Fracking in Boulder County
(COGCC image showing fracking wells in Weld County. Each red dot is a well. Boulder county is looking at 1800 such wells in the next few months.)
Fracking in Boulder County: How are we called to act?
Date: Saturday, April 8, 3-6 pm followed by optional potluck
Venue: Rosenthal Residence, Lafayette Drive, Boulder (Exact address with be shared once you send RSVP to Kate Glover )
Speakers Russell Mendell and Suzanne Spiegel; Hosted by Ecodharma sangha and Shanahan Neighbors for Climate Action
Meeting Notes: Please see our detailed notes and resources circulated after the meeting.
The current moratorium on fracking in Boulder county was set to expire in May this year. Our state Attorney general could not wait for May, and has sued the county on behalf of oil and gas industry. The image above shows what happened in Weld county over the past few years. Unless we use our spiritual practice in an organized way, Boulder will be dotted with as many fracking wells. We are told to expect over 1800 fracking wells in our county in next few months. There are drilling proposals of 20 to 40 wells per site are being proposed near residential neighborhoods, schools, parks, and recreational areas up and down the Front Range. They will bring enormous traffic congestion, noise, air, water and soil pollution. Is it time for us to begin our dharma-practice to protect local lands from fracking? Don’t we need to learn about the issue, take inspiration from the land and its most active defenders and starting acting? Is it our responsibility to ensure that we have the strongest possible protections in Boulder County and the world-class environment we have worked hard to protect and preserve?
Russell Mendell (Campaign Director at Earth Guardians): Russell is a writer, musician and community organizer and is focused on merging art and activism to inspire youth participation in climate solutions. He was previously the Outreach Director for Frack Action and Water Defense, actor Mark Ruffalo’s nonprofit. Most recently, Russell was the Campaign Director for Frack Free Colorado, a nonprofit focused on making the transition from fracked gas to renewable energy. He has co-organized dozens of concerts and events for social and environmental causes. Russell is working to nurture the symbiotic relationship between art, music and climate solutions.
Suzanne Spiegel (Founder of Frack Free Colorado, Unnamed Yoga Project) Suzanne is an environmental activist who believes that one of the most powerful ways of addressing the planetary issues of our time is by working to unravel our internal conflict so that we each project more peace, joy and inspiration instead of fear, greed and competitiveness. She believes that as we connect to our own essential nature through mindfulness, we begin to perceive our inter-connectedness and our desire to care for each other and our planet, grows.
Resources
— Ecodharma Sangha’s detailed notes. links, interviews and resources circulated after the meeting.
— Impact of Oil and gas operations on babies’s health
— Boulder County Oil & Gas Development Website – Contains information about Colorado Attorney General lawsuit against Boulder County
— Youth case against the COGCC in court, again – Boulder Weekly
— East Boulder County United – A local group working toward Climate Bill of Rights and legalization of Direct Action
— Watch Oil and Gas Wells Spread Across Colorado (1992-2013) – CPR
— Chasing Methane with Mark Bittman – Years of Living Dangerously Episode featuring Colorado Front Range