The Solutions | Water Defense

President Obama, "Which side of history will you stand on?"

In 2008 Barack Obama showed historic vision when he pledged to free us from the tyranny of fossil fuels. Now after countless disasters, from major spills and escalating climate change, we stand at a critical moment. On November 21st, natural gas corporations may be granted the right to use dangerous fracking next to the drinking water source for 15 million people. Five percent of the U.S. population—including residents of New York City, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware—rely on the Delaware River for their pure, unfiltered tap water. If 22,000 gas wells are drilled in the Delaware River Basin, we could be faced with an unprecedented public health crisis.

President Obama holds the swing vote on the Delaware River Basin Commission, which is voting on November 21st in Trenton, NJ on whether to allow fracking in the watershed. Right now, it's unclear whether the President will choose to stand with the people, or with the special interests of big oil and gas. We need your help to tell President Obama to make the right choice, to stand on the right side of history, to side with the people—not the corporations. Join us on November 21 at 8 am at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive Trenton, N.J. Sign up for a bus ride here.

What you can do:

1. November 21st: Join us in Trenton, NJ for the day of the vote (sign up for a bus ride here).

2. Right now: Tell President Obama to stand with us, not big oil and gas.

Subject:

Your Letter:

Dear President Obama:

Which side of history will you stand on?

In 2008 you promised America change, and spoke eloquently of a vision to move America away from fossil fuels and lead the way to a renewable energy future. You said it was “time to end the tyranny of oil,” and we agreed.

Since then, we’ve witnessed our southern shores devastated by the BP oil spill, major spills in Port Arthur, the Yellowstone and Kalamazoo rivers, and large-scale blowouts from fracking operations in Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia. We’ve seen Southwestern forests scorched with the harshest wildfires on record, extreme drought throughout the Midwest and South, and historic flooding across the northern plains and eastern US.

The need to protect America from similar disasters and act responsibly to mitigate further climate change has never been greater. In this context, you now are faced with an historic decision. You recently took a brave step in refusing to move forward with the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, that would have kept America addicted to polluting tar sands oil for the next 30 years. Now, the fate of the Delaware River—and 15 million people's drinking water—is in your hands.

Fracking has already contaminated the drinking water of thousands of people and been linked to devastating health effects across the country. Now, the water supply of 15.6 million people is at risk from fracking in the Delaware River Basin. Residents of New York City, Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware are counting on you to protect them from the groundwater contamination, radioactive waste, cancer-causing air emissions, and catastrophic accidents that will inevitably come with fracking.

We urge you in the strongest possible terms to side with the American people over the profits of big oil and gas, and reject plans for fracking in the Delaware River Basin on November 21st at the meeting of the Delaware River Basin Commission.

Fracking, like the tar sands, would threaten the health of American communities, radically alter global climate systems, and undermine our country's economic recovery. Reports from economic analysts show that net jobs created from fracking are just a small fraction of what industry claims. The jobs will be short-term and have profoundly negative impacts on employment in agriculture, tourism and related industries. We need good jobs in the emerging green job sector that will help America prosper, not jobs that will delay our country’s progress in adopting a 21st century energy policy.

While running for office, you said that renewable energy like wind and solar are how “America is going to free itself from our dependence on foreign oil – not through short term gimmicks but through a real long-term commitment to transform our energy sector.”

This is your opportunity to keep your pledge. President Obama, will you stand with us in voting no on fracking in the Delaware River Basin?

Sincerely,

President Barack Obama

Phone:(202) 456-1111

Fax:(202) 456-2461

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

President Barack Obama

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