We did receive a few dirty looks, but far more people stopped by to ask questions and thank us for our good work.
Meeting others who are committed to the clean energy cause is always a pleasure, and interacting with the show’s visitors was absolutely incredible. The highlight for me, however, was slapping Ban Fracking Now! stickers on the tote bags being handed out by the Marcellus Shale Coalition a few booths away.
Here are a few of my personal observations from the show: (more…)
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has held out long enough.
It’s time for the state to release the full test results from a Washington County, PA water well near a Range Resources fracking operation. It is, after all, the taxpayers who pay for such testing, and these taxpayers ought to know what pollutants have been identified in their drinking water. It’s perfectly reasonable to want to know to which toxic chemicals you have been exposed, especially when those chemicals have been intentionally omitted from your well water report by the DEP.
Now that the infamous “Suite Code 942” has been revealed, the jig is up. Am loathe to moralize, but it sure seems like the right thing to do.
“Critics suggest the purported ‘filtering’ of testing data is just one of the ways people are left in the dark about the assortment of heavy metals and other toxic contaminants that may be in their air and water as a result of drilling, hydraulic fracturing and other phases of natural gas production. Recent studies have identified more than 600 chemicals used throughout the process of natural gas production, and often left undisclosed by companies. Additionally, natural but equally hazardous substances can be released from the wells.”
Doesn’t DEP get it yet? Dismissing the drumbeats of concerned citizens only makes them louder.
The Delaware Riverkeeper Networkis asking people to please send this letter via the link on their site, or write you own, to those directly responsible for keeping this vital health information a secret. Addresses below. (more…)
Keep Tap Water Safe 