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For Immediate Release
Contact:

Kate Fried, Food & Water Watch
kfried@fwwatch.org

Food & Water Watch and Allied Organizations to Call for a Ban on Hydraulic Fracturing through the Global Frackdown

September 22 Day of Action Will Unite Activists Around the Globe to Demand Clean, Sustainable Energy Solutions

WASHINGTON

On September 22, global opposition to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) will intensify as thousands of concerned citizens convene for the Global Frackdown, a coordinated, international day of action to pressure decision makers in communities around the world to ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking). Initiated by Food & Water Watch, the Global Frackdown, which will consist of over 150 actions taking place around the world, will highlight the environmental and public health risks associated with this increasingly controversial energy extraction method. The process of blasting millions of gallons of water and carcinogenic chemicals underground to release natural gas and oil from tight rock formations, drilling and fracking has been linked to water contamination and climate change. To date, over 250 communities around the world have taken action against fracking.

Who: Food & Water Watch. Major partners for the Global Frackdown include Credo Action, 350.org, Democracy for America, Friends of the Earth and Environment America.

What: On September 22, 2012 people all around the world will host events to call for a ban on fracking through the Global Frackdown.

Where: Global Frackdown events will take place on five continents. Major actions in the United States include a rally in the Los Angeles County community of Culver City, which shares part of the largest urban oil field in the country; a rally and human sign near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge; a rally in Longmont, Colo. to promote a ballot measure that would make Longmont the first Colorado city to ban fracking; a street theater action in Chicago promoting a statewide fracking ban, and several actions in New York where Governor Andrew Cuomo continues to consider opening up the state to fracking. Visit us online for a full list of events: https://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/p/salsa/event/common/public/search...

When: Saturday, September 22, 2012.

Food & Water Watch works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control. www.foodandwaterwatch.org

Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people's health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.

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