|
Great news
George & I have been protesting
fracking for 10 years with the DRN and NJ Sierra Club at rallies and on-water
paddling events too.
“This is a
victory in our battle to protect the Delaware River Basin for now and in the
future. Just as important, they are taking the critical next step to move
forward with a full ban. We have to come out and help them as they work to get
it done. There will be public hearings and comment periods, and we need to make
sure that we help them do the right thing. The Delaware River is an
environmental treasure on the East Coast that supplies the clean drinking water
for more than 15 million people. The River includes acres of forests, open
space, and waterways that provides habitat for hundreds of wildlife species,”
said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We want to thank
the Governors, including Governor Murphy, for voting to ban fracking and for
moving forward with a full ban. Today is one of the most important days we’ve
had in a long time to protect the Delaware River for future generations.”
|
For Immediate Release
February 25, 2021
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
DRBC Bans Fracking and Moves Towards a Full Ban
Today,
the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) voted to approve the Proposed
Amendments to the Administrative Manual and Special Regulations
Regarding Hydraulic Fracturing Activities. The proposed amendments
include the prohibition of high volume hydraulic fracturing in shale and
other rock formations, provisions related to water use for hydraulic
fracturing, and provisions related to the management of produced water
from hydraulic fracturing. The DRBC also adopted Resolution 2021-02 to
open up a comment period for a comprehensive ban that would include the
importation of fracking wastewater and the exportation of water for
fracking.
“This
is a big win today in the battle to ban fracking on the Delaware River.
This historic vote means that fracking can no longer take place in the
Basin. More importantly, the Commission is working towards a full ban
including the discharge of wastewater and taking of drinking water for
fracking. This ban is critical. It will help protect the drinking water
for 15 million people from water pollution. It also means that there
won’t be pipelines built to take that gas to the market, protecting even
more land and water. It is important that Governor Murphy and the other
Governors finally did this,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New
Jersey Sierra Club. “This is a first giant step toward getting a
full ban that will end up banning all fracking activities.”
According to the DRBC, they have “determined that high volume hydraulic
fracturing poses significant, immediate and long-term risks to the
development, conservation, utilization, management, and preservation of
the water resources of the Delaware River Basin and to Special
Protection Waters of the Basin, considered by the Commission to have
exceptionally high scenic, recreational, ecological, and/or water supply
values.”
“This
is a great day for the Delaware River. After fifteen years, we’ve
finally been able to ban fracking in the Basin. Even though we had this
victory today, we need to make sure that the ban is comprehensive and
includes fracking waste and water withdrawals for fracking. Fracking
involves injecting huge amounts of water and chemicals in rock
formations that can pollute surrounding aquifers and waterways. This
requires mixing millions of gallons of water with toxic chemicals
including volatile organic chemicals like benzene, methyl benzene,
formaldehyde, and others that are linked to cancer,” said Tittel.
“Looking at also banning dumping of waste and water withdrawals is
critical to stop fracking. By not allowing waste to come here, fracking
companies will have less places to take their waste so less fracking
will happen across the country.”
Banning fracking is important to protect public health and the
environment. Fracking involves injecting huge amounts of water and
chemicals in rock formations that can pollute surrounding aquifers and
waterways. This requires mixing millions of gallons of water with toxic
chemicals including volatile organic chemicals like benzene, methyl
benzene, formaldehyde, and others that are linked to cancer.
“It is
critical that the DRBC is taking the next steps to get to a full ban and
really protect us. They removed language that allowed for the
importation of waste or exportation of water for fracking. They also
passed a resolution that will prohibit these activities in the future.
Governor Murphy came out for a full ban 4 years ago, and he signed a
letter with Governors Carney and Wolf in 2018 supporting a full ban. Now
they need to keep their word. Dumping fracking wastewater is dangerous
because it contains over 600 different toxic chemicals, many of them
carcinogenic. This could lead also to pollution and contaminated
drinking water,” said Tittel. “Without this ban, we could have
seen tens of thousands of wells in the Basin, hundreds of thousands of
acres destroyed, and billions of gallons of water would have been
polluted. We need to make sure that they move forward with a
comprehensive fracking ban to protect the Delaware River.”
