In 2008 my family’s home and my neighbors’ homes came under siege by the gas industry, which was buying up leases left and right to start fracking all over the Delaware River Basin. I’ve experienced first hand the devastation that fracking brings.

My two documentaries, Gasland and later Gasland 2, became award-winning films precisely because they called out the fracking industry for its lies and put a face on the millions of Americans at risk—along with our environment and global community—because of the largest domestic fracking campaign in history.

Traveling all across the U.S., I witnessed the destruction that drilling and fracking brings to communities, to public health, and to the environment. Water so contaminated it lights on fire, air so polluted it causes multiple health problems, and communities overrun by this destructive industry.

And along the way, I’ve seen that our only way out is to organize—to rally together, to petition our elected officials, to get out into the streets.

That’s why I’m very excited about MoveOn’s new initiative to support the fracking movement at its heart, and why I hope you’ll apply to be one of 50 MoveOn #FrackingFighters.

Click here to learn more and apply to become a MoveOn #Fracking Fighter.

Applications are due this Tuesday, December 3, at 10 p.m. local time—so don’t wait any longer to apply.

You can also help by forwarding this email to friends or family who might be affected by fracking. Or click here to share this opportunity with folks in your network on Facebook. Nearly every state is touched by some part of the fracking process, and the climate change caused by the fossil fuel industry truly affects us all.

If you’re selected as a FrackingFighter, you’ll receive a $500 grant to use for your campaign, a toolkit of materials like banners and clipboards, and training from experienced organizers. And you’ll join a network of grassroots leaders fighting fracking across the country—from the oil fields in California and Texas, to the gas fields in Pennsylvania and Colorado, from the Midwestern dunes being mined for the silica sand used in fracking, to the New Jersey and North Carolina neighborhoods threatened by pipelines and export terminals that would transport fracked gas.

I had the pleasure of working with MoveOn members to screen Gasland 2 at movie parties coast to coast earlier this year—and I’ve since met MoveOn members across the country who are educating their neighbors, lobbying their elected leaders, and earning media coverage to put an end to fracking.

In my town, after years of meetings, letters, and phone calls, we won. This summer, the two biggest gas companies fracking in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, announced they were canceling all leases and backing out of fracking in our county.

It’s only the start of what our movement can make possible. We need more victories like that across the country—and you can be part of it by applying to be a MoveOn #FrackingFighter before the deadline at 10 p.m. this Tuesday, December 3.

Thanks—and good luck,
Josh Fox

Thank you everyone for signing my petition, “Ban Hydraulic Fracturing on All Public Lands, President Obama.” Your signature was imperative in creating a strong voice to halt “Frac’ing” from “…sea to shining sea”.

I am calling my petition a success, with over 90,000 signatures. On the 2nd anniversary of the Global Frackdown, I’m closing it down and taking my own actions to the next level by, 1) signing on as a co-complainant in a class action lawsuit against the formation of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and 2) becoming a member of a new, local chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby.

I appreciate all the emails I’ve received during the life of my petition.

Peace and Love,

Mary

Preliminary studies by the EPA linked fracking to water contamination in three communities: Dimock, Pennsylvania; Parker County, Texas; and Pavillion, Wyoming. But the EPA abandoned its own findings and stopped these investigations. President Obama and new EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy must reopen these fracking investigations and provide residents with safe drinking water.

I first got involved in the fracking fight years ago when I traveled to Dimock, Pennsylvania, to meet families who were suffering serious health impacts from using water contaminated from fracking operations. I met many people whose children and pets were suffering from skin lesions, hair loss, vomiting, severe headaches, dizziness and pain throughout their bodies—and they could light their tap water on fire!

When the going got rough, a group of concerned citizens and I stepped in to help these people get safe drinking water. Thankfully, the Environmental Protection Agency came to the rescue and delivered families water while conducting an investigation. But when the EPA abruptly closed the case, stopped water deliveries to the residents and deemed the water safe to drink, we knew something was wrong.

