More than 100 protesters descended on the Illinois Statehouse in
Springfield yesterday to rally against a regulatory bill and call for a
moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in Illinois.
Opponents to hydraulic fracturing say it has a negative environmental
impact, including extreme water and air pollution. Demonstrators
yesterday spoke with legislators and passed petitions that urged
lawmakers to support a two-year moratorium on fracking in Illinois.
As the Illinois Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act was moved to committee yesterday, a coalition of 15 organizations sent a letter to Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois General Assembly, asking for a ban on hydraulic fracturing, instead of regulations on the oil and gas drilling technology.
The following was written by Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter.
The prospect of the gas industry coming Illinois to extract gas
from beneath our state using high-volume hydraulic fracturing has caused
a great deal of controversy and concern, especially in parts of
Illinois where leasing for drilling rights has been underway for well
over a year. Horror stories from other states about open pits of toxic
wastewater, secret brews of toxins injected into the earth, air
emissions sickening neighbors, and contaminated drinking water are just a
few of the impacts seen elsewhere. Read more »
On Monday afternoon, a group of protestors outside the James
R. Thompson Center called for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in southern
Illinois.
At the rally, Southern
Illinoisians Against Fracturing our Environment (SAFE) protested the practice
of hydraulic fracturing. Known as fracking for short, the oil and gas drilling
technique injects a mix of water, sand, and chemicals into the ground to create
cracks in deep rock layers. The cracks release natural gas. (Read PI’s previous
reporting on fracking here.)
Proponents of fracking say it will supply America with its
own source of natural gas, but SAFE contends the process contaminates drinking
water and pollutes farmland. The group doesn’t believe enough information has
been gathered on the effect fracking has on the environment, and its members
met with one of Gov.
Pat Quinn’s representatives before the rally.
More than 100 protesters descended on the Illinois Statehouse in
Springfield yesterday to rally against a regulatory bill and call for a
moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in Illinois.
The following was written by Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter.
On Monday afternoon, a group of protestors outside the James
R. Thompson Center called for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in southern
Illinois. 