>> Fracking, from page 1

At times we broke into smaller groups, to dream up new tactics and designate immediate and long-term targets and goals. All agreed that the ultimate goal was to ban fracking, and at the very least to close the "Halliburton loophole," which allows fracking to go on unhampered by the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Air Act, Superfund Act, Resource Conversation & Recovery Act (hazardous waste act), and Environmental Policy Act. Without these exemptions, it was noted, fracking would come to an end because it would be too expensive.

It was also noted that beyond prohibition of fracking, the true goal was to get off fossil fuels and nuclear energy altogether and for the entire world to be powered by sustainable energy, aka "WWS" Wind, Water & Solar. Mark Z. Jacobson and Mark A. Delucchi outlined and quantified this and showed it to be completely feasible in their 2009 study, "A Path to Renewable Energy by 2030," published in the November 2009 issue of Scientific American.

The immediate goal was to focus on the upcoming Delaware River Basic Commission meeting in Trenton on November 21.

The training participants were not a coherent group, however. We were unable to form one action/ decision-making group to take up one of the actions, so I gathered the ideas from the brainstorming sessions and sent them out to people so that they could form action groups around the issue(s) that most spoke to them. Only one person responded. Some others were happy just to have come to educate themselves, another felt they needed an action to be within a more coherent campaign strategy.

Others were planning to work with 350.org and United for Action on one action that was generated. We called it the "Obama Phone Bank Action": The plan was to go into Obama re-election offices as groups of volunteers, make calls to his constituents, and do a survey. We would ask, "The Delaware River Basin is about to get fracked. Would you support Obama to put pressure on the DRBC to say no and on Congress to close the Halliburton loophole?" We would ask them to call the White House, reminding them, "You voted for him." We would record the answers in writing, record the calls on I-Phones, and put them up on YouTube.

As it turned out, the DRBC meeting was cancelled, due in part to the wavering of Governor Markell of Delaware (one of the five votes on the Commission), along with the first threat of mass civil disobedience that was to take place at that meeting. Too badthe action plan was brilliant, but it can be used again in another form.

People expressed the sense that we were dealing simultaneously with a human rights issue, a nature's rights issue and, as Daniel pointed out, a democracy issue, since we the people were not able to gain access to information that we needed to make an informed decision, such as the chemicals contained in the fracking fluid and the Army Corps of Engineers' study on the effects of fracking.

Other features that are part of a successful campaign that we discussed include transparency, identifying "pillars of support"those people who allow your opponents to do what they do, escalating pressure, presenting ultimatums, putting your opponent into a position in which he/ she must choose, and a consideration of timing (whether to use surprise or threaten with an action over a long period to build tension). An example of the latter is Gandhi's Salt March in British-occupied India.

Feedback on the program was highly positive, from: "One of the best training / organizing programs I've attended" to "Inspiring" to "I enjoyed the training immensely, the wisdom of the trainer, and the opportunity to meet the other people in attendance."

My sense is that this event enriched people's understanding of the new direction that the movement to end fracking will take. Everyone came away with a sense of new possibilities, from the veteran "fractivists" to newcomers. <>

Earthcare Calendar

February 7 , 2012. Deadline for article submissions for March-April 2012 BeFriending Creation.

May 2, 2012. Deadline for applications for the 2012 QEW Mini-Grants.