For Immediate Release – January 27, 2012
Environmentalists Confront Gas Industry’s Back Door Lobbying Campaign
Raleigh, NC – On Feb. 2nd Croatan Earth First! has called for a protest against the American Petroleum Institute (the largest gas industry lobbying group in the country which represents over 400 corporations ). API is presenting a shale gas workshop to legislators to encourage them to support hydraulic fracturing in North Carolina. API spends millions of dollars lobbying, funnels money directly to legislators’ campaigns, as well as millions of dollars airing pro-fracking ads on television to convince the public that natural gas is “green.” API has already been working closely with some legislators to construct industry friendly regulations which Earth First! member, John Connor, says “puts everyone at risk…industry has shown no desire to safe guard public and environmental health”.
The event has been billed as invite only, the public is not welcome. Protesters are calling shadowy closed door meetings like this a clear violation of the democratic process that have no place in a free and open society. “These rich out-of-towners have more access to our legislators than we do, but it’s us who will pay the cost” says Michelle Davies. “Hydrofracking has caused dozens of earthquakes in Ohio over the past few months.” Groups like North Carolina Sierra Club have launched campaigns against fracking, and the Southern Environmental Law Center has made the Piedmont one of the top 10 most endangered sites in the Southeast due to the threat of natural gas development.
In a recent symposium on hydrofracking at Duke University, Robert Howarth presented his Cornell study which reveals that natural gas extraction warms the planet faster than CO2 due to the emission of the greenhouse gas methane. He then publicly called for a moratorium during the Q & A session. However, the American Petroleum Institute and its front groups, such as Energy In Depth, continue to mislead the public and their legislators. Croatan Earth First! will be holding the protest starting at 9 a.m. outside the Marriot City Center Hotel at 500 Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh on Thursday, February 2nd.
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