The Momentum!

I was away for a while, playing a jazz festival in the land of Sardinia, which is smack in the middle of the Mediterranean. Truly a land of sun, wind, currents etc.... and yet there is very little sustainable energy production! The locals tell me that it costs too much money to install the infrastructure, and people are poor, and Sardinia is the "forgotten land" of Italy. And yet, there's a huge NATO base on the island where they drop who-knows-what-kinds of bombs all the time - wouldn't it make sense for NATO to pay for a renewable energy system in Sardinia in exchange for the loss in quality of life?

The other night, the last night before the first school night, there was an outdoor screening of Josh Fox's GASLAND Movie. I had the opportunity to meet Josh, and gave him one of my Demand It tee shirts. The movie is opening national on the 15th, and he's very excited!

Before the movie began, Maurice Hinchey spoke, and is doing amazing things on the federal level in regards to the Frack Act.

The turnout was excellent! And there was kettle corn and cotton candy for the kids, plus an excellent playground.... Although my attention was scattered by my son's exuberance (he was screaming "No Hydrofracking! No Hydrofracking" while ensconced at the top of the "Eiffel Tower" climby thingy), there were several speakers, not all of whom I was able to identify. I know that Janet Burgan sang a bunch of songs including a new one, "No Hydrofracking Way". And, there was a performance ensemble which represented the Industry and their Frackers. I'm sure that Mark Ruffalo spoke, and perhaps Wes Gillingham from Catskill Mountainkeeper.

 This was the 2nd time I saw the movie, and I found myself calling my son so he could see the scenes where they light the tap water on fire....

Biggest call to action right now: Call your state and federal reps to demand that drilling be stopped. Call the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) too. There's a September 15th deadline to extend an existing Moratorium on Drilling in the Delaware. CALL YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES AND DEMAND A MORATORIUM ON HYDROFRACKING!!!
NY - PA - NJ - WV

The New York EPA hearings are rescheduled at the Broome County Forum Theater in Binghampton, on Sept. 13th and 15th, 2010.  It's looking to be a huge day of activism - I'm scheduled to speak on the 13th and will be there with trumpet and video camera!!! Come out if you can!

One thing I keep hearing from people on the street, and through my YouTube channel, is desperation. People are feeling inadequate, or overwhelmed when presented with this issue. That's how I felt at first, too.... but then I saw people taking a huge, active part in halting the machine, I jumped right in - there is no "alone" in this fight; just give what you can, and make some fabulous friends in the process!

I'm living in NYC part time so I'm getting involved on both ends of the spectrum now. The first thing I realized is that hydrofracking is not the only potential problem with NYC's water supply! There are definitely OTHER issues.....

Gotta run!

Getting Involved is What Matters

It's so easy to be disillusioned; disheartened; disenfranchised when you look this oily beast in the eye; they've got more money than the rest of the world combined. But tonight, I heard a few people say some things that put steam back in my sails and made me feel like I'm a part of something incredibly important.

The event was a fundraiser for David Sager, who is running for NY State Senate against a longtime, popular senator who has recently changed his tune from "Drill Baby Drill" to "Maybe Drill Next Year". And at first intro, most people say "Oh, he doesn't have a chance" and they write him off, even if they wish he could actually win.

But the reality is that Mr. Sager has the power of believers on his side; people who are fighting tooth and nail with him to prevent New York from becoming a disaster area; to lessen the painful burden of property taxes; and to deal with issues that have been ignored on the state level for too too long.

I felt fortunate to be in this room of people who are fighting so incredibly hard to protect New York. People who have taught me everything I know about hydrofracking... people who know how to make waves, who are well-connected, and who's passion and love for this area is overflowing.

Mark Ruffalo, the actor, was in attendance tonight and in his short speech he said about disheartened people, "Obviously they're not writing enough letters to their senators". What a great get-off-your-behind call to action! And he's perfectly right. It's a simple, fast thing that anyone can do and it makes a tremendous difference!

When David Sager got up to talk he said that his campaign may not be well-financed like his opponent's; but he's on the side of "right", and he's got the "right" people behind him. Looking around the room at the array of people, I had to agree with him. Maybe, in this case, Right Makes Might.

I listened to a man who talked about puttiong his money into creating a farm powered by renewable energy, and about how excited he is for the future of his young son. There was lots of conversation about how to link up the fight against carbon to the renewable energy industry; how to expand the coalitions of the grassroots behind a unified voice.

And may people talked about Wind power - how it's so successful some places, and yet we're doing so little with it when we have such great wind resources.

So .... there is an army of people working tirelessly to save our habitat. Really extraordinary people; not drones. You don't have to feel alone or helpless in this fight.... just do whatever you can to make a difference, and think of all the other people out there who are doing the same.