On Saturday, the largest anti-fracking protest in California’s history took place in Sacramento. Organizers called on California Gov. Jerry Brown to ban fracking in California.
The rally, which was organized by Californians Against Fracking
and a long list of partner organizations, drew thousands of people who came from all over California to voice their opposition.
Gov. Brown is catching flak in California thanks to his support for fracking. The Governor has otherwise been a strong supporter of environmental measures, such as electric vehicle deployment, California’s cap-and-trade law, and renewable energy efforts. “Governor Brown likes to think of himself as climate champion,” Jamie Henn, co-founder of 350.org, wrote in the Huffington Post. “But just like President Obama, Brown has refused to stand up to Big Oil.”
“The oil industry is hoping to see another age of California oil production by tapping into the Monterey Shale,” Rally organizer Zack Malitz said. “Gov. Brown has positioned himself as a climate champion, and we want to make it clear that as he decides whether to green light a massive expansion of fracking in California, his legacy is on the line.”
Earlier this week, Clean Water Action released a report discussing the risks to California if plans to frack the Monterey Shale go forward. Top in their report was the potential for fracking to induce earthquakes in California’s many geologic fault zones. Because fracking also consumes massive quantities of water, California’s current water emergency declared recently by Gov. Brown makes us scratch our head wondering, if California has dozens of communities running out of water then how can California have the water required for fracking?
But, according to the organizers, Gov. Brown recently issued “oil industry-friendly rules that give a green light to the harmful practice.”
“Thousands of Californians are at the Capitol today urging Governor Brown to legislate against this toxic practice. Talking about being an environmental leader who is working to address climate change and actually being one are two different things. And we intend to be a thorn in his side until he makes the right decision for those he serves.” Linda Capato, 350.org’s fracking campaign leader.
“Protecting California from fracking pollution might be the most important task of Gov. Jerry Brown’s long political career,” said Rose Braz of the Center for Biological Diversity. “The governor has to stop the oil industry’s use of this toxic technique in our communities and beautiful wild places. If he doesn’t act fast to ban fracking, the damage to our air, water and climate could tarnish the Golden State forever.”
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