The
Delaware River Basin covers 13,000 sq. miles of land in Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Delaware, and New York. By banning fracking, the DRBC is
helping to protect the public health and preserve the waters of the
Basin for uses in accordance with their Comprehensive Plan.
|
Fall the Farm,
2020 -2021
January 21, 2021
UPDATE!
In accordance with the Sierra Club policy due to the spread of the
Coronavirus/COVID-19,
all NJ Chapter Outings are cancelled at least through July 4, 2021.
Dear Sierra Club Members, Volunteers and Friends,
In accordance with the Sierra Club policy due to the
spread of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 all
NJ Chapter Outings are cancelled
indefinitely.
Based on National’s decision that there's just
no evidence to support easing restrictions
or letting up our safety precautions.
Wishing everyone good health and well-being through
these extraordinary times. We look forward to seeing you on future Outings
when we can resume offering them.
We encourage you to enjoy the local outdoors on your
own: this should be a perfect time for individuals to get into the woods with
clippers for trail maintenance, ears tuned for evening frog symphonies, eyes
right for spring buds.
Please check that your local park is open before
going there, and please maintain a 6-foot distance from everyone as recommended
by the CDC.
Stay well,
Ellen Blumenkrantz
Outings Chair
Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter
March 13, 2020
How the Sierra Club Is Responding
to the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Michael
Brune
As we all begin to deal with a global pandemic, I want to let you know how the
Sierra Club is adapting and responding, so we can keep doing the important work
of protecting our natural environment and fighting for a just, clean energy
future.
First, we’re prioritizing the health of our volunteers, activists, staff, and
entire community. The COVID-19 pandemic is a social and economic justice issue,
as well as a health crisis. Protecting our community is our number one priority,
and we recognize that we have a social responsibility to be good actors in
keeping others safe, too.
Here are some specific steps we’re taking:
-
We are
requiring all nonessential staff and volunteers to work from home between
now and April 12th;
-
-
We are
suspending all Sierra Club planned events of any size for the next month,
including all volunteer and staff in-person meetings; and,
-
-
We are drawing down Outings across the organization, and more specific
guidance and planning will be issued next week.
While we may not be able to meet up in public, we are continuing to build a
strong community of changemakers online. Please keep following us on Facebook, Twitter,
or Instagram for
your daily dose of inspiration, reliable information, and activism. You can also join
our Resist Facebook group to connect with other activists
creating a community of positive social interaction focused on protecting the
environment. You can also subscribe
to our Daily
Ray of Hope for uplifting and inspirational pictures and quotes.
I
also want to acknowledge that this crisis is impacting all of us in different
ways. Many of us are processing feelings of fear, isolation, confusion, anger,
and sadness around this pandemic, and how it is being handled by a reckless
administration that puts vulnerable communities last. In the past few weeks,
I’ve been angered by accounts of racism and harm experienced by those
identifying as Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander. I encourage you to
put yourself in other people’s shoes and engage with sensitivity and care.
This crisis shows how deeply we depend on one another to act for a greater
common good. While social distancing may be necessary at this time, it is also
increasingly necessary for us to come together to work through this crisis.
While some will try to use this time to demagogue and sow distrust and fear, we
need to overcome that by creating real community and trust and listening to
experts and science.
In this frightening, uncertain moment, we must take care of ourselves and our
beloved communities -- so we are able to keep up the fight for the places and
people we care about most deeply.
|
Our Weather Station
Weather Area Radar
George's Weather
Sarah's Weather
Shaun's Weather
Shaun's Tug Boat
Our Weather Menu
Intellicast Weather
Man nobody knew |