Thanks to EPA whistleblowers, the Los Angeles Times was recently able to report that the fracking investigation in Dimock was shut down despite evidence from the EPA’s water tests showing that Dimock’s drinking water was severely impacted by fracking. Since that time, many residents have not had access to safe drinking water.

That’s why I started a petition to President Obama and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy calling on them to reopen the investigations into water contamination from fracking. We’ll deliver the petition signatures to the EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday this week to show the public demand for action.

Can you add your name to my petition, and then share it with your friends?

The EPA has also shut down investigations in Wyoming and Texas. Early results of all three investigations showed that the EPA had evidence linking gas drilling and fracking operations to groundwater contamination. Yet instead of protecting people in these areas, the EPA ignored its own scientific data and abandoned the investigations.

It’s time for the EPA to do its job and protect the drinking water of the American people from toxic fracking. Join me in calling on the new EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, and President Barack Obama, to reopen the EPA investigations in Dimock, Pennsylvania; Pavillion, Wyoming; and Weatherford, Texas; and provide safe drinking water to the residents of these communities during the investigations.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

Mark Ruffalo

Here are some updates on what’s happening around the country in reference to fracking.

THE COLORADO OIL AND GAS COMMISSION IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Two citizens of Garfiled County have collaborated to enact a class action lawsuit against Colorado’s Governor Hickenlooper, for supporting the actions of the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission (COGCC). The suit includes details about the actions that led to the formation of the COGCC, and outlines examples of how it has ignored Colorado’s constitution, ignoring the Home Rule status of many of Colorado’s towns and cities.

If you’re a Colorado resident. If you’re not a Colorado citizen, consider looking into your own state’s use of commissions such as the COGCC and see if they are acting in opposition to your own rights as “We the People”.

COLORADO’S FLOOD WATERS, OIL AND GAS DON’T MIX
You’ve all probably heard about the flooding on Colorado’s Front Range. What is now making the news are the oil and fracking fluid spills associated with the flooding. Here’s another example of why this industry needs to be forced to change its ways, and stop fracking on all lands until this process uses NON-TOXIC fluids.

http://www.denverpost.com/environment/ci_24132296/oil-spill-along-st-vrain-river-near-platteville

FRACKING IN CALIFORNIA IS “NECESSARY” FOR PROSPERITY?

Michael, from California, shared this bit of information about the direction agricultural communities in his state are headed.

“…we’ve had confirmation that over the past five years all the mineral rights leases throughout what is the fertile agricultural grounds on either side of California’s 101 Freeway passing through the cities of Camarillo, Oxnard and Ventura (all sitting above what is part of the vast Monterey Shale deposits) have been purchased with the aim of eventually fracking and tapping into the potentially lucrative oil deposits below. There are definitely those who run Ventura County (our Board of Supervisors) who – though agriculture has long been the largest $$-earner for the county – are looking over the horizon and perceive that oil may yet be the number one economic engine for Ventura County – transforming it back to its earlier history as an oil economy before agriculture expanded to where it is today. None of this can happen without the use of fracking. The future looks quite scary to a lot of us.”

These are the questions I want answered:

1. Can we extract non-renewable fossil fuels without the process of hydraulic fracturing?
2. Can oil and gas companies make a fracking fluid that does not pollute the land, air and water?
3. Should we hault all fracking operations until we can find a way to frack without polluting our environment?
4. Should “We the People” have a direct say in what our public lands are used for, and be able to vote on whether private industries can use our lands for energy development, providing them with high profits and us with energy and the environmental costs of cleaning degraded lands, water and air?

PUBLIC LANDS FACEBOOK PAGE
I started a Facebook Page titled “Keep Public Lands Open for Public Use”, for all to share their thoughts, photos, etc. about public lands. Remember, you neighborhood streets, sidewalks, parks, gardens, playgrounds, etc. are public lands. You don’t need to get into a car to find public lands. They’re right outside your door.

Get outside and play!

