I have just received an email describing a national mobilization against fracking, which is to take place in Washington D.C. on Saturday, July 28, where they will make three demands for Congress to take action:
• Stop dangerous fracking.
• Close seven loopholes that exempt the oil and gas industry from parts of the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Air Act.
• Implement a pathway toward 100 percent clean renewable energy.
Celebrities, community groups and 100 nationwide organizations will join forces to promote an end to the fracking that pollutes water supplies, and harms public health, air quality and the climate.
Before hearing about this event, our Environmental Priorities Network made plans to present a public forum dealing with this important subject on Saturday, Sept. 29, 9:30 to 1 o’clock, at the Pacific Unitarian Church, 5621 Montemalaga Dr., Rancho Palos Verdes.
We are working on lining up informed speakers to encourage action to protect our communities from the dangers of fracking.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves drilling a pipe horizontally into an underground oil- or gas- bearing formation and pumping a slurry into it. Millions of gallons of water, sand and numerous chemicals are injected into drilling wells under very high pressure to fragment the shale and open fissures to release natural gas or oil. Recently this process has been used more frequently to tap oil and gas reserves once considered too costly to extract. While initially regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA oversight was terminated by a provision of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, known as the “Halliburton Loophole.” The dangerous environmental impacts of fracking continue unchecked by safety regulations or government oversight, and they are causing increasing public concern. The huge volumes of chemical-laden water used in fracking can contaminate local water tables and streams, and can bring high levels of radioactivity to the surface.
Residents near these drilling sites have reported that gas has migrated into their mains, a phenomenon depicted in the documentary “Gasland”when water from kitchen faucets bursts into flame. One well can be fracked 18 times, and each time requires between one and eight million gallons of water, which are transported by hundreds of water haulers.
Hydraulic fracturing technology currently uses a combination of over 600 possibly toxic chemicals to fracture rock formations. Leaked fracking fluids impacting family water supplies are a significant concern, especially because not all of the chemicals and their health impacts have been disclosed to the public by the gas companies.
Across the nation, fracking has raised concerns about its links to contaminated groundwater, greenhouse gas emissions, earthquakes and adverse health effects. The EPA has reported that diesel oil is used in the process. Its benzene, toluene, and other ingredients are hazardous to human health.
Locally, the oil company in charge of the Baldwin Hills Oil Field, is proposing to start “horizontal hydraulic fracturing” that would allow it to drill outside of the perimeter of the oil field under the homes of 150,000 people.
Some of these are residents of Culver City. I attended last Monday’s City Council meeting where 24 persons spoke to urge the Council to take action against fracking.
The City Council unanimously passed the following resolution:
“The City of Culver City urges Gov. Jerry Brown and the California State Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), to immediately place a moratorium ban on hydraulic fracturing and on the disposal of fracking wastewater by injection wells until DOGGR takes all necessary and appropriate actions to adopt, implement and enforce comprehensive regulations concerning the practice of fracking that will ensure that public health and safety and the environment will be adequately protected.”
To find out what we all can do to protect public health and the environment, put Saturday, Sept. 29, on your calendars, and be sure to attend the “Can We Stop the Frack Attack?” public forum. Food and drink will be provided. You may visit six tables in the hall before and after the speakers to learn about the programs of local environmental groups. Admission is free, but voluntary contributions are appreciated.
Co-sponsors of this event are the PUC Green Sanctuary Committee and the South Coast Interfaith Council.
To request a table at this event or for any other information, Lillian Light may be contacted at lklight@verizon.net
