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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFracking debate draws Yoko Ono and son to rural battlegrounds
Yoko Ono might not seem the most likely bus traveller. Northern Pennsylvania, on a cold, snowy January day, might not seem a likely destination.
Yet the threat of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and its impact on the farm she and John Lennon bought in New York spurred Ono and her son, Sean Lennon, into action. On Thursday the pair, a group of activists and the actress Susan Sarandon formed an improbable troupe for a road trip through towns which have been affected by fracking.
The expedition travelled under the banner of Artists Against Fracking, the group Ono and Lennon set up last summer, when governor Andrew Cuomo was originally due to rule on whether to allow fracking in New York State. Thanks no doubt to the star power of its founders, the group quickly managed to attract backing – from regular celebrity activists such as Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo to Alec Baldwin, the two living Beatles and Robert DeNiro. They also earned the support of the Scissor Sisters.
“It was an incredible response,” Ono said, as the bus picked its way along narrow lanes. “All these artists are starting to come together. These days artists are very much into, and very sensitive to what is happening in society, not just what is happening with their work.”
It was the potential impact of fracking on rural parts of New York State that prompted Lennon and Ono to get involved in the anti-fracking cause last summer. Cuomo eventually delayed his decision, pending further investigation into the practice; he is now due to rule on whether to allow fracking as early as 27 February, following a four-and-a-half year ban.
Ono and Lennon clambered aboard the bus – in fact a relatively luxurious coach – on Thursday as part of their bid to persuade the governor against the practice. Ono and Lennon still spend time at their rural farm, which was bought in the years before John Lennon died. While the farm might have inspired Ono to take up the cause, she said the campaign now went beyond that.
“It’s not just for me, but for New York State and New York City as well. But also when we lose this game we’re losing not just for New York State but for the United States and for Britain. I’m getting letters from Britain saying, ‘Yoko, please do something, they’re starting to frack here.’”
The pair keep secret the exact location of their farm, where Ono and John Lennon famously tended a herd of cows, but they will say that it is in prime fracking territory. The pair established Artists Against Fracking in August and organised the bus tour to show the impact fracking has had in Pennsylvania.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/18/fracking-debate-draws-yoko-ono-and-son-to-rural-battlegrounds/
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virgogal
(10,178 posts)
Agony
(2,605 posts)"""
Activists attack fracking plan with 200K comments on final day
With one deadline past and another imminent, staffers at New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation attempting to resolve New York’s fracking conundrum find themselves in a familiar position: under pressure. On the final day for public comment on draft regulations for development of shale gas reserves under upstate New York, members of a well-organized anti-fracking campaign delivered more than 200,000 written comments. Activists carted boxes into the agency’s headquarters in Albany hours before the 5 p.m. deadline. DEC staffers now have 50 days to process and respond to this latest deluge of criticism before they can finalize a plan.
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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's newly stated mission is to "promote gas development" so Don't Expect Conservation.
Agony
(2,605 posts)"""
In “Sending Natural Gas Abroad” (editorial, Dec. 16), you write that environmental concerns about fracking for gas should be addressed by tighter regulation, not by restricting exports. But the evidence shows that there is no amount of regulation that can make fracking safe.
Cement in wells many thousands of feet under the earth cracks and leaks under the great pressure and temperature changes. No one can be sent thousands of feet under the earth to make repairs once this happens.
Industry documents show that 6 percent of the wells leak immediately and that 60 percent leak over time, poisoning drinking water and putting the powerful greenhouse gas methane into our atmosphere.
We need to develop truly clean energy, not dirty water created by fracking.
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6% of Pennsylvania gas wells leak (cement failures) in the first year... You want your house next to the leaker?
