June 8, 2016
Today, the Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club announced its support for a statewide ban on fracking in Maryland. Sierra Club Director Josh Tulkin issued the following statement by email this morning.
Today, we are announcing our support for a permanent ban on fracking in the state of Maryland. And we need you to stand with us.
We're barreling toward a climate catastrophe, and there's only one way to prevent it: transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy as quickly as possible. Fracking has no part of our clean energy future.
This will not be an easy fight, but the good news is, we're not alone. Sierra Club is working with the Don't Frack Maryland coalition, which includes over 100 state and local organizations, businesses, and faith institutions.
In the coming weeks, we will be rolling out more ways to get involved, including a statewide petition effort, fracking ban launch parties, and much more.
Fracking has no place in our clean energy future.
The race to protect our climate requires a rapid shift to clean, renewable energy. The science is increasingly clear that if we want to avoid warming our planet beyond 1.5* Celsius, as world leaders committed to in Paris last year, the vast majority of fossil fuels will need to stay in the ground. And the e
vidence is piling up thatfracking is dangerous--not just because it contributes directly to our warming climate, but because it also contaminates our water, causes earthquakes, and poses other immediate risks to our health.
Whether you live in Garrett County or in Southern Maryland, we are all vulnerable. Not just to climate disruption, but to the local impacts of fracking as well. While Maryland's most significant gas deposits lie under Garrett and Allegany Counties, 19 of Maryland's 24 counties actually contain shale gas deposits.
This is our last chance to keep Maryland Fracking Free.
And this may be our last chance to keep fracking out of Maryland. In 2015, the Maryland legislature passed a 2.5 year moratorium on fracking. But this will expire in October 2017, leaving Maryland completely open tofracking.
Banning fracking is an essential step, and it's one we need to take right now. If we don't, our families, our children, and their children will bear the consequences of our inaction.