Statement by Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food & Water Watch on Behalf of Americans Against Fracking
Washington, D.C. – “We applaud the bipartisan effort led by Senators Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) to pressure President Obama to consider the negative impact that exports of fracked gas will have on U.S. communities. In a letter released today to the President, 22 Senators cautioned him against the high gas prices that increased exports would cause, a burden that American families and workers shouldn’t have to shoulder.
“Another outcome of increased exports of fracked gas would be the further industrialization of our rural communities, which have already shouldered the burdens of drilling and fracking—increased truck traffic, accidents and spills and air and water contamination.
“These communities should not be sacrifice zones for the highly profitable exports of fracked gas to countries where it will fetch the highest price—and stoke already massive oil and gas industry profits. Furthermore, increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will only contribute to climate change. Just this week the updated National Climate Assessment warned of the serious effects on public health and the economy if we don’t quickly move away from extracting and burning fossil fuels. ”
“This spring, more than 200,000 petitions have been delivered to the U.S. Senate urging them to reject bills in both the House and Senate that would dramatically expedite LNG exports. We are thankful that some Senators are listening to their constituents on this issue—despite huge pressure from the industry to open up new markets for U.S. fracked gas.”
Contact: Kate Fried, Food & Water Watch, (202) 683-4905, [email protected]
Americans Against Fracking is a broad-based coalition composed of the following groups:www.americansagainstfracking.org/members. For more information about Americans Against Fracking, visit www.AmericansAgainstFracking.org.
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