NC, Forget About Fracking!
- by: Susan V
- recipient: North Carolina Legislature
The first is a proposal by Mecklenburg Senator Rucho, who wants fracking to go ahead full speed with no holds barred. The other comes from McDowell Representative Gillespie, who also wants fracking to be a state industry, but only after some safety issues are worked out first.
But is that it? After over a century of devastation to humans, wildlife, the environment and global peace, must we begin yet another era of fossil fuel destruction?
Our legislators are ignoring a third choice: investing in non-fossil fuel energy alternatives.
Tell NC lawmakers to put alternative energy options on the table and forget about fracking!
We, the undersigned, request that our lawmakers give serious consideration to energy options other than fossil fuels.
We ask that, rather than allowing the oil industry and other big businesses to continue to dominate our government and our planet, North Carolina instead lead the way in alternative energy production.
Though supporters of fracking claim water pollution problems have been worked out through recycling of fracking wastewater, they are ignoring latest studies indicating that fracking chemicals can travel though rock layers and reach groundwater much sooner than was previously expected, as well as results from EPA testing, confirming contamination of water in PA from nearby gas drilling (see petition photo).
The website for Water Defense provides plenty of discussion about tactics being used to silence opposition to and evidence of the risks of fracking, and we ask that NC lawmakers consider facts not tainted by industry influence before deciding to support fracking in NC over fossil fuel alternatives (see https://www.waterdefense.org/news).
While NC and others claim to support alternative options, they also claim these sources are not ready to meet our needs, thus, they insist a fossil fuel "bridge" is necessary for the transition. However, says Water Defense, "The truth is that clean energy is already viable and cost competitive. 100 percent of the world's energy needs could be met by clean energy by as early as 2030."
The organization also points out that between 2002 and 2008, the fossil fuels industry received $72 billion, six times the amount received by clean energy. Certainly if that trend were reversed, the dream of a true clean energy source could be realized even sooner.
"The barriers to a renewable economy aren't economic or technical, Water Defense concludes, "They're political."
Earth Justice also support this assertion:
http://earthjustice.org/blog/2012-may/the-dirty-truth-about-all-of-the-above-energy
We agree, and therefore we join with Water Defense in suggesting our lawmakers do the following:
Shift subsidies from fossil fuels to clean energy
Ban all forms of extreme energy, including deepwater drilling, tar sands extraction, fracking, and mountaintop removal mining
Put a price on carbon
Support market-based incentives for clean energy investment
Thank you for you attention to this very important request.
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