ANTI-FRACKING PLEDGE OF RESISTANCE

The Anti-Fracking Pledge of Resistance
By adding my name to the list below, I publicly pledge to take part in a diversity of effective acts of resistance to stop the use of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, to extract oil and gas according to the following points of unity. We define "Resistance" as a shared commitment to fight fracking by means that do not cause physical injury.

Cross posted: http://earthfirstnews.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/occupy-well-street-ows-stands-in-solidarity-fighting-extraction/

Occupy Well Street [OWS Stands in Solidarity Fighting Extraction]

17MAY

New York, NY- May 12-

Occupy Wall Street  partnered with Occupy Well Street, a regional, direct action oriented anti-fracking group, and other city and regional environmental groups to voice resistance to the Spectra Energy Natural Gas Pipeline and the issues associated with hydraulic fracturing. A broad coalition of groups were present, including New York’s Sane Energy Project, Reverend Billy, OWS’s Environmental Solidarity Group, Times Up, Eco-Buddies, and Earth First!. Colorful and joyful, many protesters arrived in a costumed bike brigade and participated in some clown trainings on Pier 54, the proposed entry point for the pipeline. Some of the groups present say they were acting in solidarity with a day of action called for May 19^th by Occupy Well Street.

There was unity in the broad coalition in the message that those opposed to the Spectra Pipeline will not compromise in protecting the safety of their communities and will pursue a variety of strategies to see this project ended. “The Spectra Pipeline isn’t being built in a vacuum,” said a protestor affiliated with Occupy Well Street. “There is a natural gas boom in our region right now that’s threatening our rivers, our homes and the eco-systems that we rely on. We stand in solidarity with all the groups resisting fracking and the transportation infrastructure that will allow the natural gas industry to expand.”

The Spectra Pipeline is a 16 mile natural gas pipeline that will run through Jersey City, Hoboken, and Bayonne under the Hudson River to New York City’s West Village. Spectra Energy claims that it will provide necessary natural gas for New York City and surrounding areas. Activist groups opposed to the pipeline claim that inadequate safety standards, a history of accidents and the fact that the gas will be provided by hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale are unacceptable risks for the highly populated areas the pipeline will pass through. There have been numerous protests at Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) hearings throughout the environmental review process. 

Opposition to the Spectra Pipeline is part of a growing movement in the region to oppose hydraulic fracturing, a process in which millions of gallons of mixed sand, chemicals and water are pumped more than 7000 feet underground to crack the shale formation and ease natural gas extraction. Occupy Well Street and other community groups claim that the process is a threat to aquifers and surface water supplies throughout the extent of the region and in all areas downstream. The Marcellus Shale, which extends 600 miles from southern New York through West Virginia, is slated to be the next big natural gas play in the Untied States, and corporations are ramping up production.

Occupy Well St. and related groups have been organizing protests at points of production and expect it to be a busy summer. “The Round River Rendezvous, the national Earth First! gathering, will be out here this summer,” says an activist asking to be called Pitchfork, “That, and the things that come out of it, will give us a lot of momentum in the area.” May 19^th is hoped to be another stepping stone towards a stronger movement against extraction throughout Appalachia. Activists expect a final environmental review hearing from FERC on the Spectra Pipeline in June.

 For more information, visit OWS Stop Fracking.

May 19th Action Alerts!

Raleigh:

http://croatanearthfirst.com/2012/04/27/march-against-fracking-saturday-may-19-7/

Ohio:

http://ohiofracktion.com/2012/05/16/action-alert-sermon-at-vienna-township-injection-well-saturday-may-19th/

Action Alert: Sermon at Vienna Township Injection Well, Saturday May 19th.

Northeastern PA:

Contact susquehannaearthfirst [at] gmail [dot] com for carpool instructions leaving from the Lycoming/Columbia County region at 10am.

May 19th Day of Direct Action Against Fracking

Occupy Well Streeters protesting a frack water withdrawal site in Berwick, PA on earth day 2012.

On Saturday, May 19th, participants in the Occupy Well Street campaign against
fracking are calling for a Day of Direct Action Against Extraction. We invite
all who are opposed to the widespread use of energy extraction methods such as
hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, mountaintop removal coal mining, and tar
sands oil distillation to take creative, public direct action at local or
regional points of production in these industries. All who participate are
encouraged to employ a wide spectrum of tactics that appeal to their experience
and comfort level, such as handing out literature, arranging speaking events,
orchestrating colorful street theater, or taking up space by creative means.

Why a Day of Action? We have many reasons: We are tired of our communities
being divided and conquered by gas corporations in pursuit of ever higher
profits. The water that flows through our bioregion is being sold off for
fracking as fast as those granted responsibility for our rivers and watersheds
can rubber stamp withdrawal permits. Despite promises of gas drilling and
fracking operations creating a surplus of local and regional jobs, our region
is teeming with highly paid out of state rigworkers, engineers and other
“specialists”, while the local jobs largely consist of temporary truck
driving and dangerous “roustabout” positions. We are being lied to and
manipulated, but we refuse to be passive participants in these destructive
activities.

While there are many differences between fracking, mountaintop removal coal
mining and the tar sands megaprojects, they are all too similar in their
effects on the health of human and animal communities. Countless trucks clog
the roads, the air fills with pollutants, the water becomes undrinkable, land
and forests are cleared, and communities suffer from conflict and illness.

