After unsuccessfully trying for months to get a face-to-face meeting with New York Governor Andrew Coumo, Yoko Ono had enough. “Since you haven’t met with me about the dangers of fracking,” the artist and activist proclaims, “I will show you now on TV!”
Her 30-second commercial (above) aims to educate Cuomo, and anyone else who will listen, about the dangers of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, a means of natural gas extraction used in deep natural gas well drilling. Once a well is drilled, millions of gallons of water, sand and proprietary chemicals are injected, under high pressure, into it. The pressure breaks open the shale and creates fissures that enable natural gas to be extracted more easily. The method has been widely criticized for permanently destroying groundwater, leaving people in surrounding areas without access to one of our most important resources — water.
There is currently a moratorium on drilling in Upstate New York, but Governor Cuomo’s administration is reevaluating this ban and could make a decision as early as the end of this month. We don’t know what Cuomo will decide, but thanks to abundant research that already exists on fracking, we do know how unsafe this practice is. Our health, environment and food system are on the line. If even just a handful of wells are opened up, it’s most likely the first in a series of victories for the gas industry. Anyone who has seen Josh Fox’s award-winning documentary Gasland, know that we cannot allow this to happen.
The good news is, we still have time to stop this.
Anyone who has tried to market something knows the impact you can have with a good celebrity in your corner. Started by Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon, Artists Against Fracking has recruited boldface names like Alec Baldwin, Anne Hathaway, Deepak Chopra, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hugh Jackman, Julianne Moore, Lady Gaga, Martha Stewart, Michael Pollan, Paul McCartney, and Roberto De Niro to draw attention to the damages and environmental consequences of fracking.
Ono and Lennon, who got involved in this fight after learning of plans for a gas pipeline near their property in Upstate New York, were recently accompanied to the frontlines of the fracking fight in Pennsylvania by fellow activists Susan Sarandon and Arun Gandhi. Just lat week, Gasland filmmaker Josh Fox released a short film about that trip, which promises to get you “pumped to stop fracking.” If not, maybe you should know that our beer is also in danger.
Right now, some people are trying to make easy money, and meanwhile ruin this country’s future, by a thing called ‘fracking.’
Yoko Ono
The New York Water Rangers campaign is supported by a network of organizations working together to protect New Yorkers from under-inspected natural gas exploration and development. The campaign was established by Catskill Mountainkeeper, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Earthjustice, EARTHWORKS Oil & Gas Accountability Project, Environmental Advocates of New York, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Riverkeeper, and also enlists celebrities — like Adrian Grenier, Leighton Meester, Summer Rayne Oakes, and Carol Alt — to drum up attention for this issue.
Though my father died when I was 5, I have always felt lucky to live on land he loved dearly; land in an area that is now on the verge of being destroyed.
Sean Lennon
The above statement rings true for countless people who live along the Marcellus shale, even though their fathers were not iconic rock stars.
New York faces an important choice: take action now to protect our water, air, and communities, or allow these gas companies to put the health of our families and our shared environment at risk. Although celebrity cachet it important, it’s up to all of us to speak up and ensure our lawmakers make the right choice. We can stop this!
Tell New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to ban fracking in New York and turn New York into a clean energy leader by attending protest and signing these petitions (and any others you come across):
Ban Fracking Now
Save Our Beer From Fracking
Tell Governor Cuomo: Ban Fracking in New York!
Protect Pennsylvania from Marcellus Shale gas drilling
