Freedom from Toxic Fracking Waste: National Rally Day September 12, 2012
For more information, please contact:
www.frackfreeamerica.org – 234-201-8007 or e-mail: [email protected]
and
www.NEOGAP.org – 440-940-6427 or e-mail: [email protected]
Why have a national rally on freedom from fracking (hydraulic fracturing) waste?
NEOGAP (Network for Oil & Gas Accountability & Protection, www.NEOGAP.org ) and Frackfree America National Coalition (www.frackfreeamerica.org ) are coordinating a national grassroots rally day on September 12, 2012 to help raise public awareness of what the groups believe are serious risks to public health, safety, and well-being posed by the millions of gallons of toxic fracking waste continually produced by the shale gas and oil drilling industry.
On September 12, 2012 a national coalition of local coordinators and groups in communities across America will hold simultaneous rallies throughout the day to shine a light on the numerous problems associated with toxic fracking waste and its disposal, including its links to earthquakes, spills, and leaks.
Each local group will create their own rally. Sites they may choose include, but are not limited to, sites that are in danger of being fracked or of having an injection well; a public park; a site near city hall; a landfill that accepts toxic frack waste, a river that frack waste is dumped into , and more.
The topic of toxic fracking waste is relevant for the many states who face the possibility or present reality of fracking, which will result in the need to transport and dispose of waste, thereby increasing the chance for spills and leaks.
The topic of where and how to transport and dispose of millions of gallons of fracking waste is not going to just go away. As more fracking wells are being drilled or permitted, the problem is only getting worse every day.
Serious fracking waste – related problems, including spills, leaks, and other serious accidents and mishaps are facing communities right now – not at some unspecified time in the future.
Because of the immediate needs of communities to protect their public health, safety, and well-being, the issue of the continual creation of, transport of, and disposal of fracking waste needs immediate national and local attention. A solution to the problems associated with fracking waste and acknowledgment and public discussion of these issues needs to take place now.
Fracking waste problems will not go away even if officials misguidedly keep on ignoring it or attempt to minimize its serious risks to public health and safety. The public needs vital information to make wise decisions regarding their health, safety, and well-being as they relate to fracking and related processes. The public has inalienable rights to protect the health of themselves, their families, their local communities, and their children and grandchildren.
Having accurate, scientific information is essential in safeguarding the well-being of all communities nationwide. Various polls show that not enough people even know what fracking is. We are concerned that the public simply is not getting the information that is crucial for them to make the right decisions regarding fracking waste, fracking and related processes that have serious impacts upon their health, safety, and well-being.
Worse yet, the public is receiving a great deal of information that, we believe, is meant to mislead or to minimize the real risks of fracking waste and fracking and related processes.
Furthermore, expensive gas and oil industry advertisements paint a rosy picture of fracking and related processes that does not accurately reflect the reality that many people are currently living. The public needs transparency, honesty, accuracy, and correct information.
These are the reasons why we are having a national rally. One rally goal is to help to get accurate information to the general public and to the officials who represent their constituents. We want to show the suffering of those affected by fracking waste and its disposal in order to put a stop to the serious problems.
When the public sees how many people are hurting under the system as it stands today, we believe that they also will join with us to present the truth and to effect positive change for ourselves, our families and children, and future generations.
We want people who may feel isolated in their problems related to fracking to know that there are many other like-minded individuals and groups who share their concerns and want to effect positive change for all.
When we join together, we are able to speak with a louder voice.
What positive steps can we, as a society, take to raise general public awareness? Who should participate in the national rally?
We are asking that anyone with concerns for the public health, safety and well-being and the safeguarding of our communities consider participating in a local rally and/or signing up to coordinate a local rally in their own city or township.
Mothers, fathers, men and women from all walks of life are welcome to join together in a true grassroots movement. Some participants in the national rally are experienced in holding rallies and already know what to do. Don’t worry if you have never had a rally before. For those who want it, we will make step-by-step information available to help you develop your own local rally.
