Attention all residents against drinking water contamination from fracking for natural gas--this is the event you won't want to miss--here's why:
Ban Fracking at Municipal Level Conference
Sept. 17th 10am - 4pm
Genetti Hotel & Suites, Terrace Room
200 West 4th Street
Williamsport, PA 17701
For more info contac: info@celdf.org (717) 498-0054
1. CELDF (Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund) will be there, presenting on how residents can fight fracking by banning it from their communities on a state constitutional basis.
2. Pittsburgh City Councilman, Doug Shields, who led the push for Pittsburgh's new ban on fracking will be there to tell us how he did it
3. This is anticipated to be a huge event, with residents and activists from all over PA and other states coming together social networking and information sharing--this is how grass roots movements really get their legs!
If we're going to defend our way of life and stop these corporate interests from destroying our land, our drinking water, and our health and property values with it, IT IS TIME TO MAKE IT A PRIORITY TO TAKE ACTION.
Please mark your calendars and pass this link around. Anyone interested in car pooling to Williamsport can contact me at neighborsofeaston@gmail.com
Let's DO this!
Here are latest articles on fracking to bring you up-to-date on the sham this conquest is (aside from the drinking water contamination nightmare that it is)--get ready for another financial bubble to burst:
New Study Cuts Marcellus Job Creation in Half
U.S. Geological Survey Cuts Estimates on Shale Gas Reserves by 80%
And a new commission is being launched to take in public input on fracking--scroll to the end for action to take:
For Immediate ReleaseAugust 30, 2011
Contacts:
Chris Lilienthal, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center , 717-255-7156 or 717-829-4823, lilienthal@pennbpc.org
Maya K. van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, 215 369 1188 ext 102 (cell and office), keepermaya@delawareriverkeeper.org
New Commission to Gather Citizen Input
on Marcellus Drilling
HARRISBURG, PA (August 30, 2011) — A new commission launching this week will give the citizens of Pennsylvania an opportunity to tell their side of the story about drilling in the Marcellus Shale.
Former state Representatives Carole Rubley and Dan Surra will co-chair the Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission, which will hold hearings across Pennsylvania to gather citizen perspectives on the Marcellus Shale and produce a final report for policymakers. The first of five hearings will take place Wednesday in Southwestern Pennsylvania (see full schedule of hearings below).
“Marcellus Shale development will have a huge impact on our Commonwealth and it is critical that we get it right,” Surra said. “This commission will give citizens an opportunity to add their voice and bring some necessary balance to this critical debate.”
“The Commission will give the people of Pennsylvania an opportunity to weigh in on this important issue,” said Rubley. “Their input should inform state policies to ensure gas drilling is conducted in a responsible manner.”
Earlier this year, Governor Tom Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, heavy with industry representatives, produced a report and recommendations on shale drilling. The Citizens Commission is intended to supplement that work and delve deeper into a variety of issues, including water and air quality, social impacts of gas drilling, the drilling tax, and impacts outside Marcellus communities.
“The unbalanced makeup of Corbett’s Commission was clear in the report – it failed to accurately represent the science, the facts and the experiences of the experts and citizens of Pennsylvania and elsewhere who know the ramifications of gas drilling first hand” said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper and appointed member of the Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission. “The goal of this Commission is to give everyone who wants to share information and testimony a fair and equal opportunity to be heard, and to provide meaningful guidance to the decisionmakers of Pennsylvania,” van Rossum added.
“The Governor’s commission told part of the story,” said Thomas Au, of the Sierra Club, Pennsylvania Chapter. “The citizens of Pennsylvania have a different story to tell.”
The Citizens Commission was formed by eight leading civic and environmental organizations to give Pennsylvanians living with drilling in their backyard a place to speak out and recommend action.
The Commission will hold five hearings across Pennsylvania in August and September. Each hearing will be held from 6-9 p.m., with the first hour reserved for expert testimony and the remaining two for public input.
In early October, the Commission will produce a report documenting the opinions and concerns of citizens to be delivered to Governor Corbett and the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
The hearing schedule is:
Southwestern PennsylvaniaAug. 31, 2011, 6-9 pm: South Fayette Middle School, 3640 Old Oakdale Rd., McDonald, Pa
Southeastern PennsylvaniaSept. 6, 2011, 6-9 pm: The Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Northeastern Pennsylvania
Sept. 13, 2011, 6-9 pm: Lycoming College, Academic Center on Mulberry Street, Room D001, Lower Level, Williamsport, Pa.
Sept. 13, 2011, 6-9 pm: Lycoming College, Academic Center on Mulberry Street, Room D001, Lower Level, Williamsport, Pa.
Sept. 14, 2011, 6-9 pm: Wysox Volunteer Fire Company, P.O. Box 2, Lake Rd., Wysox, Pa.
Central PennsylvaniaWeek of Sept. 18, 2011, Harrisburg, Pa. (Details TBA)
Citizens can sign up to participate at these hearings at the Commission’s web site: http://citizensmarcellusshale.com or by calling Stephanie Frank at 717-255-7181
SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS: Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, Clean Water Action, Keystone Progress, League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, Penn Environment, Sierra Club, Pennsylvania Chapter, and the CLEAR Coalition.
The Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission was formed by eight civic and environmental organizations in Pennsylvania to assess the impacts, both positive and negative, of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale and to identify the steps needed to ensure drilling occurs in a responsible manner. Learn more:http://citizensmarcellusshale.com.
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3 comments:
Noel,
I spoke with Stacey Schmader at CELDF yesterday. The deadline for registering has been extended from Sept 2nd to Sept 9th.
If it is helpful I can forward the email link to the RSVP form for those interested.
Everyone speaking at this event is top notch. It would be of great help to anyone wanting to be well versed on whats happening all around us.
Anbody else notice now that Exxon/Mobil and the big petroleum boys are buying up the leases of the smaller drillers that we are seeing a PR blitz of prime time commercials telling us how safe fracking is?
There are so many obfuscations in these ads you can't even count them. So why, if this is so safe, do they need to tell us about how safe it is every ten minutes?
DRL
in the last two weeks, there was a group of men going around the west ward asking people to see one of their gas bills to see if they qualify for a discount.
i think this conference is way overdue. i'd like to see the banning spread across pennsy.
~carrie
thanks for the info, carrie. it's important for the West Ward Neighborhood Partnership to know that, and Dennis works for them.
Dennis--please do send the link for registration and I'll add it to this post!
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