Honor The Earth, Food and Water Watch, 350.org and other climate organizations noted that 137,000 fracking wells have been drilled in America under President Obama’s energy plan.
Miyoko Sakashita, who directs the Center for Biological Diversity’s oceans program, said in a statement, "The Obama administration is once again putting California’s beautiful coast in the oil industry’s crosshairs," adding, "Our beaches and wildlife face a renewed threat from fracking chemicals and oil spills. New legal action may be the only way to get federal officials to do their jobs and protect our ocean from offshore fracking."
Democrat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has criticized his rival HIllary Clinton and other lawmakers for allowing offshore fracking to continue in California. "Make no mistake: this was a very bad decision by the federal government that will not be allowed to stand, if I have anything to say about it…Secretary Clinton in one way or another wants to quote unquote 'regulate' fracking. I think it is too late for regulating. I think fracking has got to be banned in America," he said. Sanders later tweeted, "Let me be as clear as I can be: if I am elected president we will work together on a nationwide ban on fracking. We must #KeepItInTheGround."
Emily Worth, water program director at Food and Water Watch said, "The Democratic Party has been complicit in the US fracking boom which is poisoning communities and our climate," and that, "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."
Anthony Rogers-Wright, policy director at Environmental Action, notes that the people most affected by fracking are communities of color who typically vote Democrat. "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," he 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."
"The many inherent dangers associated with the extreme drilling method, from water contamination and human health impacts to earthquakes, explosions and climate change are well documented," said Wenoah Hunter, executive Director of the Food and Water Action Fund. Hunter said corporations that benefit from fracking have invested in a public relations campaign to hide it’s effect, but that their resources can’t obscure the truth.
"Even with the oil and gas industry spending untold sums of money trying to convince Americans that fracking is safe, the disturbing truth resonates. As today’s poll clearly indicates, the more people hear about fracking, the more they oppose it."