We have compiled a number of links to informative, good videos, articles, and public reports that illustrate concerns with fracking and fracking waste. We invite you to read through them, view the videos, share them with family and friends and others, and join with us on September 12, 2012 in a national rally day.
We must speak out for our children, our grandchildren and future generations. We cannot leave them the problems that exist now. Together, we can make positive change.
There are potentially millions of us who want to address these issues in a positive and effective way. If you or someone you know might be interested in participating, the first step is simple. Please sign up at www.frackfreeamerica.org and www.NEOGAP.org for free e-mail updates regarding the rally and other relevant topics.
Please e-mail us at the contact information above if you are interested in coordinating a rally in your city or township or participating in a local rally that is already being planned in your area.
This is a call for Unity. Would you please tell at least two people each day about the national rally? Together we can help to bring about positive change for our families and future generations. Thanks!
Important Note About Permits for your Rally:
Getting permits:
It is very important for you to check in your local area about the laws and ordinances pertaining to having a rally before proceeding. It is the responsibility of every coordinator to check in their local area to see if a permit is necessary in order to have a rally.You can do so by calling your local police department, or county officials in the area where you are demonstrating. Normally, they can lead you to the right person to contact. Once you have established who you are supposed to contact, tell them that you are having a rally and ask if a permit is necessary. If so, then ask what procedures you need to follow to get a permit. Getting a permit is a simple procedure. If you are told that you don't need a permit, it is advisable that you ask for a letter stating so. Make sure you keep your permit, or letter stating a permit is not necessary, in your binder. Bring your binder to the rally.
Videos:
- “The Sky is Pink” Josh Fox: http://vimeo.com/44367635
- Even though the following news story is from Columbus, Ohio, the news report is relevant for all of the many states who face the possibility or present reality of fracking, which will result in the need to transport and dispose of waste, thereby increasing the chance for spills and leaks. See the following highly informative NBC 4 news video and report titled “NBC4 Investigates: What’s In The Drilling Waste Water Traveling Into Ohio?” (5/23/2012).
http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2012/may/23/nbc4-investigates-whats-drilling-waste-water-trave-ar-1047008/ - “Ex-oil worker blasts shale gas industry CBC News Posted: Dec 2, 2011 7:00 AM AT “ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/12/01/nb-daigle-shale-gas-concern-913.html
or same video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uEByZiD6Cg - Time Video: “The Fuss Over Fracking: The Dilemma of a New Gas Boom”
http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,876880045001_2062814,00.html - Time Video: “Flaming Faucets: When Fracking Goes Wrong” http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,,902909981001_2065158,00.html
- [Please see article and 2 news videos: re: California, earthquakes, etc.] “California's Controversial Oil Drilling Hundreds of wells being fracked in California” “By Stephen Stock, Liza Meak, and Mark Villarreal | Friday, Apr 27, 2012 | Updated 6:59 AM PDT”, NBC Bay Area
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/What-the-Frack-Controversial-Drilling-Happening-Here-in-California-140956263.html - CBS 60 Minutes: "Shale gas drilling: Pros & cons"
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7372850n - “"Heavy Fraffic" from the documentary GROUNDSWELL: Protecting Our Children's Water” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZZQxe6FiGA&feature=player_embedded
