Square Dance Benefit April 17th

Presenting the acclaimed old-time, Southern Appalachian string band The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers & caller Anna Lena Phillips.

 

Welcome in the Spring with a square dance benefit & silent auction with proceeds going to preserve the Piedmont and stop fracking from coming to North Carolina.

 

lesson at 7:30 p.m. dance at 8:00 on Saturday April 27th with a silent auction.

 

Location: The Paperhand Puppet Intervention Studio
6079 Swepsonville Saxapahaw Rd.  in Saxapahaw, NC

 

Entrance: $10-20 donation $5 for kids under 16

 

Square Dance FAQ:

 

Do I need to know how to dance? Nobody needs to know anything to dance a square dance. The inclination to try it out and to have a good time will get you through.

 

I used to do this in high school/grade school gym, which was embarrassing and weird. Is it going to be like that? No. Well, probably not. In my experience as a dancer and as a caller, square dancing helps folks in all kinds of social situations have fun together. As a caller, I do my best to help everyone have a good time. That’s the important thing—to give good people an excuse to jump up and down, or go in circles, together, so they don’t have to think what move to do next. When a dance is really going it can be amazing. And not a trace of gym class in the room (unless you count sweat. Sometimes people do sweat).

 

Do I have to get a special outfit? You do not. There are teams of dancers who dance Western squares, which are hot stuff—they’re highly choreographed and the dancers wear crinolines, snap-button shirts, and the like. I love a crinoline, and I do see a fair number of Western shirts on the floor these days, but there’s no dress code for oldtime Appalachian squares. You can wear what you want.

 

Do I have to dance with the same person all night/Do I have to have a different partner every dance? The answer to both of these questions is no. You can dance with whomever you want—that is, anybody who, when you ask nicely, is willing to dance with you. It’s nice to mix it up and dance with different folks throughout the course of the night, but that is not required. I like to call in a way that preserves the tradition of oldtime square dancing while relying as little as possible on gender to clarify the moves. That way everyone gets to dance every part they want to and with everyone they want to.

 

Piedmont Direct Action Camp Oct 19-21

Offering workshops/trainings on:

Civil Disobedience

Blockades

Media Interviews

Tree Climbing

Plant Walks / Mushroom Identification

Climate Change Teach In

Primitive Skills

Strategies to Fight Fracking in the U.S.

Two performances by the Mysterious Rabbit Puppet Army

and more…

Please arrive on October 19th in the evening.

Tent camping available.

Please register by e-mail dontfracknc@riseup.net or go here

SELC: NC Piedmont One Of The Top 10 Endangered Places of 2012

North Carolina Piedmont

NC Piedmont | Photo: ©Kevin Adams

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Rural lands in the North Carolina Piedmont and drinking water sources for some 2.4 million people

THE THREAT

Pressure to repeal a law that thus far has kept “fracking” wells out of North Carolina.

FrackUpdate: June 9-12! URGENT:

Reposted from Clean Water For North Carolina

Senate Bill 820 is moving fast in the NC House! A new version of S820, to be heard in the House Environment Committee at 8:30 AM on Wednesday, will be unveiled shortly, but the changes are just tinkering around the edges. The bill would still: Legalize fracking and horizontal drilling now, with no further studies of potential impacts or NC-specific conditions, Create an industry-controlled Mining and Energy Commission that would have over-arching regulatory authority, Allow “forced pooling” of landowners who don’t want to lease or sell their mineral rights for drilling, Leave local governments who want to ban or control gas development vulnerable to preemption. PLEASE CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TODAY and tell them how important their vote is to you and your community, and that NC’s communities will NOT benefit economically, but will pay heavily in reduced protections for their health and safety, quality of life, water and air. To get your Representative’s contact info, click here. In today’s Frackupdate are two powerful stories about regulatory failure in North Dakota and California that could become what happens to North Carolina if we don’t keep working to rein in the rush to frack and weaken regulations here! Events 7-9 PM, June 15, Macon County Public Library: CWFNC’s Katie Hicks presents on fracking.7 PM, June 17th. The Depot in Hillsborough (Map/Directions). Free screening of “Message from the Marcellus.” A short film by Todd Tinkham with latest update from Hope Taylor. June 20, Hendersonville: Gasland Screening. Details TBA Recent News:

 

Call the Governor and your House Representatives!

