Stop Fracking, Heal the Planet

 

A Special Guest Commentary by Renowned Activist Ted Glick

Future Hope column, July 17, 2012

Stop Fracking, Heal the Planet

By Ted Glick

Mark Ruffalo and Josh Fox have just released a short video -- Stop the Frack Attack -- about why it is so important for people to come to Washington, D.C. on July 28 to take part in the “Stop the Frack Attack” demonstration.  

They're right! It is! Join them!

Mark and Josh talk about two major reasons to come to DC and why we need to move as rapidly as possible away from ALL fossil fuels. It is especially urgent to get off the extremist-produced, especially dangerous energy like fracked gas, oil from the tar sands, the Arctic and deep-water offshore drilling, and mountaintop-removed coal.

Extreme energy will only make our extreme weather crisis worse. We're still in for many years of it even if we end the extremist energy push, but stopping that push would be a huge step forward toward the clean, jobs-creating, renewable energy future completely possible. And that hopeful future can happen much more quickly than most people think, if we get serious.

July 28th can be a very big marker in our continuing, urgent campaign for a renewable energy future. Thousands are already signed up, and the momentum continues to build.

July 28th can inject a different view of our energy future into the Presidential and other election debates going on in this Presidential election year. It will put candidates on notice who are running for office at all levels, from city councils in places where fracking is threatened or is happening up to the Presidency, that the movement against fracking is growing stronger and getting more organized. It will be a public manifestation of the broad support among the American people for wind, solar and other renewable energy sources to replace dirty and polluting fossil fuels.

And July 28th, it appears, is going to be a launching pad for stepped-up activity against fracking in the short term. Mark and Josh announce plans for a major action in New York August 25-27, and I know that plans are underway for a major action in September in Philadelphia, Pa. several weeks later outside a location where the gas industry is gathering for an annual conference.

Usually you never know exactly when, where and how an historic movement for badly-needed change is going to come about. But it sure looks like we're on the verge of one on this issue. Let's make it so!

Ted Glick is the National Policy Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. Past writings and other information can be found athttp://tedglick.com, and he can be followed at twitter at http://twitter.com/jtglick.