Californians Show Strong Opposition to Fracking at Today’s State of the State Address

 

Crowd of protesters urges Governor Brown to halt fracking

 

 

Sacramento, Calif. (January 22, 2014)—About 200 concerned Californians gathered outside the Capitol building today to implore Governor Brown to mitigate the state’s drought by halting the water-intensive drilling technique called fracking (hydraulic fracturing), and other extreme oil extraction methods.

The protest, which took place while the governor gave his State of the State Address before a joint session of the California Legislature, represented Californians from across the state and was organized by 350.org, California State Grange, Center for Biological Diversity, Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment, CREDO, Food & Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Oil Change International, and other members of the statewide coalition Californians Against Fracking.

While the protest took place on the lawn of the Capitol building, activists from Oil Change International and 350.org deployed a three-story banner across from the State House with the message: “Governor Brown: Climate Leaders Don’t Frack. Ban Fracking Now.” (See photos from this morning’s event here: http://fwwat.ch/CASOTSfrackprotest)

“By allowing fracking to happen in California, Jerry Brown’s actions are in direct conflict with his rhetoric today on water conservation and climate change,” said Food & Water Watch California Director Adam Scow. “Brown’s current water and energy policies mismanage the people of California’s water supply, and this – not his ‘green’ talk – will be what defines his legacy.”

“California is facing both a water crisis and a climate crisis, both of which would be made worse by fracking,” said Hollin Kretzmann, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Governor Brown has a huge opportunity to tackle both these challenges by banning fracking. A ban would prove he is a strong leader when it comes to protecting Californians.”

“With the recent drought declaration, the writing is now truly on the wall. It’s far past time for Governor Brown to protect our state’s climate and precious water resources by banning fracking today,” said David Turnbull, Campaigns Director of Oil Change International.

“Having just declared a drought emergency, it’s time for Governor Brown to face the facts and recognize that digging up and burning California’s reserves of dirty shale oil is only going to make this crisis worse,” said Ross Hammond, senior campaigner, Friends of the Earth.

“It’s hypocritical for Governor Brown to ask Californians to cut their personal water usage while pushing a plan that would allow the fracking industry to massively increase the amount of water it consumes and contaminates,” said Zack Malitz, CREDO’s Campaign Manager. “If Governor Brown moves forward with his fracking plan, he’ll be forcing farmers and ranchers to compete with the fracking industry for water while exacerbating climate change and making California even more vulnerable to extreme drought in the future.”

“The people most negatively affected by both the recent drought and fracking are low income communities of color in California’s Central Valley,” said Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment Senior Attorney Sofia Parino. “We need a leader who can both protect natural resources and be a champion for all communities. Governor Brown can do that by stopping fracking now.”

“From the record dry temperatures to the wildfires across the state, the climate crisis is confronting the state every day. Governor Brown needs to live up to his legacy as a climate leader and ban fracking now,” said fracking campaigner Linda Capato at 350.org.

Oil companies are gearing up to frack large reservoirs of unconventional shale oil in the Monterey Shale. Fracking uses large volumes of water mixed with dangerous chemicals to blast open rock formations and release oil and gas. Fracking releases large amounts of methane, a dangerously potent greenhouse gas. Rather than protecting our state, rules recently proposed by state officials will actually open the door to fracking, further endangering California’s air, water, wildlife, public health and climate.

Members of Californians Against Fracking have protested at Governor Brown’s speaking engagements around the state to call attention to the governor’s failure to take meaningful action against the threats of fracking. Since the launch of Californians Against Fracking in May of 2013, more than 200,000 petitions have been signed urging Governor Brown to ban fracking in California. Farmers, environmental justice groups, public health advocates, local elected officials, students, celebrities and many others are calling on Governor Brown to halt fracking in California. Most recently, on January 14, Californians Against Fracking delivered over 100,000 public comments denouncing Governor Brown’s fracking regulations and calling for a ban on fracking.

 

San Francisco Supervisors Urge Halt to Fracking in California

Photo © Karen McLain Evening Light | Design by Anne Novak for ProtectMustangs.org

Photo © Karen McLain Evening Light | Design by Anne Novak for ProtectMustangs.org

Californians Against Fracking Applauds Resolution Citing Fracking Pollution’s Threat to State’s Air, Water, Progress on Climate Change

SAN FRANCISCO (January 14, 2014)— The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today approved a measure urging a halt to hydraulic fracturing in California because of fracking’s threats to the state’s air, water and efforts to fight dangerous climate change.

The resolution, which was introduced by Supervisor David Chiu and passed unanimously, was applauded by 350 Bay Area, Center for Biological Diversity, CREDO, Food & Water Watch, Friends of the Earth and other members of Californians Against Fracking, a statewide coalition working to ban fracking, an inherently harmful form of oil and gas extraction that endangers California’s air, water, wildlife, climate and public health.

“We are deeply concerned about the threats fracking poses to California’s water, our coastal environment, and the well-being of people across the state, so the Board of Supervisors is urging a halt to this practice,” said Supervisor Chiu. “As California studies the risks of dangerous forms of oil and gas production, it would be wise to follow New York’s lead and halt fracking.”

“We congratulate Supervisor Chiu and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for taking a stand against fracking pollution’s threat to California,” said Hollin Kretzmann, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. “This resolution sends a strong message to Governor Brown that we need an immediate halt to this inherently dangerous practice, which could undermine California’s fight against climate change and do irreparable damage to the air we breathe and the water we drink.”

San Francisco’s resolution follows an Associated Press investigation that confirmed cases of water contamination from oil and gas drilling in four other states where fracking has boomed. Other local jurisdictions in California have weighed in on the issue of fracking, calling for greater regulation, bans or moratoriums, including Marin County, Santa Cruz County, Ventura County and Santa Barbara County.

“The oil industry and their allies in Sacramento would like us to believe that weak regulations can protect California from the dangers of fracking but we know that the only safe path is to halt this risky practice all together,” said Ross Hammond of Friends of the Earth. “The San Francisco Board of Supervisors should be applauded for standing up and doing the right thing.”

Fracking uses huge volumes of water mixed with dangerous chemicals to blast open rock formations and release oil and gas. Fracking releases large amounts of methane, a dangerously potent greenhouse gas.

The controversial technique has been used in hundreds and perhaps thousands of California oil and gas wells without regulation. Rules recently proposed by state officials would do little to safeguard California’s air, water, wildlife and public health from the pollution generated by this inherently dangerous technique.

Oil companies are gearing up to frack large reservoirs of unconventional shale oil in the Monterey Shale. The area is home to some of the state’s most productive farmland, critical water sources, important wildlife habitat and dozens of towns and cities from the Salinas Valley to the Los Angeles Basin.

Californians Against Fracking is a coalition of more than 150 environmental, consumer, business, faith, health, agriculture, labor, political, and environmental justice organizations working to win a statewide ban on fracking in California. For more information, visit: www.CaliforniansAgainstFracking.org