Maria Olteanu, Roumanian Activiste roumaine

1. Why are people protesting?
The global anti-fracking movement
“When government turns against people, resistance
becomes a responsibility”

2. What’s at stake with fracking?
• How long can you survive
without:
 Air? 3 minutes
 Water? 3 days (up to 6-7
days)
 Food? 3 weeks
Water = 65% of the human
body

3. USA shale: boom or doom?
• Mid 2000’ – Fracking industry
takes off, industry and
government present only the
bright side: shale boom, price
decreases, energy
independence, “game
changer”.
• Politics of the revolving doors
helped fracking to take off: the
Halliburton loophole helped
circumventing the
environmental legislation
(exception from the Clean
Water and Clean Air Act for the
fracking operations).

4. Fracking denial – government strategy
Drop it!
Forget about it!
Hide it!
Delaying of the EPA report on fracking from 2012 to
2016!!! Obama Administration censoring relevant results of
the EPA PA.
July 2013 – Dept of Energy – fracking is safe, the
chemicals did not reach the aquifers! Methane is
naturally occurring. Yet EPA employees advising people off
the record not to drink the water!
Hiding the database, making it difficult to access - DEP PA

5. USA shale: definitely doom!
• THEN…Gasland movie, the most influential vehicle of showing
worldwide the disasters related to fracking already in 2010 – the real
“game changer” in the story of fracking.
• Further home-made movies of the harmed, showing the nightmare of
fracking, reaching out to a broader audience.
• Resistance started taking shape in rural America: Local action groups
meeting in kitchens, movies, discussions, support groups – the very
grassroots character of the antifracking movement.

6. Scientific proofs are crying out for a BAN!
• Professor Tony Ingraffea: the new form of fracking: “an
unparalelled danger to the environment and the human
health”.
• Ever since, a growing body of peer reviewed scientific
evidence has piled up to show only a tiny fraction of what
the long term catastrophic impacts of fracking can be.
• Simple citizens turned overnight into geologists, chemists,
lawyers, rig hunters, film makers and started the resistance.
Global communication helped them get the word out!
National and international networks of fracktivism started
emerging.
• Scientists, physicians and artists, local elected politicians,
landlords, brewers, farmers joined forces to stop fracking.

7. Science is politics: The deaf years of the
governments
• Politics of the revolving doors
• Politicians and regulatory bodies in environmental
protection – not availing to the growing body of scientific
evidence on the MASSIVE dangers of fracking for the
environment and the public health.
• Citizens availed themselves massively to the results and
the consequences.
• The fight started, by all means: Petitions, letters, written
comments, lawsuits. Protests, fracking site blockades,
civil disobedience. Yet the authorities ignored them
constantly – democratic legitimacy questioned!
• Massive frustration of many local communities, leading
the locals to act in “self defence”.

8. Yes we can: BAN FRACKING NOW!

10. Evolution of the antifracking movement
in the USA

11. Shale gase reserves around the globe
– Fracking as a global issue -

12. The antifracking movement
– grassroots activism going global -
• Due to global communication – easy to spread the
information on the dangers. English helped a lot!
• Fracktivism – not just another “green cult”. Very genuine
grassroots movement. Barely any big NGOs involved.
• Fracktivism - as grassrooty, unconventional as it can get:
conservative, middle class bourgeoisie joining the fight,
together with farmers and workers, environmental activists.
• Fracktivism - beyond political and religious views; the first
EM bringing the subject of “destroying the creation”.
• "I have never seen an environmental movement spread
with such wildfire as this. It’s like lighting a fire of
powder” (Robert Boyle)

13. Fracktivism around the world
There are now antifracking movements all over the world,
covering most of the countries with fracking plans
Global Frackdown 3 – mid october

14. Strong voices against fracking
Pope Francis
European Parliament – overheard

15. Fracktivism around the world
Australia South Africa

16. Fracktivism around the world
New
Zeeland
Argentina

17. Fracktivism around the world – France
Ban in place, yet attempts to lift it

18. Fracktivism around the world – UK
Massive opposition, yet Cameron is unmoved

19. Euro-Maghrebian Network against fracking

20. Why are people protesting?
• They feel their life and their future threatened by the
contamination of water, air, land and much more
dangers associated with fracking.
• They are fed up with the blatant lies of the government,
allied with the companies and the way they are just
ignoring their voices.
• They are fighting for democracy, for their right to decide
how the future of their community and of the planet
looks like
• A global awareness network is being set up by means
of fracking, that can be the powerhouse for the new
global revolution, one that will attack the roots of the
problem: GREED and ruthless capitalism and the wish
to control.

21. Fracking – the new terrorism of the state
against its own citizens

22. Fracking and Democracy
• Where it has arrived, fracking slashed democracy. The blockade
estate: USA, Canada (New Brunswick), Argentina (Neuquen
Province), Australia (Bentley blockade), Barton Moss, Balcombe (UK),
Zurawlow
• Police intervened brutally to suppress the protests, shooting guns,
beating women, old, impaired persons, arrested peaceful protesters.
• Romania, Poland – massive intimidations of the police and the
authorities.

23. Romania, the fracking hell
• Over 60% of the country leased for fracking
• Current government has promised to ban fracking before
coming to power, then U-turn.
• Blatant abuses of the local authorities, huge lobby,
mayors buy land to lease it to the gas companies
• Secret fracking rigs, no environmental standards met.
• Rural people of Romania – subsistance agriculture – 45%
of the population, heavily relying on agriculture, water,
soil.
• Massive fracking plans, yet secret.
• Romania already energy independent.
• Fracking oponents – accused of being paid by Putin
• Pungesti – a war zone, riot policemen defending Chevron
site

24. That’s why are the people protesting
• Jack, 9 years old, Balcombe
blockade, August 2013:
“ I don't want it to happen. I
haven't been to a protest
before. It's sort of scary
sometimes. But this is
poisoning the water and I
want clean water and I don't
want the air polluted either.“
Children at the anti Chevron blockade in Pungesti, Romania

25. Why the war on fracking is so important
• Fracking is about your WATER, about your AIR, about
your HEALTH and LIFE, your basic RIGHTS, your
FUTURE! Poisoning your water is simply poisoning
yourself! It is about the survival on this planet!
• Now, not in your backyard, soon, it will be! Get ready to
fight it and meanwhile follow and support the other fights!
• Fracking, if not stopped, will be the most tremendous
envirnmental problem of the centuries to come. Water
poisoning around the globe and speeding up global
warming are just some of the impacts of fracking.
• If citizens don’t act, the future will be pretty dire.

26. Join the fight! Be a protector!
• Thank you for speaking out!
Maria Olteanu, protector.

27. Instead of conclusion
Please Watch
- Gasland 1 and 2 (Josh Fox, 2010, 2013)
- Drill, baby, drill! (Lech Kowalski 2013)
- Fracking and Democracy, Lech Kowalski
- Split Estate (2009)