- “Marcellus Shale Reality Tour Part 5 Truthland Erupting Water Well”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPM64kseP30&feature=youtu.be - “Family Evacuates Home” WBOY.com (West Virginia):
http://www.wboy.com/video?auto&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7370199 - “Weekend Brine Water Spill Reported in Fowler,” WKBN TV News (27),” Published: 7/11 5:46 pm Updated: 7/18 5:56 pm”
http://www.wkbn.com/content/news/local/story/Weekend-Brine-Water-Spill-Reported-in-Fowler/nIQe3_JvvEqdlJ8FSYrrXg.cspx - “Slag Runoff May Have Caused Brookfield Fish Kill,” WKBN TV News (27) “Published: 7/31 10:14 pm Updated: 8/01 8:11 pm”
http://www.wkbn.com/content/news/local/story/Slag-Runoff-May-Have-Caused-Brookfield-Fish-Kill/CuanEIQ0pE-bZSFEpq-Aiw.cspx - “Investigating Acid Spill At Gas Well” “Posted on: 7:20 am, July 6, 2012, by Jim Hamill, updated on: 03:30pm, July 6, 2012” http://wnep.com/2012/07/06/acid-spill-at-gas-well/
- CNNMoney: “Is drilling causing Ohio earthquakes? By Poppy Harlow and Erica Fink @CNNMoney January 17, 2012: 11:13 AM ET”
[Especially see second video titled, “Ohio's mysterious man-made earthquakes”]
http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/17/news/ohio_earthquakes/?source=cnn_bin - “Couple denied mortgage because of gas drilling - Brian Smith lives near Marcellus Shale well in Daisytown”
“UPDATED 6:49 PM EDT May 08, 2012”
http://www.wtae.com/news/local/investigations/Couple-denied-mortgage-because-of-gas-drilling/-/12023024/12865512/-/ohf26fz/-/index.html - “Landfill Radiation Testing” - 4/23/2012, KFYR – TV 5, Bismarck, North Dakota:
http://www.kfyrtv.com/Video_News.asp?news=56617 - PBS News Hour: “REPORT AIR DATE: Aug. 7, 2012
North Dakota Boomtown Suffers Growing Pains Trying to Keep Up with Demand”
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec12/boomtown_08-07.html - “Fracking: Untold Stories”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGDwV7oOk2k&feature=youtu.be - “Judge Rules in Favor of Landowners on Seismic Testing” WKBN – TV (27), “Published: 4/20 9:48 pm Updated: 4/20 11:29 pm”
http://www.wkbn.com/content/news/local/story/Judge-Rules-in-Favor-of-Landowners-on-Seismic/FTbCivuKfUuf7OBRUvdDAQ.cspx - “DR. ANTHONY INGRAFFEA AT HAMPTON HIGH 1/12/11 PART 2 “
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPVWY96tIxg
- "Flaring Gas Well - Monroe County, Ohio - July 19, 2012"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z20lt2aFpRs - “Unearthed: The Fracking Façade” YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPIEzSwPwT0
- [Also has video with the article:] “The Fracturing of Pennsylvania,” “By ELIZA GRISWOLD Published: November 17, 2011,” The New York Times Magazine:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/magazine/fracking-amwell-township.html?pagewanted=all - “Drilling Down Regulation Lax as Gas Wells’ Tainted Water Hits Rivers,” “By IAN URBINA Published: February 26, 2011”, The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/us/27gas.html?_r=2&scp=4&sq=urbina&st=cse - “Former gas industry ‘water handler' now a whistleblower,” Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, Colorado, by John Colson, March 10, 2012
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20120310/VALLEYNEWS/120309875 - “North Dakota’s Oil Boom Brings Damage Along With Prosperity” “by Nicholas Kusnetz, Special to ProPublica June 7, 2012, 11:47 a.m.”
http://www.propublica.org/article/the-other-fracking-north-dakotas-oil-boom-brings-damage-along-with-prosperi - “Injection Wells: The Poison Beneath Us” “by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica, June 21, 2012, 9:20 a.m”
http://www.propublica.org/article/injection-wells-the-poison-beneath-us - “D&L faced violations in its past” Published: Mon, January 2, 2012 @ 12:03 a.m., by Karl Henkel, The Vindicator.
http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/jan/02/by-karl-henkel/ - “A Fracking First in Pennsylvania: Cattle Quarantine” “by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, July 2, 2010, 4:41 p.m.”
