A press release from the Green Party of Pennsylvania, which supports banning hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking) for natural gas and organized statewide protests against the practice on Earth Day:
Last week, Pittsburgh City Council voted to ban hydrofracturing, or
“fracking” within city limits. Fracking is a controversial method of
natural gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale formation that uses large
volumes of water and severely pollutes it in the process. There have been
recent incidents of water contamination related to gas extraction in
Northeastern Pennsylvania, and sewage treatment for the Monongahela River
has been compromised by the dumping of fracking fluid leading to foul
smelling and tasting water downstream in Pittsburgh.
“Congratulations to Pittsburgh for doing the right thing,” said Jay Sweeney,
a member of the Green Party and a Marcellus Shale activist. Sweeney, who
ran for State Representative in the 111th District, made gas drilling a key
issue in his campaign. “Now we need the rest of the state to follow suit,”
he added. “A moratorium [as opposed to an outright ban] is a compromise.”
The ordinance was based on language provided by the Community Environmental
Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), a nonprofit organization focused on community
rights. CELDF was founded by Thomas Linzey, who ran for Attorney General
under the Green Party banner in 2000.
“The controversy around Marcellus Shale drilling will not go away until the
drilling stops,” said Mel Packer, a member of the Green Party of Allegheny
County. “There is plenty of evidence from across western states, where it
has been going on much longer, that the process brings massive and lasting
environmental degradation and destruction.” Packer recently emceed a
protest against gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale, at which 500
community residents and two Pittsburgh City Council members were in
attendance. The rally was organized by Marcellus Protest
(http://www.marcellusprotest.org/).
The Green Party of Pennsylvania passed a resolution in October 2008 calling
for a statewide ban on gas drilling, particularly on public lands. The
party also supports a severance tax on gas extraction; Governor-Elect Tom
Corbett is on record as being totally opposed to any tax on the gas
industry.
The Green Party of Pennsylvania is an independent political party that
stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. The Green Party of
Pennsylvania stands for grassroots democracy, social justice, nonviolence,
and ecology.
Green Party of PA Statement on Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale
http://www.gpofpa.org/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=17
Green Party supports residents of Dimock, October 2010
http://www.gpofpa.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=330
Greens Call for and End to Gas Drilling, June 2010
http://www.gpofpa.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=313
Greens Say No More New Drilling, May 2010
http://www.gpofpa.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=307
PA Statewide Earth Day Protest, April 2010
http://www.gpofpa.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=303
Green Party Notes Pro-Drilling Stance of Shale Panel, January 2010
http://www.gpofpa.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=280
GPPA Calls for Resignation of DEP head John Hanger, April 2009
http://www.gpofpa.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=216
Green Party Calls on DEP to Regulate Gas Drillers, December 2008
http://www.gpofpa.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=189
Green Party Condemns Natural Gas Procedure, October 2008
http://www.gpofpa.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=178
Der Spiegel with a good story in English on the Green Party.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,729490,00.html
The Green Party’s Howie Hawkins in New York in the 2010 Governor race did a fine job on educating voters about this issue.
In other Green Party news,
Christian Science Monitor reporting tonight the Green Party may leave their governing coalition in Ireland. The Green Party coalition government in Ireland has endured a rought three years..
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/1122/Ireland-confronts-political-mutiny-in-wake-of-bailout
Back in October, our township adopted an ordinance banning the disposal of waste products from the hydrofracturing process of natural gas extraction within the township.
@2
Fracking doesn’t poison the water supply. In West Virginia, where fracking is actually a big issue, there hasn’t been a single case of contaminated water from fracking.
The process uses 99% sand and 1% other chemicals. Despite the scare tactics contained in the above article, the chemicals used in fracking are made available.
It isn’t what they put into the ground that could contaminate water sources. The process goes well below the water table. It is the water that comes out after the process that must be cleaned and filtered.
I have no problems with making sure these companies are disposing of the dirty fracking water. However, let’s quite acting like this is a major contaminate of our water.
Nice to see this happen. Hopefully it spreads around PA.
getting cheap, local petroleum while poisoning our water supply ……… what a trade off.
Where’s Erin Brockovich? [Barstow, California]
Related:
Via http://wilderside.wordpress.com/
An article from Syracuse about fracking in New York state and how the Greens were the only party to address that problem sufficiently in 2010:
http://www.dailyorange.com/opinion/hydrofracking-presents-short-term-solution-with-long-term-consequences-1.1778216