Media Advisory, November 14, 2013

Contact:   Rose Braz, (510) 435-6809, rbraz@biologicaldiversity.org 
Peg Mitchell, (760) 224-3252 (onsite cell)

Anti-fracking Activists Confront Gov. Brown at "Elected Official of the Year" Award Event

Coalition Highlights Extreme Oil Production's Harm to State’s Air, Water, Climate

SAN DIEGO— Sign-carrying activists with San Diego 350, CREDO, the Center for Biological Diversity and Californians Against Fracking will urge Gov. Jerry Brown to ban fracking at his appearance to receive an “elected official of the year” award in San Diego today. The protest is being organized on the ground by San Diego 350.

Gov. Brown has been dogged by protesters from the 150-member Californians Against Fracking coalition at appearances across the state for his refusal to ban the highly polluting technique, which involves blasting huge volumes of water mixed with toxic chemicals into the ground to break up rock formations and release oil and gas.

"Governor Brown needs to realize that water has become a scarce natural resource that must be protected,” said Peg Mitchell of SanDiego350.org. “Fracking consumes huge amounts of fresh water for extracting a product that destroys our climate. Meanwhile our cities are struggling to find new sources of water while our citizens are left with costly energy-intensive alternative solutions for drinking water. This just doesn't make economic or environmental sense."

“Gov. Brown needs to realize that climate leaders don’t frack,” said Rose Braz of the Center for Biological Diversity. “The governor’s support for this dangerous form of oil and gas extraction could tarnish the Golden State, not to mention his legacy, forever. Fracking pollution contaminates the air we breathe and the water we drink. It will also blow a huge hole in California’s efforts to fight dangerous climate change.”

What:  Protest calling on Gov. Jerry Brown to ban fracking outside governor’s appearance to receive an award as elected official of the year. 
   
When: Today, Thursday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m.
   
Where:  Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine, 3777 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego CA 92122

Despite acknowledging the urgent need to fight climate change, Gov. Brown has refused to halt fracking in California. Fracking is tied to air and water pollution and releases huge volumes of methane, a dangerously potent greenhouse gas.

A study published this year in the Journal of Geophysical Research found that the methane leak rate from Los Angeles-area oil and gas operations was 17 percent, a rate that makes these fuels far worse for the climate than coal. New fracking and acidization technologies are opening up huge new sources of dirty oil in California’s Monterey Shale formation to extraction and combustion, threatening the state’s leadership on climate. 

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 625,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Californians Against Fracking is a coalition of environmental, business, health, agriculture, labor, political, and environmental justice organizations working to win a statewide ban on fracking in California.


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