What Can I Do?

Sign The Nation‘s petition with 350.org demanding that President Obama end fracking on public lands.

To President Barack Obama:

We need to keep all fossil fuels on federal lands in the ground. That means not just coal, but also oil and gas. If it’s wrong to wreck the climate and threaten public health, it’s wrong for our government to allow fracking on public lands.

We know that fracking is inherently unsafe. Across the country, communities are speaking out against the health impacts they face from fracking and its threat to our water and climate. Fracking keeps us on the path of fossil fuel dependence when we know we need to transition to 100% clean energy. It’s time to end fracking on public lands.

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What’s Going On?

In a recent article for The Nation, Bill McKibben looked at the terrifying implications of our fracking boom. As a result of of fracking, the United States is leaking methane into the atmosphere at an alarming rate—and unburned methane is much more efficient at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. McKibben points out that when you take methane leaks from fracking into account, America’s contribution to climate change may have actually increased during President Obama’s tenure. As he puts it: “It’s a disaster—and one that seems set to spread.”

On top of this, we know that fracking is inherently unsafe. Across the country, communities are speaking out against the health impacts they face from fracking and its threat to our water, air, and climate.

Earlier this year, President Obama announced a moratorium on new coal leases on public lands. This is huge news—and proof that our movement is working—but we need to keep all fossil fuels on federal lands in the ground. That means not just coal, but also oil and gas—and it certainly means an end to fracking.

There are over 200 billion tons of oil and gas on public lands that need to stay in the ground. If this land is allowed to be fracked, climate change will accelerate and the health of our communities will suffer. If we can put an end to fracking on public lands, we’ll be much closer to keeping all fossil fuels in the ground and we’ll send a signal that fracking has no place in a 21st-century energy plan.