Phone Bank TONIGHT!

We'll be hosting a phone bank tonight at 6pm to get ready for our June 5th Frack Free NC Lobby day! Come out to the Habitat offices in Pittsboro (467 West St., Pittsboro 27312) to make some phone calls and enjoy pizza and beer. This is a great opportunity to get folks to come out for June 5th, where we'll be educating our legislators on the environmental impacts of fracking could have on our communities. And we'll already have a script ready for the phone calls, so this will be a low-stress event! If you can come tonight, please RSVP with this form.

...and ANOTHER reason not to frack in NC

Image via MSNBC

The N&O features another great article by Tim Murawski today, this time focused on new estimates on North Carolina's natural gas supply--and it looks like we don't really have all that much! These new estimates predict that the amount of natural gas that could be extracted from fracking in NC only covers about five years of our natural gas needs in the state. How's that for a good investment?

How Timely!

Image via lithospherial.com

Informative video and article on the CNN website today about Vermont's recently becoming the first state to ban hydraulic fracturing. Reasons for the ban include: groundwater contamination, uncertain science behind the practice and mild earthquakes. Vermont's governor, Peter Shumlin, also says he "hopes other states will follow Vermont's lead in banning it." We do, too!

We would be very interested to see what Sen. Rucho and Rep. Gillespie have to say about this, seeing as both of them "agree fracking can be done safely here."

And They're Back!

Image via Vanity Fair

With the return of our General Assembly to session yesterday, the drama is already unfolding over one of their favorite questions: to frack or not to frack? At this point, the outlook is pretty grim, and the question has been replaced with "when to frack?" John Murawksi's article in the News and Observer this morning gives a good overview of the situation, but it's basically this:


Sen. Bob Rucho (R) has proposed a bill to legalize fracking by mid-2014, but many in the Assembly, including Rep. Mitch Gillespie (R) think the date of legalization shouldn't be set yet. Gillespie will push for his own version of the legislation in the next few days. Apparently, this new version will include "scores of public safeguards and environmental protections."


One thing Murawski's article states quite clearly, though, is that both Rucho and Gillespie "agree that fracking can be done safely here." Our question is--how can they be so sure? The Sierra Club's own Molly Diggins is also quoted in the article expressing this concern, pointing out that "no state has garnered widespread recognition for doing the best job." After all, how could we forget about this?

Image via CBS News

The point is, why are our legislators so set on fracking when there are other (renewable) energy options available? In fact, North Carolina has better shallow-water wind resources than any other state on the Atlantic coast. Whether our legislators decide to legalize fracking within the next few years or wait a little longer, they've got to consider the big questions:

Why would fracking in North Carolina be safer than in any other state?

How many jobs would fracking really create? 

Even with the supposed "safeguards and environmental protections," why opt for a nonrenewable energy source when the coast of North Carolina is already an ideal location for offshore wind energy?

And don't forget--if you want the opportunity to ask your legislators these questions yourself, the Sierra Club will be hosting a lobby night this Monday at 6:30pm!

who doesn't love t-shirts?

Here are the awesome Beyond Coal t-shirts that just came into the office! Check out the Beyond Coal website to learn about the campaign: http://beyondcoal.org/.