Fracking
Hydraulic Fracturing, otherwise known as Fracking is a method of drilling for natural gas. It is currently practiced in many states around the country including a few in in the South East. In the past it has been illegal in North Carolina to practice this form of drilling, but the state government and gas corporations are trying to push through legislation to bring it here. This earth destroying, water polluting practice has no place in North Carolina and we join proudly with those around the world who are standing up and saying NO, not here, not now, not ever.
June 7th – We held a public strategy meeting at a Durham public library to discuss the threat of fracking with EF!ers in Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh as well as other interested parties, so we could begin an effective campaign.
June 13th – We published an informational zine on fracking in the Piedmont, hosted a screening of Gasland at Internationalist Books & Community Center followed by a presentation on the hard facts of horizontal drilling by Clean Water for North Carolina. We mobilized that night to have a protest the next day with citizens from all over the Triangle.
June 14th – Thirty or more people with Earth First! and other groups converged outside the Raleigh House of Representatives to have a loud demonstration and urged representatives to vote n o on SB 709, the Energy Jobs Act which had already passed the senate. Three people inside were arrested for unfurling a banner that said “Don’t Frack Cackalack! Vote NO on 709″ After four months of court, two of the defendents plead guilty to disorderly conduct and one is in the process of having his charges dismissed.
June 20th - Earth First! held a large demonstration with Frack Action outside Raleigh’s Capital Building to urge Bev Perdue to Veto SB 709 Energy Jobs Act that would invite oil and gas companies to do fracking & offshore drilling. She did veto the bill.
September 12th – held another demonstration outside the House of Representatives as they re-opened their session asking them to uphold the veto of the Energy Jobs Act.
September 29th – held another public screening of Gasland in Chapel Hill.
October 6th – we put on a Folk Against Fracking event in Chapel Hill that opened with a workshop on resisting fracking with a presenter from Finger Lakes EF! and followed by four acoustic musical performances.
October 1oth – Croatan EF! held signs and banners against fracking outside of the Sanford Department of Environment and Natural Resources public hearing on hydrofracking. 310 people attended the meeting as well as press, Clean Water for North Carolina, and the Raging Grannies. A few days later we attended a strategy session with other groups in the area to form a united coalition to oppose hydrofracking.
November 13th – We put on a presentation in Siler City to the local Catholic Worker community regarding the risks posed by fracking.
November 27th – Held a widely attended rally & march outside the NC Legislature to oppose the planned override of SB 709 and received media attention on the issue. Residents from Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Pitssboro, & Siler City attended as well as members of the local Occupy Movement and other environmental groups.
On March 20th and 27th of 2012 we held two large demonstrations outside the DENR public hearings, and helped pack the meetings inside with outraged and outspoken opponents and encouraged protesters to consider taking civil disobedience in the future if fracking is legalized.
Cliffside
Video Of Cliffside Generator Lock Down
Duke Energy is building an additional 800-megawatt coal-fired generator at the Cliffside Power Plant in Rutherford County. A second proposed generator was defeated early on. Five older coal boilers currently exist. Some of these generators and other out-dated ones across the state would be retired at a later date, making the project “carbon-neutral” according to Duke Energy. Coal plants cannot be carbon-neutral. The new generator would still use conventional, pulverized coal technology and emit over 6 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. With an expected 50-year lifespan, it would emit a total of 312 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere throughout its operation. This total is equal to adding one million cars to the road each year. It is also a commitment to continue coal mining and operating sludge ponds for another 50 years.
Croatan Earth First! has often collaborated with Asheville Rising Tide to fight to Cliffside plant. What we’ve done:
· Dropped numerous banners from parking decks and bridges around Raleigh about coal and Cliffside.
· In 2008, we occupied the Cliffside construction site where four people locked to earth-moving equipment and eight people were arrested. Police used tasers to force people to unlock.
· Protested several of Jim Rogers speaking appearances.
· Marched with hundreds of others against Duke Energy in Charlotte in 2009 where 40 people participated in civil disobedience.
· Built a model of “green” power plant that was fueled by bullshit on Jim Rogers’s front lawn in Charlotte.
