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River March: Citizens join forces to march against Fracking

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image via protectingourwaters.wordpress.comHopefully you are up to date on the controversial drilling process in the Marcellus Shale. If not, read up, rally up your friends, and join the hundreds of expected environmental groups, students, and residents to march from the Schuykill River to the Delaware River to demonstrate opposition to the hydrofracking taking place in the Delaware Basin this Saturday, April 23!

The march from river to river begins at 2:00 p.m. on the east side of Schuykill River, below the bridge. The march will have a brief hiatus at 3:00 p.m. for a rally at Love Park (1500 Arch Street). It will pick up again, ending at Penn Treaty Park (Delware Avenue)—just in time for Fishtown’s 3rd Annual Shad Fest.

The reason for the march across the city? An astounding number of concerned citizens are writing to complain about the new type horizontal gas drilling technique that is taking place (the Protecting Our Waters website reports that 35,000 public comments were delivered last Thursday, April 14), and a symbolic journey from river to river may prove dedication to this concern.

It’s not just our water that is negatively effected by the controversial drilling, but the air, climate, soil, food chain, and overall human health that suffers as well. March’s GRID cover lady, Iris Marie Bloom says, “Homes have blown up due to methane migration in Bradford Township, dozens of families in Bradford County, Dimock, Hickory and elsewhere in Pennsylvania cannot drink their well water.  Rural Pennsylvanians report human health impacts from nausea to skin lesions and respiratory distress; farmers report sick and dead animals.”

The list of environmental and health risks the drilling poses should be enough to get us on our feet. Take part and rally! Enjoy speakers, street theatre, music (ranging from a rabble-rousing rabbi to a high school marching band), and the sights of people in fish costumes. Don’t miss out on this symbolic and exciting expression of opposition to hydrofracking!

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1 Comment

  1. This is awesome. I hope someone in Washington is listening. We need to stop all this frack business in PA.

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