Tens of Thousands Demand DNC Add National Fracking Ban to Party Platform

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Source: CommonDreams by Staff Writer Nadia Prupis

Climate activists on Wednesday delivered more than 90,000 petitions to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) demanding that the party's 2016 platform include a nationwide ban on fracking. As the DNC convened in Washington, D.C. for its open forum on shaping the platform, activists with Food & Water Watch, 350.org, Honor the Earth, and other groups handed over the appeals and said officials must acknowledge the harm that fracking has caused the environment.

"The Democratic Party has been complicit in the U.S. fracking boom which is poisoning communities and our climate," said Emily Wurth, water program director at Food & Water Watch. "Any serious plan to combat climate change must include a ban on fracking, and as the committee develops the platform, they should heed the calls of the growing movement to ban fracking and keep fossil fuels in the ground." The groups noted that more than 137,000 fracking wells have been opened in the U.S. since 2005 as part of President Barack Obama's "all-of-the-above" energy policy that included promoting the use of natural gas. By contrast, the 2016 presidential election has seen candidates backing away from the fossil fuel industry, with Bernie Sanders standing out for his support of a nationwide ban on fracking. ...

And as Environmental Action policy director Anthony Rogers-Wright explained, the majority of people that now find themselves in proximity of a fracking well are in communities of color—who largely vote Democratic. "This is the face of fracking in America: Latino, Native, African American and other communities are disproportionately impacted by the toxic effects of fracking and its infrastructure," Rogers-Wright said. "It's time for the DNC, a political party that is totally dependent on the participation of People of Color, to show that our health is as important as our votes. Including a fracking ban in the party platform is an essential step to demonstrate this."

A recent Gallup poll found that the majority of Americans are opposed to fracking for the first time, with more and more communities continuing to ban the controversial gas extraction technique. "History will not be kind to those who insist on continued burning of fossil fuels long after the science of climate change was crystal clear," said Ben Wikler, Washington director for MoveOn.org, one of the groups that delivered petitions to the DNC on Wednesday. "The Democratic Party Platform Committee should echo the voices of grassroots activists and the public at large and state unequivocally that fracking has no place in our clean-energy future."



Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/06/08/tens-thousands-demand-dnc-add-national-fracking-ban-party-platform