Fracking is Whack - Join Us in New York.

Written by: Linsey P on Jan 25, 2012 3:30 PM EST

In last night’s State of the Union, President Barack Obama stood in front of Congress and promised to “take every possible action to safely develop this energy" and said the government would insist on drilling companies disclosing the chemicals used in 'fracking' on public lands.

The State of the Union is a defining speech for any president, but is especially important going into an election year.  Last night’s speech set the stage to what will be seen as President’s Obama’s opening of his re-election campaign.  While his main focus was on jobs and the economy, by mentioning shale gas in the speech – he turned the tables on the environmental movement.  He said, "Our experience with shale gas, our experience with natural gas, shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don't always come right away," he said. "Some technologies don't pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy."

While this was the first mention of fracking and shale gas in the State of the Union, fracking has been impacting our local communities for sometime now. 

In Maryland, Governor Martin O’Malley placed a moratorium on fracking and established a task force to look at the risks of fracking in the state.  But others in the state believe that fracking can and will be done in a safe manner.  State Senator Ben Cardin believes that the shale gas industry would be better off with “national standards than fight state by state.”

In Pennsylvania, this week the EPA delivered water to families whose water source was contaminated by fracking.  The EPA is currently testing water around the site owned by Cabot Oil & Cas Corp, assessing whether any residents are being exposed to harmful substances.  

In Ohio, voters have become wary of fracking as speculation on the cause of an earthquake earlier this month has been attributed to fracking in the state.  Mark Kovac points out that 72 percent of Ohio voters polled “want fracking activities to cease until further studies are completed on the potential impacts.”

In New Mexico, local communities are speaking up against the big business of the Oil and Gas industries because they are concerned about the chemicals being pumped into the ground and what impact it will have on local drinking water. John Olivas, the Mora County Commissioner said, “I’m pushing for a ban on oil and gas drilling…evidence I’ve gathered shows there are threats to the water.”

In New York, local communities are turning up the heat on the issue of fracking – before it’s too late.  They’re even calling their work “an environmental Occupy Wall Street. “ What’s different about what’s going on in New York as opposed to other states around the country is that local communities are banding together and preempting the effects on fracking.  Tomorrow, the group Frack Action will be protesting outside of the Democratic Governor’s Association meeting hosted by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Chair of Democracy for America, Jim Dean said “It is critical that Governors around the country rein in this dangerous practice and DFA members in all 50 states will be making sure that they do just that”

To participate in the action RSVP on the group’s facebook page or email Renee at renee@frackaction.com. 

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