MARY

Labor Day Weekend is upon us, and I’d like to encourage you all to get out into our public lands to enjoy their beauty and serenity. National Parks, State Parks, Wilderness, BLM lands and US National Forests and Seashores, and town, city and county parks all provide places for you, your friends and families to relax, take a cool dip, meditate, practice yoga, read a book, ride a bike, horse, 4-wheel, skail, and hike. While you’re out there take a photo, write a poem or share your memories of times past. Either way, enjoy the lands and waters you cherish.

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/ban-hydraulic-fracturing-1?source=mo&id=73329-17675177-A_qlzox

If you’re so moved, post your photos, videos or verse to your Facebook page, or the page of the public land you enjoyed. Share your adventures! If you’re not on Facebook, share your experiences with me and I’ll post them for you.

Now get out there and have some fun on your public lands and waterways this weekend!

Cheers,

Mary

P.S. This petition is managed by me, solely. I don’t have a staff. I’m not soliciting money from you for any overt purpose. If you receive any emails asking for money, through my petition, it has not been initiated by me. I apologize in advance, and just ask you to delete the email if you choose not to respond.

Our petition provided 85,000 signatures, as part of the 650,000 signatures presented to President Obama on Thursday, August 30th. It’s also made news locally, in my community, and nationally. I invite you all to reach out to your local news media, understanding that a good news story reports both sides of the issue. With this in mind, I spoke to my local reporter honestly and from my heart. The attached article highlighted my point, which is that our public lands deserve to be managed so the public still has equal access to them, regardless of who has purchased the mineral rights below them. To learn more about the “Split Estate” laws, watch the documentary with the same name, or Google the term.

In the article from my local paper, the reporter also spoke to the spokeswoman for Western Colorado’s Oil and Gas membership organization. Her portrayal of you and me as, “…a million liberal activists from around the country, the vast majority of whom are not tied to productive public lands communities, are naively responding to an emailed action alert” may inspire you, as it has me, to continue this conversation with your family, friends, neighbors, and elected officials. I’m not sure what she means by us not being tied to productive public lands communities. I will surely ask her when I invite her to the next Garfield County Energy Advisory Board meeting, if she agrees to attend.

I know I’m tied to the public lands surrounding Carbondale by the simple fact that I see the wildlife out my window and drink the water from the ditch running through the property I live on. I enjoy the images others share from their explorations and adventures into the backcountry, on skiis, bikes, horses, four-wheelers, and cars. I support my neighbors rights to hunt on public lands by purchasing my winter meat from them. I breath fresh air that comes from the trees in the forests, surrounding the oil and gas industry’s operations.

I’ve applied for a $1,000 scholarship to document the closures of public lands by the mineral lease holders in Garfield County, Colorado. I will use the photos I take to bear witness to how private corporations are closing off access to public lands, although their leases are for the minerals underneath them.

Here are two publications about our petition:

http://www.postindependent.com/news/7833354-113/public-fracking-lands-petition

http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1059986263

Thank you again, for signing my petition. I have received a handful of emails from people who want to learn more, and from people whose livelihoods are dependent on the exploration and distribution of oil and gas. I have reassured them that I am not against either, I’m just against the process used to extract natural gas. I know there are innovative ways to extract resources while also maintaining the integrity of the land, air and water. If not now, when?

Have a great day.

Mary

Yesterday, on the heels of Monday’s report revealing New York state is set to allow hydraulic fracturing, over 350 people gathered outside a policy summit hosted by Governor Cuomo on Wednesday to protest the controversial plan. A whopping 350 people out of the entire state of New York showed up. What a bust!

Why don’t you stop posting scripted marketing pieces and actually write something original. Every thing you have posted on this site is orchestrated marketing designed to create a hysterical response. If you were doing otherwise you would have responded to my very specific comments about non-chemical fracking proppants, which obviously don’t understand. And, btw, all your mentioned petition participation is grossly exaggerated. Yesterday, August 23, constituted a monumental failure of your efforts.