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As you may have heard (particularly if you have been following Climate Mama’s advocacy adventures of late!) on November 10th President Obama
Already however, oil and gas companies, and the pipeline builder TransCanada Pipeline are trying to put their own “spin” on the President’s announcement; reminding us that it is “simply a delay.” As well, they have announced that a new “route” for the pipeline is in the works, one that doesn’t cross over the sensitive Ogallala aquifer. As we well know, rerouting the pipeline ISN’T an acceptable fix. STOPPING the pipeline permanently and “stranding” the tar sands in northern Alberta is the key; particularly and until such time as we can either “ramp up” our renewable energy production and/or “put a price” on carbon, thereby making tar sands oil too expensive to produce.
A discussion to have with the kids in your life – the power of people to change government and industry action – key!
If you live in the Northeast USA and are looking for an opportunity to see “people power” in action, consider letting your kids “play hooky” from school on Monday, November 21st to accompany you to Trenton, NJ as you all take part in a field trip and lesson on the power of civil society by joining in the fight for our right for clean air and clean water. A brewing and critical issue in this country is the battle against “fracking” – a process which involves pumping chemical sludge deep underground in order to fracture shale and collect natural gas. This “gas-gold rush” is captivating our nation, fueled by advertisements by the oil and gas industry promoting “clean burning” domestic natural gas. We are being asked, in the name of “energy security” to allow our Clean Water and Clean Air Acts to be disregarded, as the chemicals used in fracking are “proprietary” and the waste water produced in most cases isn’t treatable though existing waste water treatment plants.
Watch this short video by actor and activist Mark Ruffalo and take action on fracking today. If you can’t join the protest on November 21st, do sign on to one of the many petitions calling on the Governors of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania as well as President Obama to NOT open up the Delaware River Basin to natural gas drilling and fracking. There is nothing “natural or clean” about the process currently being used to extract this gas or about the gas itself; nor the greenhouse gases produced when we burn it! Protect the water we drink now and our children’s right for a future that includes clean and safe air to breath and water to drink.. Let’s move “off” our addiction to fossil fuels and towards a clean and renewable energy future for our children, one that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels.
Show your children you care, fight to keep the Delaware River Basin free from “fracking;” sign a petition, call your governor, or grab a ride on a bus and come to Trenton on November 21st!
Yours,
Climate Mama