Reposted from Clean Water For North Carolina

FrackUpdate: June 7-8!

 

Keep Up Those Contacts with Representatives and Governor! 
 

As you know, the Senate passed SB820 this week. Find out how your Senator voted on SB820 by clicking here. If your Senator voted against the bill, call and thank them for their support!

Next week S820 will be heard in the House Environment Committee. Watch for an update when we know exactly when, and prepare to call or email your Representatives! Check to see if your representative is on the Environment Committee by clicking here. Find your  Representative’s contact info here. 

Please contact the Governor’s office (919-733-4240) to tell her that you know that S820 is NOT consistent with the Governor’s recent Executive Order or the values for protecting NC that she has laid out, and ask her to VETO Senate Bill 820! 

Events

• 7-9 PM, June 15, Macon County Public Library: CWFNC’s Katie Hicks presents on fracking. Contact Donn Erickson for details sandidonn2@yahoo.com.
• 7 PM, June 17th. The Depot in Hillsborough. Free screening of “Message from the Marcellus.” A short film by Todd Tinkham and the Dispersed Crew. 
• June 20, Hendersonville:  Gasland Screening. Details TBA 

Clarification on Estimated NC Gas Supply from NC Shale Basins–Thanks to Grady McCallie
 
The June 4 USGS assessment for the Deep River Basin (mostly Lee, Chatham, Moore Counties) reported roughly 1,660 billion cubic feet (bcf) of “technically recoverable, undiscovered” shale gas.  The term has a precise meaning: ‘technically recoverable’ means, recoverable at the current limit of technology; ‘undiscovered’ means it is an estimate based on what we know about the rocks, but has not been confirmed by drilling, so the gas might or might not actually turn out to be there.  If the estimate is right, and we spent whatever it cost to pump it all, that would amount to roughly 5.6 years of supply (at 304 bcf/yr, the state’s consumption in 2010).  However, it isn’t ever economical to pump it all. 
 
The DENR Shale Gas study assumed only 20% of the technically recoverable resource would actually be recovered, and used that as the basis for its economic impact analysis.  If you apply the same rule to the updated USGS estimate, you get 1,660 bcf * 0.2 = 332 bcf/ 304 bcf per year = a 1.1 year supply.  Right now, the economics are worse than that; it’s probably not economical to pump any of it given the market price of natural gas, which is expected to stay low for years to come. We hope that helps!

Recent News: 

Senate Posses Controversial Fracking Bill
“The bill that passed the North Carolina Senate was the committee substitute, an agreement reached by Senator Bob Rucho and Representative Mitch Gillespie, the two Republican factions who had been at odds regarding their vision for the proposed changes in hydraulic fracturing legislation.” June 6, Raleigh Public Record

State gas deposit not a ‘major play,’ one expert says
“The average estimate from the U.S. Geological Survey is that the so-called Deep River Basin contains about 1.7 trillion cubic feet – enough, a state official said, to meet North Carolina’s entire demand for natural gas for 5.6 years.” June 6, Durham Herald Sun

Hands Across Riverdale: The Human Costs of Fracking
Another link between water privatization and fracking:“The Susquehanna River Basin Commission had given Aqua America permission to withdraw up to 3 million gallons of water per day from the Susquehanna River to their fracking operations in the north, and the residents of Riverdale had been given a “generous” offer.”  June 3, Huffington Post

Frack Free Lobby Day

State lawmakers returned to Raleigh last week and pro-fracking legislators quickly introduced Senate Bill 820¹, which would legalizing fracking within two years even if the state doesn’t adopt proper regulations and safeguards (if you believe it can even be properly regulated).

