http://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/mp3/kpfk_110719_070010sojourner.MP3
and forward to Minute 35:13
Earlier this month, France made the historic decision to outlaw hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking. In doing so, France became the first country to pass a law banning the dangerous industrial practice.
Fracking is a technique used to extract natural gas and oil by using intense pressure to inject water, sand and chemicals into dense rock to release the trapped oil and gas.
Under France’s law, energy companies use fracking in France will have their permits revoked.
In the US, fracking has led to the contamination of ground water, with some residents near fracking sites reporting that they can actually light their tap water on fire.
Anti-fracking campaigns have risen up across the US, and cities including Buffalo, NY and Pittsburgh, PA have also banned the practice.
As with off-shore drilling, stripmining the tarsands, and arctic oil exploration, fracking is moving in the wrong direction. With the spectre of climate chaos looming, we need to be creating strategies to live without fossil fuels, not creating additional pollution through more extreme fossil fuel extraction techniques.
For the earth minute and the SoJourner Truth show, this is Anne Petermann, from Global Justice Ecology Project.
