I covered the inauguration of the new governor of Pennsylvania last week. And even though he is a Democrat replacing a Republican, they are both pro-fracking. Anti-fracking forces from across the state and some supporters from beyond held some very creative protests at the ceremony and later at the Governor's mansion, where Tom Wolf and his wife welcomed well-wishers, and a young lady dressed up as Marie Antoinette offered him cupcakes with anti-fracking messages stuck on top. That's because Wolf had said that he supported fracking but wanted to introduce a tax on the gas extracted that he would use to support education -- "to have my cake and eat it, too." Marie Antoinette -- aka Maria Kretschmann, who's fighting to save her family's organic farm from a nearby proposed polluting gas compressor station -- told the guv she thought he was very insensitive to joke about something that's such a threat to her family and many others.
Other visitors to the mansion were Penni Lechner and her 9-year-old daughter Madison. They are surrounded in their home in Butler, PA, by 25 fracking wells and have suffered all sorts of nasty health problems like headaches and rashes. They can't drink the water and their air, based on the readings of an air monitor, is often in the hazardous range. Madison told Gov. Wolf some of their problems, and he promised to set up a meeting with them, which, more than a week later, hasn't happened yet. Click here for my segment on Between the Lines, featuring Penni and the Delaware Riverkeeper, who makes the links on the impacts of fracking on both local communities and climate change. Based on methane leakage from drill pads, pipelines and other infrastructure, some studies show gas drilling could produce more greenhouse gases than coal.
Pennsylvanians Against Fracking held a spirited march around the Capitol (see photo above) and then stood in the so-called "free speech zone" behind the bleachers where people were watching the inauguration and kept up a steady drumbeat of "Ban Fracking Now!" that reverberated during Wolf's inaugural address. Inside the venue, eight activists with Stop Poisoning Pennsylvania (allied with Pennsylvanians Against Fracking) blew whistles and shouted for an end to fracking and were arrested (and released after paying $35 fines). They later said they encountered some hostility from those seated around them -- some because they disagreed with their politics, some just because they thought it was rude to interrupt the governor. But one of the law enforcement personnel they ran into said he supported their position. Listen to my coverage for Free Speech Radio News.
Folks in Pennsylvania were heartened when, in December, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned fracking in that state. They know they have a long way to go, but they know they are part of a rapidly growing peaceful army that believes another world free of fossil fuels is possible.
Other visitors to the mansion were Penni Lechner and her 9-year-old daughter Madison. They are surrounded in their home in Butler, PA, by 25 fracking wells and have suffered all sorts of nasty health problems like headaches and rashes. They can't drink the water and their air, based on the readings of an air monitor, is often in the hazardous range. Madison told Gov. Wolf some of their problems, and he promised to set up a meeting with them, which, more than a week later, hasn't happened yet. Click here for my segment on Between the Lines, featuring Penni and the Delaware Riverkeeper, who makes the links on the impacts of fracking on both local communities and climate change. Based on methane leakage from drill pads, pipelines and other infrastructure, some studies show gas drilling could produce more greenhouse gases than coal.
Pennsylvanians Against Fracking held a spirited march around the Capitol (see photo above) and then stood in the so-called "free speech zone" behind the bleachers where people were watching the inauguration and kept up a steady drumbeat of "Ban Fracking Now!" that reverberated during Wolf's inaugural address. Inside the venue, eight activists with Stop Poisoning Pennsylvania (allied with Pennsylvanians Against Fracking) blew whistles and shouted for an end to fracking and were arrested (and released after paying $35 fines). They later said they encountered some hostility from those seated around them -- some because they disagreed with their politics, some just because they thought it was rude to interrupt the governor. But one of the law enforcement personnel they ran into said he supported their position. Listen to my coverage for Free Speech Radio News.
Folks in Pennsylvania were heartened when, in December, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned fracking in that state. They know they have a long way to go, but they know they are part of a rapidly growing peaceful army that believes another world free of fossil fuels is possible.
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