Together, the grassroots organizations opposing fracking across the country make up a powerful lobby – it’s time we got together and flexed our muscles! Join Us!
click here: National Grassroots Coalition
Thursday, June 2, 2011
National Grassroots Coalition against fracking for gas and in favor of renewable energy
We the following organizations and individuals reject the practice of hydrofracking and rebut shale gas as America’s energy future.
Together, the grassroots organizations opposing fracking across the country make up a powerful lobby – it’s time we got together and flexed our muscles! Join Us!
Together, the grassroots organizations opposing fracking across the country make up a powerful lobby – it’s time we got together and flexed our muscles! Join Us!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
The Williamsport Sun-Gazzette: "A Rigged Game" May 29, 2011
Yes... it's a 'rigged' game.
The gas industry, and those who will profit from it, endlessly speak of economic opportunity, local jobs, energy independence, and tax revenue for the townships' but never mention the long term, environmental, and social economic affects this will have on our rural communities. They call this industrialization a game changer. That much I agree with, but they never address exactly how the game will change, or how they will accomplish their goals.
The gas industry came to Pennsylvania, waved the flag of patriotism, said we'd become wealthy, told us this would lead to energy independence, local jobs, and affordable energy, because if they told us the truth, most people would have sent the landman packing and not signed a lease. The same reason they lied about horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing being "100 percent safe".
The real truth is, for this game to really be profitable for them, the oil and gas industry need to turn rural U.S. into third-world style gas and oil fields. They've been doing this overseas for decades using the same tactics they're using here. They try to discredit and villify any well-informed opposition, ghost-write favorable legislation, retain the most powerful law firms in the state so they can't represent any citizens or communities that will be negatively impacted by their activities, and eventually drive people off their land by making it unlivable by depleting and/or contaminating it's natural resources.
Once they do that, the local jobs disappear, and the industries that were always our cherished mainstays in Pennsylvania like agriculture, tourism, recreation, forestry, new home building, small family businesses, are now out of their way and a thing of the past.
We need to slow down and come to our senses before it's too late. - John Trallo
The gas industry, and those who will profit from it, endlessly speak of economic opportunity, local jobs, energy independence, and tax revenue for the townships' but never mention the long term, environmental, and social economic affects this will have on our rural communities. They call this industrialization a game changer. That much I agree with, but they never address exactly how the game will change, or how they will accomplish their goals.
The gas industry came to Pennsylvania, waved the flag of patriotism, said we'd become wealthy, told us this would lead to energy independence, local jobs, and affordable energy, because if they told us the truth, most people would have sent the landman packing and not signed a lease. The same reason they lied about horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing being "100 percent safe".
The real truth is, for this game to really be profitable for them, the oil and gas industry need to turn rural U.S. into third-world style gas and oil fields. They've been doing this overseas for decades using the same tactics they're using here. They try to discredit and villify any well-informed opposition, ghost-write favorable legislation, retain the most powerful law firms in the state so they can't represent any citizens or communities that will be negatively impacted by their activities, and eventually drive people off their land by making it unlivable by depleting and/or contaminating it's natural resources.
Once they do that, the local jobs disappear, and the industries that were always our cherished mainstays in Pennsylvania like agriculture, tourism, recreation, forestry, new home building, small family businesses, are now out of their way and a thing of the past.
We need to slow down and come to our senses before it's too late. - John Trallo
From a Local Perspective: Gas industry under siege: Momentum shifting to gas-driller critics
The Sunday Daily Review May 29, 2011
Don't believe, or let anyone tell you, we're not making a difference, or that there's nothing we can do. The gas industry is vulnerable. They're feeling threatened, and political cover is falling away.
We need to stand together and keep the pressure on!
See Shift Happens: http://www.spectraenergywatch.com/blog/?p=1267 (which is the source for the following):
A gas industry exec finally admitted their worst fear -- that the loss of public confidence could do to shale gas extraction what it did to the nuclear industry 30 years ago, "and billions of dollars that had been invested were abandoned."