· Spoke at a rate hike hearing in Durham. We disrupted the meeting with a 30’foot banner that we later submitted as a “public comment.”
· In 2009, as the generator for the plant was being shipped through Greenville, SC we took it over and delayed shipment of it. Four people were arrested.
more info at www.stopcliffside.org
Little River Resevoir
Wake county intends to build a 39 foot dam across the Little River near Rolesville. The purpose of this dam would be to flood 1,100 acres to create a future water supply for an ever-expanding city. It would hold a total of 3.5 billion gallons and be used to supply the county with 17 million gallons of water a day.
Of course, this overlooks the problems existing with the current reservoir on the Neuse River. In 2008, a combination of unchecked sprawl and unchecked water consumption combined with a global warming-related drought to create a dust storm on the dry bed of the reservoir.
Construction is slated to take place between 2016-2018. We cannot allow yet another reservoir to be built.
for more information check out Wild Little River
The Globe Forest
In 2006, the U.S. Forest Service proposed the Globe Forest Management Plan which originally included clear-cutting over 200 acres of Pisgah National Forest near Blowing Rock. The Globe Forest includes old-growth stands and many trees aged from 100-300 years old. After local opposition to the sale and appeals by conservation groups, the Forest Service slightly amended the cut, reducing it by a few acres and changing it to a two-aged cut (meaning they plan to cut 2/3 of the trees in each stand and leave 1/3). This new plan still includes cutting primal forest and does not address effect the cut will have on Thunderhole Creek and its wild trout population.
Conservation groups and residents of Blowing Rock are proposing to protect over 25,000 acres of Pisgah National Forest by designating it the Grandfather National Scenic Area. This legislation would protect these forests from commercial logging indefinitely, but by the time it passes, the Globe Forest could already be cut. Not only has the Forest Service ignored strong public opposition, but, defying all common sense, they claim the purpose of the cut will create new wildlife habitat! We know their true motives – the Forest Service says they plan to make a profit of over $100,000 from selling the Globe Forest to timber companies.
What we’ve done:
· Held multiple demonstrations in front of the Forest Service office in Nebo and Asheville and met with John Crockett, the supervisor in charge of the cut as well as Marisue Hilliard, Forest Supervisor.
· Held an action camp in 2009 where people learned to climb trees and set up blockades.
- Held a regional rendezvous in the Globe Forest to gather support against commercial logging and teach people more blockading and tree climbing skills.
- Carried out nonviolent civil disobedience at the Asheville Forest Service office where an Earth First!er u-locked his neck to the front door to protest the commercial logging of our national forests.
more info here
Other proposed projects to keep an eye on in the region:
PCS Phosphate Mine In The Coastal Wetlands
We do not have a current campaign on this issue but it’s important to be aware that the EPA has approved a plan to to expand the Canadian PCS Phosphate to mine an additional 11,000 acres, including 4,000 acres of wetlands and about five miles of tidal creeks and streams bordering the Pamlico River. The decision made by EPA and the NC Division of Water Quality is being challenged by the Southern Environmental Law Center who says the move is illegal and blatantly defies the Clean Water Act. PCS Phosphate contributes over 70 million dollars to the North Carolina economy annually, and we believe the state is permanently sacrificing our rare wetlands for economic incentive.
751 South Sprawl
Another issue to stay aware of is 751. The Durham City Commissioners re-zoned and changed a watershed boundary area put in place to protect Jordan Lake, which is a drinking water reservoir and area that has already experienced a lot of pollution from runoff, traffic and increased urban sprawl. The rezoning has allowed a developer to purchase the land to make a mix-used community that will increase construction, traffic, residence and commerce in the area furthering the expansion of development into rural areas that were most recently farmland. The city has already spent more money fighting resistance,by concerned citizens and grassroots groups, than they were going to gain from the plan in the first place. They have also ignored transparent democratic process by rejecting petitions by the people requiring more approval steps to go through with the development. Every year this culture of cities and sprawl destroys more and more animal habitat, increases pollution, harms populations of animal species, and increases the numbers of animals getting run over by cars and other harmful interactions.
For more information see the Durham People’s Alliance website