http://www.propublica.org/article/a-fracking-first-in-pennsylvania-cattle-quarantine - “Burning Questions: Quarantined Cows Give Birth to Dead Calves September 27, 2011 | 1:52 PM” By Susan Phillips
http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2011/09/27/burning-questions-quarantined-cows-give-birth-to-dead-calves/ - “State searching for cause of methane in Franklin Twp. water wells” “By Laura Legere (Staff Writer)
Published: March 15, 2012”
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/state-searching-for-cause-of-methane-in-franklin-twp-water-wells-1.1286095 - “Officials worry about impact of 'fracking' of oil and gas.”By Jim Moscou, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, “A Toxic Spew?” “Aug 19, 2008 8:00 PM EDT”
“Cathy Behr says she won't forget the smell that nearly killed her. An emergency-room nurse in Durango, Colo.'s Mercy Regional Medical Center, Behr was working the April 17 day shift when Clinton Marshall arrived complaining of nausea and headaches. …”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/08/19/a-toxic-spew.html - “People flee as chemical cloud hovers near New Columbia” By Marcia Moore and John Finnerty, August 11, 2012, The Daily Item
http://dailyitem.com/0100_news/x685074962/People-flee-as-chemical-cloud-hovers-near-New-Columbia - “Fracking, Shale Gas and Children’s Health: Toxins and vulnerable populations”, The Daily Item Sat Aug 11, 2012, 08:54 AM ED, “By Barb Harris”
http://preventcancernow.ca/fracking-shale-gas-and-children%E2%80%99s-health-toxins-and-vulnerable-populations - “Will Fracking Impact My Family?” by Laura Grace Weldon, July 27, 2012, Wired.com, http://www.wired.com/geekmom/2012/07/fracking-my-family/
- “Toxic Wastewater Dumped in Streets and Rivers at Night: Gas Profiteers Getting Away With Shocking Environmental Crimes”, Alternet, Aaron Skirboll, August 15, 2012:
“Allan Shipman was found guilty of illegally dumping millions of gallons of natural gas drilling wastewater. But he's part of a much bigger problem.”
http://www.alternet.org/fracking/toxic-wastewater-dumped-streets-and-rivers-night-gas-profiteers-getting-away-shocking?paging=off - “Few studies on air safety near drill sites Studies on oil and gas-related pollution and its health effects complicated by politics, variables” By Bobby Magill, Coloradoan.com, 9:38 PM, Aug 11, 2012: http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20120811/NEWS01/308110024/Few-studies-air-safety-near-drill-sites?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CNews%7Cp&nclick_check=1
- “Fracking Hazards Obscured in Failure to Disclose Wells” Bloomberg, “By Benjamin Haas, Jim Polson, Phil Kuntz and Ben Elgin - Aug 14, 2012 6:26 PM ET”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-14/fracking-hazards-obscured-in-failure-to-disclose-wells.html - “Last updated: August 1, 2012 6:38 p.m. - Gas drilling research suffers from lack of funding KEVIN BEGOS | Associated Press” journalgazette.net, The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, IN:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120801/APA/1208010939 - “How Fracking Disposal Wells Are Causing Earthquakes in Dallas-Fort Worth August 6, 2012 | 2:52 PM By Terrence Henry “
http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2012/08/06/how-fracking-disposal-wells-are-causing-earthquakes-in-dallas-fort-worth/
- “Ten Problems with New York’s Shale Gas Drilling Plan,” by Environmental Working Group and Physicians, Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy, June 13, 2012:
http://static.ewg.org/pdf/Top-Ten-NY-Drilling-Problems.pdf - [Has link to PDF for full article:] “Original Research, Analysis , Peer Reviewed
Impacts of Gas Drilling on Human and Animal Health- NEW SOLUTIONS, Vol. 22(1) 51-77, 2012 , Baywood Publishing Co., Inc. Michelle Bamberger, Robert E. Oswald “
http://psehealthyenergy.net/Impacts_of_Gas_Drilling_on_Human_and_Animal_Health - [GAO Report:] “Drinking Water Safeguards Are Not Preventing Contamination From Injected Oil and Gas Wastes RCED-89-97, Jul 5, 1989” http://www.gao.gov/products/RCED-89-97
- “Cracks in the Façade …” Dusty Horwitt, Senior Counsel, Environmental Working Group, August 3, 2011: http://static.ewg.org/reports/2011/fracking/cracks_in_the_facade.pdf
- Letter: PSE (Physicians Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy), September 15, 2011:
http://www.psehealthyenergy.org/data/Sign_on_letter_Final.pdf - Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Water and Air: “List of the Harmed”