August, 22 2013, 11:11am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Kate Fried: 202-683-4905: kfried@fwwatch.org
Brett Abrams: 516-841-1105: brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com
Hundreds of Thousands of Americans and Numerous National Organizations to Call on Federal Government to Ban Fracking on Federal Lands
Americans Against Fracking and Actress Daryl Hannah to Deliver Over 400,000 Petitions Urging Obama Administration to Protect Communities Over Oil and Gas Industry Profits
WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON, DC -- On Thursday, August 22, Americans Against Fracking, a coalition of over 200 national and regional organizations, will gather in Lafayette Square to call on President Obama and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to ban fracking on federal lands. The BLM recently proposed a set of rules for drilling and fracking on public lands. This event will send a strong message to the Obama Administration that protecting public lands, water and air is more important than oil and gas industry profits. Following a rally and press conference, participants will deliver to the White House and the Bureau of Land Management, over 400,000 public comments urging the administration to ban fracking on federal lands.
President Obama's Bureau of Land Management is an agency whose mission is to "to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America's public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations." The BLM's proposed rules for drilling and fracking on public lands go against this very mission, as they apply to all federal and Native American lands subject to oil and gas leasing, including the national forest system and federal lands near many treasured national parks. President Obama has spoken out about the need to curb climate change, but his plan to expand drilling and fracking on public lands flies in the face of his own statements, as fracking for shale gas and oil is not a solution to climate change, and will in fact, as confirmed by the National Ocean Atmospheric Administration, exacerbate the problem.
WHO: Americans Against Fracking, CREDO Action and other allies
WHAT: Press conference, rally and petition delivery to ban fracking on federal lands
WHEN: Thursday, August 22, 12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M.
WHERE: Lafayette Square, on H Street between 15th and 17th street, Washington, D.C.
SPEAKERS: Actress and Activist Daryl Hannah; David Braun, United For Action; Drew Hudson, Environmental Action; Emily Wurth, Food & Water Watch; Karen Feridun, Berks Gas Truth; Mike Hersh, MoveOn.org and Progressive Democrats; Maura Cowley, Energy Action Collective; Jason Kowalski, 350.org.
VISUALS: Participants will hold bold, colorful signs calling for a ban on fracking. They will walk from Lafayette Square, and hand the petitions over to a representative from the Bureau of Land Management on the corner of 18th and C Streets.
Americans Against Fracking is composed of the following groups: https://www.americansagainstfracking.org/members/.
For more information about Americans Against Fracking, visit www.AmericansAgainstFracking.org
Fracking and drilling associated with fracking pose a direct and immediate threat to the drinking water, air, climate, food, health and economies of communities across the United States. Americans Against Fracking is comprised of entities dedicated to banning drilling and fracking for oil and natural gas in order to protect our shared vital resources for future generations.
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