For the sake of all we hold dear, ban fracking now

On the eve of our celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I was reminded what it means to be a Christian witness in a pluralistic democracy. Dr. King was able to speak out of his own particular place within the prophetic African-American Baptist tradition. At the same time, however, he appealed to the unmet aspirations of the entire Republic through an appeal to the stirring promises of the Revolution and founding documents. King was a realist. As a member of an oppressed people, he knew well that our rhetoric of democracy and liberty has not always been matched in practice.

It's in this spirit that I spoke at the Jan. 10 rally at the Ohio Statehouse against fracking. I believe that people from all religious traditions and other people of good will need to stand up and speak truth to power, especially when our neighbors and the earth are put at risk. As an Episcopal priest serving in Athens, I have spoken to parishioners and friends in the community who are terrified at what is coming to our county. They believe that gas companies are seeking to create "facts on the ground" that will forever alter the landscape of Athens County. Operating under the cover of darkness, these companies are seeking to impose something that may well cause irreparable damage to our water, our economy and our health. Athens County in particular depends on agriculture, tourism and education, and we have a vulnerable water supply.

Recently, the Diocese of Southern Ohio passed a resolution favoring a moratorium on fracking until a peer-reviewed study of the impacts can be conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This was about 300 delegates representing about 25,000 people. A similar measure was passed in the (Cleveland-based) Diocese of Ohio. In the room, as one would expect in Ohio, we were even divided in terms of political parties. Just about every point of view was there, and yet the resolution passed overwhelmingly. I can only conclude that when people are informed about the issues, they want to know more before going forward with risky, unproven technology. 

On Dec. 22, the bishops of the two Episcopal dioceses wrote to Gov. Kasich and the members of the Ohio Legislature, calling for a moratorium. Specifically, they expressed concerns about coercive and deceptive tactics being used to secure leases, about reported links to recent earthquakes in Youngstown and elsewhere, and about contamination of drinking water and abandoned well sites.  They also expressed concern that decisions were not being made in a transparent way that was responsive to the concerns of citizens in the communities affected.

I'd like to go a bit further and say this: Jumping on the fracking bandwagon is at best shortsighted and at worst pernicious. Economic development models based on resource extraction simply don't work. They produce a short-term boom that benefits a few outside investors at great cost to local residents and small businesses and to our community's long-term health and well-being. Even a tiny risk of grave and irreparable damage is too large. And mounting evidence suggests, wherever fracking has been practiced, that the risks are not small. Far better to invest in sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels, in local farms and small businesses, and the kind of green infrastructure jobs that will still be around in 50 years, which don't poison our wells and fields and make people sick.

I therefore call on all elected officials and all concerned people in our region to do all in their power to stop this menace. In particular, I call on those public servants, from all parties, who represent us at every level of government, to put an end to the legal framework that permits this unsafe practice. And I call on citizens to band together and join the movement to protect our region. Put fracking on hold until the science can be done. Expose to the light of day what the companies and their allies are doing in secret. Litigate if necessary, outlaw it if possible, and make those who put us at risk pay for the full environmental and public health costs.

A moratorium is a good first step. Eliminating EPA loopholes is another. In particular, we need to focus on the disposal of the toxic chemicals that are used in the process, chemicals whose composition is a trade secret and whose precise contents, apparently, cannot even be disclosed to local physicians. For the sake of our region, its people, and our children, for the sake of the water we drink and the air that we breathe, for the sake of God's good earth and the creatures who live here, ban fracking now!

Editor's note: The Rev. R. William Carroll serves as pastor of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Athens.