New source of information for Americans facing oil and gas drilling in their communities
Posted September 21, 2011 in Health and the Environment, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
NRDC is very pleased to announce the launch of: Don't Get Fracked, a toolkit for citizens around the country looking for sources of information on the permitting and drilling processes, legal rights, environmental information, health resources, local organizations working on these issues, and more.
We are regularly contacted by people from across the country who have learned that oil or gas drilling is coming to their neighborhood and are seeking credible information on what to expect, how to prepare, their rights, and what they can do to protect the land, water, air, and health in their communities. Many people are alarmed by the thought of oil and gas operations in their backyard, as happened to this family in Pennsylvania that had a giant waste pit for a neighbor:
Don't Get Fracked aims to help citizens with information on where to turn. The oil and gas industry is expanding by leaps and bounds, and individual citizens do not have the same resources as large corporations. We know the environmental impacts of oil and gas exploration and production can be quite significant, including dangerous air pollution, drinking water contamination, and very serious health symptoms that families and their physicians report are related to living near oil and gas operations. State and federal regulations are inadequate, with loopholes for the industry and rules that have not been sufficiently updated to protect public health and the environment. State enforcement of oil and gas rules is also too weak. It is therefore essential that citizens do what they can to protect themselves, and report anything of concern to authorities.
NRDC wants to hear from you. The webpage is an initial source for people looking for information. We will continue to update it, so please send us any information you think would be valuable to add. And let us know if you are concerned about development in your community or have first-hand experience with the environmental and health impacts of living with oil and gas production.
Comments are closed for this post.
Comments
Judith Davis — Sep 21 2011 01:12 PM
Hi Folks,
Thanks so much for gathering this info together! It will be useful to many, including those of us trying to keep fracking illegal in North Carolina. But please, add North Carolina info to your map! See http://www.facebook.com/pages/Deep-River-Clean-Water-Society/160151727378806#!/photo.php?fbid=194103687316943&set=pu.160151727378806&type=1&theater
Even in North Carolina, few realize that the gas industry is after the shale gas in the environmentally lush and so very lovely Deep River Basin. They have already leased more than 9000 acres in the more economically depressed areas for potential hydraulic fracturing.
Our newly elected Republican General Assembly, many of whom are A.L.E.C.-affiliated (http://(alecexposed.org), has reduced the ability of state environmental agencies to protect our land, water, air and those who depend upon them (SB781). They are now pushing to legalize fracking here (SB 709). The NC-NRDC is working to prevent this from happening, but it would be helpful if the national NRDC also publicized the risks of fracking in North Carolina.
You can get more NC fracking info from the experts at Clean Water for North Carolina, http://www.cwfnc.org/, the Deep River Clean Water Society:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Deep-River-Clean-Water-Society/, as well as the NC NRDC.
Again, thanks so much for all your good work!
Judith Davis
Raleigh, NC
@Jude101 on Twitter
Liz — Sep 23 2011 10:58 PM
We're in the early stages of oil & gas trying to set up shop in Western Idaho. We have a group page on Facebook where we try to post everything pertinent to our local issues as well as related information from throughout the country. It's called Protect Idaho's Natural Resources. The link follows:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/156166501116713/
Liz Amason
Tina Fisher — Sep 24 2011 11:57 AM
As Liz mentioned above, we are a small group in Idaho trying to educate citizen's of the dangers associated with the natural gas industry. So many are unaware that anything is going on as we are the 1st county in the state dealing with this. Many of the ones that are aware are just seeing $$$$$. They are oblivious to the fact that the reason many of us live here ,meaning quality of life, is going to change forever. Thanks for a new site to get information to provide to the uneducated.
Amy Mall — Sep 26 2011 12:31 PM
Thanks for the suggestions; we appreciate them!