One of the main goals of the Occupy Well Street campaign is to create
solidarity among all those resisting energy extraction. Our communities may be
separated geographically, but voices and actions can offer effective support
between regions and allow us to continue sustaining our struggles against
extraction. We must communicate within and between movements, share information
and knowledge, and support each others' efforts in order to grow and evolve.

The last place the gas companies want concerned community members to show up is
at their fracking sites, pipeline projects, compressor stations, water
withdrawal sites, and other important facilities. The points of production are
where the physical damage occurs, and we invite you to join us in throwing a
wrench in the gears on May 19th!


Groups or individuals participating in the Day of Action are invited to send
articles, after action reports, photographs or press releases from their events
to occupywellstreet (at) riseup.net. Submissions will be posted on
http://www.owsstopfracking.org/


What have participants in the Occupy Well Street campaign been up to? Groups
have picketed active fracking sites, blocked industry truck traffic, drawn
attention to water withdrawal sites hidden in plain sight, held industry
analysts and “reporters” accountable in public meetings, and distributed
literature at pro-industry events. Occupy Well Street is committed to finding
common ground between all those fighting extraction industries, and networking
is ongoing. Stay tuned for more news soon!

Blue Ridge Earth First! blockading Dominion Energy to protest mountaintop removal coal mining in 2008.

Anti-Extraction Earth Day Picnic at Water Withdrawal Site in NEPA!

On Sunday, April 22 at 11am, participants in the Occupy Well Street campaign will be holding a picnic at the fracking water withdrawal site on the Susquehanna River in Berwick, PA. 

If corporations think they can take over our favorite lunch spots and use them to extract millions of gallons a day of clean water from the Susquehanna to expand their fracking operations, they've got another thing coming.

We aim to bring a delicious presence to this WATER extraction site--itself no different in its destructive consequences for health and environment than a fracking site, a mountaintop removal coal mine or a tar sands distillation operation.

Resource extraction is resource extraction.

At the end of the day they all have the same negative effects on both human communities and wildlife ecosystems.

Bring yourself, your friends, and your lunch or some snacks, Bring your musical instruments! BRING YOUR VOICES AND YOUR COMMITMENT TO CLEAN WATER!

Let's show these companies that we all agree on the value of a hearty lunch... and the insanity of withdrawing perfectly clean water from our river just to pollute it, use it to make huge profits for the few, and inject it underground--forever!

Please contact occupywellstreet@riseup.net if you have any questions.

See you there!

Make Our Voices Heard - Occupy Well Street in Bloomsburg, PA This Thursday!

Dear citizens of northeast central Pennsylvania, residents of Columbia County, activists with Occupy Well Street, committed environmentalists and fracktivists, and local "shalers."


Please join us March 29th, 7pm, McCormick 2303, Bloomsburg University, for a debate concerning the implications of natural gas drilling for Pennsylvanians.

Dr. Anthony R. Ingraffea will be speaking in a debate panel with Tom Shepstone of Energy In Depth, Gene Pine and Seth Pelepko of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental “Protection."  The debate will offer an excellent opportunity for questions and observations concerning natural gas extraction - including the opportunity for respectful opposition.  Please come and make your voice heard.


Your voice is important - and the Green Campus Initiative has not featured the voices of local citizens - the people most impacted by drilling.

Our aim is to raise local awareness of the local, regional, national and global implications of hydraulic fracturing--a gas extraction process that endangers not only property, community, and health - but life itself  in virtue of the massive amounts of irrecoverable water required to frack and the collateral pollution it produces.

Despite its rather uninformative name, Energy In Depth - and its representatives - operates as a propaganda machine for the fracking industry.


This is not what we want for our community!


Join us outside the panel room at 6:15pm as we present our side of the story, and come prepared to share yours!  We also ask that concerned residents of the Marcellus Shale region attend this panel prepared to ask tough questions of the panelists, and to point out the deception and lack of protection from the PA-DEP.


Contact occupywellstreet (at) riseup (dot) net for any questions.

A New Site For Shale Gas Industry Whistleblowers

Use a personal computer (not your company's) to access the link below:
https://honestappalachia.org/

Honest Appalachia is designed to help whistleblowers anonymously leak documents to journalists and the public. The website hopes to serve a vital need in Appalachia, by inspiring whistleblowers to make critical information available to an informed citizenry.

In addition, Honest Appalachia hopes to serve as a replicable model for similar projects elsewhere in the United States and around the world. We are willing to offer our assistance to those working on similar projects. We believe that our model can change the way government and industry operate. We believe our model will help in the perennial effort to keep our politicians, our government agencies and our corporations honest.

Honest Appalachia was developed by a group of freelance journalists, transparency activists and computer programmers from Appalachia and beyond. It seeks to adhere to a strict journalistic ethic, maintaining objectivity and nonpartisanship in its activities.

The project is funded by a grant from the Sunlight Foundation, a government transparency watchdog based in Washington D.C, as well as by private donations.

For general inquiries: honestappalachia@gmail.com

For those who wish to discuss our submission protocol or other sensitive information: honestappalachia@riseup.net