John Hanger, former head of PA DEP, tells gas industry, "There has to be truth behind the [gas industry] brand. It is under siege to say the very least."
Shift happens, and the energy industry knows its traditional game has changed but struggles to figure out what is going on. Industry's traditional power on this issue has shifted, driven by technology and the worldwide web. It isn't just the gas industry that is global; and the traditional industry behavior model is in decay.
Three indicators characterize this shift; and, in response, the industry is failing for three reasons:
1. The energy industry speaks in absolutes that, until recently, were not seriously challenged.
2. The industry characterizes citizen opposition as left-wing environmental whacko and even extremists. (It ignores its trampling of property rights which is fundamentally a conservative principle.)
3. The industry demonstrates it is not capable of living up to its own published principles such as environmental protection, accountability and transparency. (After seven months, the Marcellus Shale Coalition still cannot explain what its second guiding principle means it will do at the well site.)
Even Texas is no longer a sanctuary for the energy industry. The Dallas Morning News recently editorialized:
"Local governments across North Texas are sounding alarms about the possibility of increased air pollution, groundwater contamination, noise and declining property values coinciding with drilling companies' push into urban areas.
"These concerns are not overblown. ... But the industry's tendency has too often been to deny, deflect and use judicial bullying to get its way.
"Such tactics aren't exactly winning friends. ..."
To return to the comparison with the nuclear industry, the shale gas fracking industry is radioactive in terms of public trust. And it achieved this distinction the old fashioned way - it "earned" it.
Editor's note: Mr. Trallo's avocation includes being a natural gas industry critic who has been active in the region advocating his views. He also is a professional guitarist, singer, songwriter, music teacher and luthier. He lives in Sonestown in Sullivan County.
Don't believe, or let anyone tell you, we're not making a difference, or that there's nothing we can do. The gas industry is vulnerable. They're feeling threatened, and political cover is falling away.
We need to stand together and keep the pressure on!
See Shift Happens: http://www.spectraenergywatch.com/blog/?p=1267 (which is the source for the following):
A gas industry exec finally admitted their worst fear -- that the loss of public confidence could do to shale gas extraction what it did to the nuclear industry 30 years ago, "and billions of dollars that had been invested were abandoned."
John Hanger, former head of PA DEP, tells gas industry, "There has to be truth behind the [gas industry] brand. It is under siege to say the very least."
Shift happens, and the energy industry knows its traditional game has changed but struggles to figure out what is going on. Industry's traditional power on this issue has shifted, driven by technology and the worldwide web. It isn't just the gas industry that is global; and the traditional industry behavior model is in decay.
Three indicators characterize this shift; and, in response, the industry is failing for three reasons:
1. The energy industry speaks in absolutes that, until recently, were not seriously challenged.
2. The industry characterizes citizen opposition as left-wing environmental whacko and even extremists. (It ignores its trampling of property rights which is fundamentally a conservative principle.)
3. The industry demonstrates it is not capable of living up to its own published principles such as environmental protection, accountability and transparency. (After seven months, the Marcellus Shale Coalition still cannot explain what its second guiding principle means it will do at the well site.)
Even Texas is no longer a sanctuary for the energy industry. The Dallas Morning News recently editorialized:
"Local governments across North Texas are sounding alarms about the possibility of increased air pollution, groundwater contamination, noise and declining property values coinciding with drilling companies' push into urban areas.
"These concerns are not overblown. ... But the industry's tendency has too often been to deny, deflect and use judicial bullying to get its way.
"Such tactics aren't exactly winning friends. ..."
To return to the comparison with the nuclear industry, the shale gas fracking industry is radioactive in terms of public trust. And it achieved this distinction the old fashioned way - it "earned" it.
Editor's note: Mr. Trallo's avocation includes being a natural gas industry critic who has been active in the region advocating his views. He also is a professional guitarist, singer, songwriter, music teacher and luthier. He lives in Sonestown in Sullivan County.
