NO FRACKING WAY!

As I witness the finale of Women’s History Month and enter Earth Month, I think about the air quality after a train carrying toxins derailed in Ohio last month, as the polluted air plume was said to be traveling downstream of the Ohio River at about 1 mph. I also observe my FB news feed to learn how many Buffalonians will be concerned about how this affects our water and air quality, as it’s only 200 miles away. I began pondering which uncrowned ComeUnity member I would be highlighting.

One person came to mind who was not only an advocate but a sponsor of a Bill turned Law that banned not only fracking in Erie County but the “treatment” of fracked water coming into Erie County, through Buffalo and the surrounding areas to be “processed and cleaned.” 

I remember when a handful of friends shared this information by presenting the “Gasland” documentary at different venues in 2012 & 2013. I had not heard about fracking before then. Although, it has been around in some form or another since the 1940s. I learned that it is a process of hydraulic drilling deep into the Earth’s crust, beyond the hard rock, which allows for natural gas and oil extraction. I remember being at the Burchfield Penney Museum — an art exhibit and a documentary was being shown. I asked the former Erie County Legislator, Betty Jean Grant if she would attend. She said she “was going to stay as long as possible.”  She stayed until the end!  The documentary sparked discussions among the audience; they spoke about what they were witnessing on roads in the suburbs: Vehicles suspected of carrying the polluted waters from the fracking process traveled, there were concerns about birds and other animals found dead on the roads and in fields, and numbers, they had not seen before.

Mrs. Grant let the audience know she was looking into these claims and would do everything she could to prevent these trucks from moving in and around our County. For months, activists rallied by the bus load to the State Capitol in Albany; carpooled to Erie County Legislative & Buffalo Common Council meetings; and even a “Welcome Brigade” for former Governor Cuomo (on his visit to Buffalo), who was considering allowing Fracking in NYS.  We were front and center, with handmade signs on wooden sticks that read “No Fracking Way,” “Just Say No to Fracking,” “Don’t Frack Erie County,” and “Vote Yes” (to Ban Fracking)!

It was an exciting period in the Activism community that brought people of all social-economic statuses TOGETHER IN THE CAUSE TO SAVE OURSELVES from the damages caused by fracking. I am proud to know Mrs. Grant, who took this Cause and listened to the concerns of her constituents that elected her and the whole county. She watched, listened, and most importantly, DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT!  As we enter Earth Month and enjoy the upcoming warm breezes that the Spring will surely bring, take a moment to appreciate this essential Law sponsored by Mrs. Betty Jean Grant, Former District 2 Erie County Legislator and Author of “Falling Through the Cracks.” If you see or run into her: SALUTE HER!

Watch “Gasland” on YouTube:  https://youtu.be/6mp4ELXKv-w

and Rita Yelda’s article celebrating this win:

 https://www.buffalorising.com/2014/01/with-a-fracking-waste-ban-poloncarz-does-right-by-erie-families/