Anti-fracking activists in Colorado erected a 20-foot mock oil derrick in front of Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper’s mansion in a Denver neighborhood on Monday, demanding an end to drilling in their state.
About 230 people joined the demonstration—which made stops at several “Hall of Shame” locations including Halliburton’s Denver office, the state capitol, and the EPA’s regional headquarters—calling for a ban on hydraulic fracturing and a shift to cleaner fuels.
“Fracking is is an inherently destructive process that we are fighting to keep out of our communities. We have better alternatives like wind and solar and it’s time to put them in place now.”
—Sharon Carlisle, Colorado mom
They specifically targeted Hickenlooper, whose pro-fracking stance has helped encourage an extraction boom in the state. According to the Denver Post, three activists were ticketed for blocking traffic at the governor’s mansion, which was the final stop of the day.
“Under Hickenlooper, Colorado has been reckless in its development of shale gas reserves,” the grassroots organizing coalition Flood the System, which supported Monday’s action, wrote on its website. “Over 55,000 wells are currently in production and industry’s cozy relationship with the governor continues to maintain business as usual.”
Mother and daughter Sharon and Zoe Carlisle chained themselves to the drilling rig in protest, speaking of their concern for the health and safety of their neighborhood as fracking moves closer to nearby homes and schools.
“I am doing this for my daughter and all the young people out there like her,” Sharon Carlisle said. “Fracking is is an inherently destructive process that we are fighting to keep out of our communities. We have better alternatives like wind and solar and it’s time to put them in place now.”
Monday’s actions followed a two-day summit in Denver featuring workshops, trainings, and strategy sessions organized by the national Stop the Frack Attack Network.
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