Coal set the stage for natural-gas free-for-all
Pa.'s lax approach to the environment repeats itself.
http://articles.philly.com/2011-05-26/news/29586515_1_coal-mining-longwall-gas-drilling
Nature doesn't tolerate a void. When you remove any substance in great quantities ie: coal, rock, water, mineral, natural gas, etc., you create a void. Nature, will ultimately try to fill that void. The question is, with what, and when?
Case in point... the huge number and frequency of earthquakes in Arkansas. *Question: What do Arkansas and Pennsylvania have in common that it doesn't with Texas, Louisiana, and Wyoming? Answer: MOUNTAINS!
Are we so impressed by ourselves because we can do this, that we're not going to stop and think if we should?
http://articles.philly.com/2011-05-26/news/29586515_1_coal-mining-longwall-gas-drilling
Nature doesn't tolerate a void. When you remove any substance in great quantities ie: coal, rock, water, mineral, natural gas, etc., you create a void. Nature, will ultimately try to fill that void. The question is, with what, and when?
Case in point... the huge number and frequency of earthquakes in Arkansas. *Question: What do Arkansas and Pennsylvania have in common that it doesn't with Texas, Louisiana, and Wyoming? Answer: MOUNTAINS!
Are we so impressed by ourselves because we can do this, that we're not going to stop and think if we should?
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Business Owners, Residents Say: "Picnics, NOT Pipelines"
Thursday, May 26, 2011 11 a.m. to noon (Rain or shine)
Business Owners, Residents Say: "Picnics, NOT Pipelines"Kick off Endless Mountain tourist season with plea to preserve region’s way of life and have lunch on us!LAPORTE, PA – Business owners and year-round and seasonal residents will kick off the summer tourist season in Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains with a picnic -- and a plea to local, state, and federal officials to preserve the region’s way of life in the face of a proposed gas pipeline project.
For generations, visitors have flocked to the Endless Mountains in Northeast Pennsylvania to enjoy the region’s river gateways, rolling hills, family farms, river towns, historic districts and quaint rural villages -- helping to feed the state’s $26-billion-a-year tourism industry.
But the Central New York Oil and Gas Company wants to install an industrial gas pipeline that would slice through the region, tear up almost 600 acres of land in Bradford, Sullivan, and Lycoming counties, and replace wooded mountains and pastoral landscapes with 39 miles of pipeline, additional miles of lateral gathering lines, access roads, massive compressor units, filter separators, gas coolers and other industrial machinery. Click here (PDF) for a map of the proposed pipeline route.Business owners and year-round and seasonal residents fear that if the pipeline project goes through as planned, it could mean the end of summer as they’ve known it in the Endless Mountains.WHAT: Business owners, year-round and seasonal residents kick off summer tourist season in Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains with a picnic and a plea to preserve the region’s way of life in the face of a proposed gas pipeline project.WHEN: Thursday, May 26, 2011 11 a.m. to noon (Rain or shine)WHO:Michael Stasiunas, Owner, Forksville General Store and RestaurantCharles and Barbara Gerlach, Owners, Blueberry Fields Organic Farm and Bed & BreakfastDr. Arno Vosk, Emergency Room Doctor, Williamsport Hospital and Medical CenterMembers of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, Coalition for Responsible Growth & Resource Conservation, Responsible Drilling Alliance, Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition, Sierra Club (Pennsylvania Chapter)WHERE: Laporte Park, Laporte, PA. Main Street between Court and Muncy streets.FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:Kathleen Sutcliffe at (202) 667-4500, (202) 384-7157 or ksutcliffe@earthjustice.org Washington, D.C.*Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment. We bring about far-reaching change by enforcing and strengthening environmental laws on behalf of hundreds of organizations and communities.... "Because the Earth needs a good lawyer!"A map showing the proposed pipeline route is available here: http://earthjustice.org/documents/map/pdf/map-of-proposed-marc-i-line
Please pass the word to others about this event, and encourage them to attend.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Bradford County residents/farmers - Watch, listen, and learn!
These are two of the most well informed, well documented, and fearless woman I've ever met. They know what they're talking about. Watch, listen, and learn.
Carol French and Carolyn Knapp - Bradford County residents/farmers
Carol French and Carolyn Knapp - Bradford County residents/farmers
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