Can you send your state legislators a message urging them to oppose ANY bill that would promote fracking in North Carolina? http://action.ncconservationnetwork.org/OpposeFracking

Fracking is a controversial method of drilling for natural gas (learn more here) that has been tied to groundwater contamination and controversy across the U.S. Some legislators here seem determined to legalize the practice, while ignoring some major news in North Carolina. Some of fracking’s dirty little secrets include:

• Fracking in North Carolina would involve greater risk compared to other states because “North Carolina’s natural gas reserves are much closer to groundwater than in other states, and the rock in between is not watertight and could permit potent fracking chemicals to work their way upward and contaminate the aquifers.”²
• Pro-fracking legislators and the fracking industry have claimed that we’re sitting on top of a goldmine of natural gas, but now those claims appear to be grossly overstated. State geologists are now estimating that the proclaimed 40-year supply is not accurate and that the reserves are “closer to an amount that’s equivalent to about five years of the state’s natural gas use.”³
• Some legislators are touting fracking as a key to economic recovery for North Carolina. Here’s what they’re not saying…the gas industry predicts North Carolina has so little gas that they would not come here for over 20 years. In fact, they also predict that the average number of jobs the gas industry would create in NC is only around 387 statewide. These legislators want you to believe that fracking will bring a tidal wave of jobs, but the facts say otherwise. If jobs really were a priority, why did the legislature pass a budget last year that cut 4,800 jobs from North Carolina’s public school system?⁴

It’s obvious that North Carolina shouldn’t open the door to this industry at a time when there are still many questions about the process and the impacts to our communities.

Tell your legislators to oppose any bill that would put us on a path to legalizing fracking today.

Thanks,
NC Conservation Network

Frack Alert!

 Senate Bill 820 is Moving Quickly—Contact your legislators by “Call-in/Write-in Day,” Wed., May 23!! 

The very aggressive fracking bill sponsored by Senator Bob Rucho was filed last week as Senate Bill 820 and is likely to move quickly in the Senate, perhaps with a first committee hearing this week.  Sponsors: Senators Rucho, Blake, Walters;  Co-sponsors: Allran, Apodaca, Bingham, Brock, Brown, Brunstetter, Carney, Daniel, Davis, East, Goolsby, Gunn, Harrington, Hartsell, Hise, Jackson, Meredith, Newton, Pate, Preston, Rabon, Rouzer, Soucek, Stevens, Tillman, Tucker, and Westmoreland.

To find contact information for your legislators, click here, and select “county” “zip code (9 digit)” or “district” if you know it. Senators are most urgent, but we recommend calling your county’s Representatives as well, to prepare them to respond the terrible provisions of this bill. House members will be busy with the budget for the next week or so.

Be sure to ask your Senator or Representative to OPPOSE S820 or any bill that would legalize fracking and leave NC communities’ water, air and infrastructure vulnerable!  New information indicates that the amount of gas in NC shales may be a 5 year supply or less—it’s just not worth an expensive regulatory program, and all the damage extracting it could cause.

S820 would immediately legalize fracking, horizontal drilling and even injection of toxic wastewater from fracking operations! On July 1, 2014, no matter what we know about NC conditions, shallow shales, water resources, etc, and how little progress we’ve made on regulations, permits could be issued for exploration and production! A new Oil and Gas board, dominated by industry interests, would control all activities. DENR would have little control over environmental protections.

S820 provides no protection for landowners, continuing to allow “forced pooling” to drill for resources under lands of folks who don’t want to lease! Info on drilling operations could be hidden for two years and local governments would be stripeed of the authority to control or ban gas development.

Please plan to join us on Tuesday, June 5, as we strive to fill the halls of the General Assembly to meet with our legislators and let them know there’s simply NO reason to legalize fracking in NC!  A pathetic amount of gas, a trivial amount of jobs and lots of potential damage to communities’ well being, drinking water, air, roads and landscapes.

