For Immediate Release – 5/15/12 For interview call 919-200-0061
Don’t Frack NC!: Public Makes Final Plea To Uphold North Carolina’s Ban
on Fracking
Raleigh, NC – On Saturday May 19th at 12 noon, protesters will gather at
Nash Park and march to the legislative building at 16 W. Jones St. to
voice their opposition to proposed legislation that would legalize
hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in North Carolina. This demonstration
is part of the National Day of Action Against Extraction, and follows
overwhelming public opposition to fracking at recent legislative public
comment periods.
Activists oppose fracking due to numerous environmental and public health
crises seen at frack sites across the country. Demonstrators emphasize
that natural gas puts off large amounts of methane into the atmosphere,
which speeds climate change faster than CO2 by 20X, raising local ozone
levels for up to 200 miles. A recent study by Duke University linked
methane likely from drill rigs to methane contamination in water wells.
Last December, the EPA found fracking chemicals inside Wyoming’s water
aquifer. NPR reported that residents in Dimock, Pennsylvania were moving
their families away in droves due to complaints of bad water, truck
traffic, and air pollution from fracking. While industry claims that much
of the frack water is “recycled,” a 2011 New York Times investigation
found that much of this water was sent to municipal waste facilities that
could not treat the radioactive and toxic materials which ended up in
nearby rivers. Injection of it into the ground was linked toearthquakes
in Ohio and across the country.
Demonstrators oppose fracking due to the risk of massive blowouts, which
have occurred at fracking wells across the country, some resulting in
injuries of workers, large releases of methane, and, recently in Wyoming,
the evacuation of residents. “Blowouts and spills are just run-of-the-mill
occurrences at fracking sites,” says Earth First! activist Michelle
Matheson. “We can expect the same disasters to happen in North Carolina
if this is legalized. Expecting anything different would be wishful
thinking. The government has never shown itself to be effective in
regulating the fracking industry.”
Croatan Earth First!, Cumnock Preservation Association, and Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League will be marching on the general assembly to
deliver a coffin representing the proposed death of NC’s clean water.
Activists will demand legislators reject the bill to frack our state. “If
they legalize fracking in our state we will have no other choice but to
take direct action and civil disobedience to stop industry,” says one
Earth First!er. “If you like clean air and water, then you have to fight
for it.”
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