Erie, CO meet Naoma, WV. Though seemingly different battles over different ecologically hazardous extractive processes – hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) for unconventional gas versus mountaintop removal for coal – the two battles are one in the same and direct parallels of one another.
On June 2, a coalition of activist organizations led by Erie Rising and joined by the likes of the Sierra Club, the Mark Ruffalo-lead Water Defense, the Angela Monti Fox-lead Mothers Project (mother of “Gasland” Producer and Director, Josh Fox), Food and Water Watch (FWW), among others, will take to Erie, CO to say “leave and leave now” to EnCana Corporation.
EnCana has big plans to drill baby drill in Erie.
It “plans to frack for natural gas near three local schools and a childcare center,” according to a press release disseminated by FWW. “On June 2, the event in Erie will give voice to those immediately affected by fracking there, and to all Americans marred by the process, becoming ground zero for the national movement to expose the dangers associated with fracking.”
The action is a simple one: a “rally and vigil to protest gas industry giant Encana’s plans to frack for natural gas near Red Hawk Elementary, Erie Elementary, Erie Middle School and Exploring Minds Childcare Center and transport toxic fracking by-products on roads that come within feet of these and other community schools,” reads the FWW press release.
Actor and head of Water Defense, Mark Ruffalo, had this to say in The Denver Post of the upcoming action:
Erie Rising’s struggle to protect children from the imminent danger of fracking is urgent. Encana wants to begin drilling by the schools early this summer, subjecting the town’s children to the dangerous carcinogens that appear to have already caused so much illness.
On June 2, Erie Rising is holding a rally in opposition to the wells by the school. Erie Rising’s members still have a long fight to protect their kids, but they are exposing the claim of clean natural gas as a dirty lie. It’s a struggle that is paving the way for mothers across the nation to stand up and fight for their own children’s future.
Hickenlooper’s background and track record may indicate why he has failed this test of good government…He took $73,666 from oil and gas interests in his 2010 election, and as Salon points out, appointed an industry campaign donor to an important regulatory position.
The Fight Back Against Massey and Marsh Fork Elementary School: A Redux
The community surrounding Marsh Fork Elementary School in Naoma, WV was also home to aggressive activism, this time a fight back against coal industry giant Massey Energy, then led by now-retired CEO Don Blankenship. The battle royale itself inspired many documentary films featuring it, including “The Last Mountain,” which also featured Bobby Kennedy Jr., “On Coal River,” “Mountain Top Removal,” and others. DeSmogBlog has written about the fight, as well.
In a nutshell, the community surrounding Marsh Fork was turned upside down by Massey at its Upper Big Branch Mine project, which involved contaminated air and water and left children susceptible to developing Black Lung and various cancers and other illnesses as they grew older. A summary of the milleux that occurred in the area, appearing in the film ”Mountain Top Removal,” can be seen below.
