Dear Michigan MoveOn member, Tap water so contaminated you can light it on fire. Cancer-causing chemicals released into drinking water sources. Air pollution. Economic damage. Climate change. These are just some of the effects of hydraulic fracturing.1 Better known as fracking, hydraulic fracturing is a method used by the fossil fuel industry to release oil and gas deposits by injecting massive amounts of water and toxic chemicals deep underground—often with devastating results. But fracking has another side effect—organized resistance from millions of concerned Americans. The grassroots movement to stop fracking and invest instead in clean, renewable energy has grown so rapidly that its been called the largest grassroots movement on the environment in decades.2 Thats why were thrilled to launch a major new campaign to support the grassroots leaders who are organizing to stop fracking and who are already building a national movement. Were calling it #FrackingFighters, and the purpose is to support grassroots leaders with resources, materials, and training to build winning campaigns to end fracking. MoveOn members like Mike Page in Lafayette, Colorado, have been on the front lines, and are showing that people power really can overcome corporate power. Just last week, despite being outspent 32 to 1 by the oil and gas industry, voters in three Colorado cities rose up and approved bans and moratoria on fracking in their communities.3 Mike knocked on doors in his neighborhood to get out the vote, and other members chipped in money that helped the grassroots campaigns pay for basic materials like flyers and yard signs that helped educate voters. It was as grassroots and community-driven as it gets—and it worked. We believe that the victories weve seen in places like Colorado are a model for how to protect our communities—and thats why today, were launching MoveOns #FrackingFighters program. Are you ready to take your commitment to end fracking to the next level, by applying to be one of the first 50 MoveOn #FrackingFighters across the country? Yes, I want to apply to be a MoveOn #FrackingFighter in Michigan! No, but Id like to pitch in $3 to help the MoveOn #FrackingFighters take on the fossil fuel industry. #FrackingFighters is designed for anyone with the passion and commitment to engage others in the movement to end fracking at every stage. Communities in nearly every state are feeling the direct impacts of fracking—where industry is using or planning to use hydraulic fracturing, dumping toxic waste created by the fracking process, mining the special silica sand used in fracking, or brazenly constructing pipelines and export terminals to transport fracked gas and oil. And each of us is feeling the impacts of global warming, spurred on by the methane released in fracking. Methane is up to 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas over a twenty-year period—a critical window for our planet.4 So it doesnt matter where you live, or what part of the fracking process youre fighting—#FrackingFighters is for you. Click here to submit your application to become one of 50 MoveOn #FrackingFighters—applications are due December 3. Or click here to donate to support #FrackingFighters building winning campaigns across the country. Heres how itll work. If you are a MoveOn #FrackingFighter, you will: Win a $500 mini-grant for your campaign Receive a package of must-have organizing materials like banners and signs, a megaphone, and clipboards for getting out into your community Join a cohort of 49 other #FrackingFighters for a two-month online training program to learn new skills to grow your campaign, mobilize your community, and win Build relationships with other grassroots leaders organizing to stop fracking around the country—to lay the groundwork for coordinated national actions MoveOn members and allies across the country have been fighting fracking in their own communities, and against enormous odds, are proving that we can win. The Christian Science Monitor called the grassroots victories in Colorado a litmus test for the oil and gas industry, and NBC labeled the votes a setback for frackers.5 Grassroots leaders and MoveOn members are proving that when communities come together to protect their water, air, and land, they can win—if they have the people, resources, and support to sustain a vibrant campaign. Thats what #FrackingFighters is designed to do. We have a choice: Will we carry the momentum of the Colorado victories and the lessons learned there forward to win more victories in more places? Or will we let the moment pass us by? Theres really only one option—to go all in. And thats what were doing with #FrackingFighters. Apply to become the first MoveOn #FrackingFighter in Michigan. Donate $3 to support MoveOn #FrackingFighters. Thanks for all you do. –Victoria, Manny, Maria, David, and the rest of the team
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 00:37:08 +0000
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