Please call or write your legislators today, and be sure to ask them to OPPOSE S820 or any bill that would legalize fracking!  Then let us know what you hear back from them….THANKS!

(reposted from Clean Water for North Carolina)

News and Video From the May 19th March Against Fracking

The following is reposted from www.croatanearthfirst.com

Raw Footage of the march (speeches towards middle):

NC Fracking Foes March in Raleigh (<—- Click to see Channel 5video)

Channel 17 News Coverage: Anti-Fracking Forces March

 North Carolina Pledges Action Against Fracking:

Yesterday, May 19th, roughly 200 people gathered in Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, to participate in a colorful march organized by Croatan Earth First! on Occupy Well Street’s Day of Action Against Extraction.  Protesters marched through downtown with giant puppets, emulating earth spirits and elements, and arrived at the legislature where they plan to legalize fracking in the next coming months.  After a talk about the importance of civil disobedience and direct action, hundreds of people recited a pledge of resistance outside the legislature promising to personally take action to stop hydraulic fracturing if it’s legalized.  A sermon for the water was delivered as a coffin filled with water was presented to the legislature.  A wide range of people and organizations participated in the march including Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Cumnock Preservation Association and Raleigh Occupy.  Speeches were given by NC WARN, a representative of Red Hat, the Neuse Riverkeeper, W.A.L.L of Anson County, and Clean Water for North Carolina.  Banners read, “No Jobs On A Dead Planet,” “Don’t Frack North Carolina – Earth First!,” and  “We Can’t Drink Money.”  Croatan Earth First! is planning to organize a direct action training camp in late summer to prepare if hydrofracking is legalized in the state.

UNC Seminar on Health Affects

SEMINAR TITLE:  “Hydrofracking: Public Health Issues and Impacts”

SPEAKER:   Trevor M. Penning, Ph.D. WHEN:  Wednesday 23 May, 2012; 1:30 PM WHERE:  Rosenau Auditorium (Room 133)
The UNC-CH Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility is pleased to announce the Seminar “Hydrofracking: Public Health Issues and Impacts”, to be presented by Trevor M. Penning, Ph.D. Dr. Penning is The Thelma Brown and Henry Charles Molinoff Professor of Pharmacology, Professor of Biochemistry&  Biophysics and OB/GYN, and Director of the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology at the University of Pennsylvania. His research is related to how polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) cause cancer in humans. Access to the live webcast of the seminar will be available on the UNC CEHS website. of Fracking.

 

Join Us To March Against Fracking Saturday May 19th

Join us in the capital to march through downtown Raleigh and raise awareness about the resistance to fracking in North Carolina.  We’ll be assembling near Nash Square around 11:30 a.m. and  around 12 noon marching to the Legislative Building at 16 West Jones Street.  We encourage folks to bring musical instruments: drums, violins, trumpets, colorful banners and signs, puppets… anything that will make this fun.  The march is family friendly and fully permitted.  If your group would like to officially sign onto the march as a co-sponsor contact us at dontfracknc@riseup.net or call 919-200-0061 for more details.  We encourage everyone to share this event on their facebook or on listserves they are on.  This date is within the legislative session that begins in May where legislators plan on disregarding public outcry by legalizing fracking and wastewater injection in our state.  It’s time to let them know we won’t let this happen here.  See you in the streets!  This event is also co-sponsored by Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League & Cumnock Preservation Association.

So Much For Waiting Two years

 FrackUpdate: April 14-17

Sen Rucho’s Terrible Bill: Legalize Fracking, Undermine Local Control

Sen. Rucho and colleagues rolled out their proposal for oil and gas this week, and it’s even worse than we feared.  It would immediately allow exemptions from state rules preventing high pressure injections and horizontal drilling for gas extraction and even waste injection, making fracking a “done deal” in NC, with a vulnerable two year moratorium on permits. The bill would create a new Oil and Gas Board that would conflict with DENR authority for environmental protection, and undermine local control of oil and gas activities.MORE DETAILS AND ACTION STEPS IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS!