FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10/18/2013 Contact: Sarah Buckley, 716-713-7780

Southtown Residents To Erie County Legislature: Ban Fracking and Support Sustainable Energy Solutions Instead
Many local residents expected to gather in East Aurora tomorrow as one of more than 200 events across six continents

East Aurora, NYTomorrow, Saturday, October 19, dozens will gather on Main St in East Aurora to urge the Erie County Legislature to ban fracking on countyowned land to protect air, water, soil, climate, property values and quality of life. The residents will have signs and carry petitions for folks they pass to sign. The event is one of more than 200 actions taking place across six continents where thousands of people concerned about the threat that drilling and fracking for oil and gas poses to the environment, communities and their shared resources will unite for the second annual Global Frackdown. A coordinated international day of action against fracking, the Global Frackdown will gather concerned citizens in over 20 countries to send a message to elected officials around the world that they want a future powered by clean, renewable energy, not polluting fossil fuels. Initiated by Food & Water Watch, over 300 advocacy, environmental and public health organizations including Democracy for America, Environment America, Environmental Action, MoveOn.org, Progressive Democrats of America, and 350.org are participating in the Global Frackdown. Its clear that Western New York families do not want fracking - thats why Wales and Buffalo banned it and Colden passed a moratorium - we also need the county and the state to do what they can to protect all the residents from this health and environmental threat, says Sarah Buckley, local grassroots organizer. Other events across the country include New York City where a broad coalition of groups will unite at the New York City Food & Wine Festival to articulate how fracking affects food systems and ask Governor Andrew Cuomo to listen to the science and ban fracking in the state; Californians Against Fracking will convene a rally in Oakland to urge Governor Jerry Brown to ban fracking; and in Culver City, California, a coalition of organizations will hold a rally followed by a vemile bike ride and walking brigade, to raise aware of the effects of fracking in the Los Angeles Basin and to support a measure to ban fracking in the city of Los Angeles.

Fracking is a global issue with signicant policy and political implications both in the United States and overseas, said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. In January, President Obama promised to take bold action on climate change, but his plans to accelerate drilling and fracking will only exacerbate the problem. Its time for him to be a leader on the global stage and reject fracking as many communities around the world have already done. A recent poll released by the Pew Research Group nds that opposition to fracking has grown signicantly across most regions and demographic groups. Overall, 49 percent are opposed to increased fracking, while only 44 percent support it. As scientic studies continue to conrm the inherent dangers of fracking to the environment and public health, the American people are seeing through the millions of dollars being spent on advertising by the oil and gas industry, and are increasingly opposing fracking. Polls in key states such as New York, California and Pennsylvania show similarly high levels of opposition to fracking. A recent poll released by Siena College nds that 45 percent of New York voters oppose the state Department of Environmental Conservation plans to move forward with fracking in the Southern Tier, the part of New York that extends above Pennsylvania. Only thirty-seven percent said they would support such a move. Meanwhile, in California, fty-three percent of likely voters polled by the Public Policy Institute of California said they're against the expansion of fracking in the state. According to a poll conducted by The Center of Local, State and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan in conjunction with the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, almost two-thirds of Pennsylvanians support a moratorium on fracking until its effects can be better studied. To date, 383 communities in the United States have passed measures against fracking. Last week, the European Parliament voted to require energy companies to conduct environmental audits before commencing drilling and fracking, and a French court upheld a ban on fracking. Bulgaria and some Swiss and German states have also adopted a ban or a moratorium on fracking activities. Other European Union member states, such as the Czech Republic, Romania and Germany are considering a moratorium on fracking until an adequate regulatory framework has been is in place for unconventional energy projects such as shale gas. In August, a million Americans signed petitions objecting to the Obama Administrations plans to frack on federal lands. Nearly 650,00 of those petitions were collected by Americans Against Fracking member organizations, and called for a complete ban. Weeks later, Food & Water Watch, MoveOn.org, Environmental Action, and other allied organizations in Americans Against Fracking and the Stop the Frack Attack Network collected over 250,000 petitions asking the Obama Administration and the Environmental Protection

Agency to reopen investigations into the possible link between drilling and fracking and water contamination in Pennsylvania, Texas and Wyoming. We look forward to the state and county hearing our voices on the day of the GLobal Frackdown from all around this area and taking the common sense steps to protect our communities by stopping fracking wherever possible. Photos from actions across the world will be posted on Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #GlobalFrackdown and will also be found at www.globalfrackdown.org. Food & Water Watch works to ensure the food, water and sh we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water owing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control. ###