don's blog
It was a hot and humid Sunday morning on 9/28/05, but that didn't stop a couple dozen folks from picketing outside a Baptist church in east Fort Worth. This was before Just Say NO. FWCanDo was not yet named. Just say WHOA! was still a star in the sky. Urban gas drilling was in its infancy. But we knew trouble when we saw it, even back then.
The reason for the protest? Sagamore Hill Baptist Church, owned 50 acres of very rare, original Texas prairie which is next to a historic neighborhood. They had announced that they were striking a deal with the devil. The devil in this case is Chesapeake Energy who wanted to extract the minerals under the property which is also adjacent to Tandy Hills Natural Area. read more of this posting »
My friend and ally, Steve Smith at West and Clear, has produced a resonant new video doc titled, A Conversation with Jerry Horton. It is a Must See. This little film, directed by, James M. Johnston, is an excellent introduction on how pipelines associated with urban gas drilling impact human lives and neighborhood integrity.
The films subject, 72 year old, Mrs. Jerry Horton, happens to be the first but not no means the last person in Fort Worth to be sued by a pipeline subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy for not agreeing to an UN-odorized natural gas pipeline under her front yard. She has become a living symbol of what is wrong with urban gas drilling. read more of this posting »
Weekend Food for Thought:
Framing our message
One of the enduring myths about natural gas is that it is a clean energy source. A careful study of the facts reveals otherwise. According to OGAP (Oil and Gas Accountability Project), natural gas is "just another dirty fossil fuel."
http://www.earthworksaction.org/oil_and_gas.cfm
In a recent blog, Txsharon does some myth-busting that blows holes in the industry-created catch-phrase, "Clean Burning Natural Gas."
As more and more communities across America organize to fend off out-of-control natural gas extraction, drilling forces are ramping up their PR(opaganda) campaigns. Big spender, Chesapeake Energy, has created a CleanSkies.org campaign that is moving aggressively to reinforce the myths of their dirty industry. read more of this posting »
Are you one of those people who says, "I'm not against gas drilling in general, but..."?
Then, where DO you think is an OK place to drill?
For those of you who aren't quite sure if you want a gas well in your 'hood or not, come on over to east Fort Worth. We have plenty.
Check out our latest pad site in the pic below. It is directly behind the Seven Eleven store on E. Lancaster Ave. (Hwy. 80) @ Beach St.
Do you think this new addition to our neighborhood enhances our quality of life?
Do you think it will help us attract new businesses and residents?
Would you like to have one in YOUR neighborhood?
Would you feel safe and secure with dozens of them surrounding your neighborhood? read more of this posting »
What are you doing August 7, 2008?
If you are frustrated, angry, depressed, apathetic, horrified or just generally concerned about natural gas drilling in north Texas, mark your calendar, program your Blackberry, scribble a post-it-note, tie a string around your big toe, whatever, just be sure you show up for this important event.
It doesn't matter where you live.
It doesn't matter if you are for or against gas drilling, in general.
It doesn't matter if you signed a mineral lease or not.
It doesn't matter if you Just Said YES or continue to Just Say NO.
Elected officials continue to issue drilling permits without all the facts or a master plan for dealing with an aggressive industry.
The health and safety of our communities has been compromised. read more of this posting »
FWCanDo will be interviewing with correspondents from NPR (National Public Radio) and CNN next week at CanDo HQ. We will also escort them on guided tours of Dirty Ol' Town.
Both media giants just happen to be in town the same days to shine a spotlight on the multi-tentacled, Barnett Shale phenomenon.
FWCanDo is very grateful for this opportunity to remind a mass audience that not everyone in Texas is related to Jeb Clampitt or J.R Ewing or even, Tommy Lee Jones. Some of us are not blinded by money.
There are real people here who have grave reservations about natural gas extraction, production and marketing, both urban AND rural. read more of this posting »
Thanks to all who have written letters in support of Tandy Hills Natural Area in Fort Worth and keeping hydrocarbon profiteers in check.
Please don't stop now. We still need your support.
Check out this link at TIME.com for a report on modern grass roots organizations like FWCanDo and their efforts to bring some sanity to an out of control industry. (The link will be active for only a short time.)
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1820884,00.html
Here is an excerpt: read more of this posting »
Dear FWCanDo Supporter-
FWCanDo exists because I was a NIMBY. My wife and I live across from a 160 acre native prairie preserve known as, Tandy Hills Natural Area. It is a little piece of heaven on earth in the heart of Fort Worth, Texas, aka, Dirty Ol' Town.
You can read more about Tandy Hills here: http://www.tandyhills.org
Tandy Hills is no less valuable than the Galisteo Basin of Santa Fe County, New Mexico or the deep woods of the Upper Delaware River Basin or the scenic hills and valleys of northern Arkansas. All these places are now threatened by out of control energy extraction. read more of this posting »
What an unexpected surprise, and treat, to find Mike Price's insightful review of Federico Fellini's 1959 classic film, La Dolce Vita in the Fort Worth Business Press, on July 5, 2008??? in Fort Worth, Texas??? The question is, Why now??? Of all the possible DVD's to review Mike picked this one, and it was released by Koch-Lorber back in what, 2005??
http://www.fwbusinesspress.com/display.php?id=7888
Maybe it is just coincidence or...maybe, just maybe, Mike is, (perhaps unconsciously) drawing a parallel with Fellini's cautionary tale and these surreally, decadent days of the Barnett Shale. Fort Worth is the new Rome. West 7th Street is a stand in for Via Veneto. Ethical bankruptcy is all the rage. Now I get it! read more of this posting »
A new low has been reached by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial Department with their latest, bend-over-backwards valentine to Chesapeake Energy.
In todays (6/14/08) editorial they applaud Chesapeake Energy's decision to "re-light" the former Pier 1 building, (now Chesapeake HQ) with the flimsiest of rationales:
It will make us all feel better.
The editor writes how, "times are tough and oil prices are out of control", all of which can be depressing. So let's get all goose-bumpy over the Chesapeake Building????? Give me a ... break.
Besides, we live atop the, "Blessed by God Barnett Shale", by God, where "FREE" money bubbles up from the ground. (Ignore the saltwater, carcinogens and NORM) As Chesapeake and Mayor Mike Moncrief keep reminding us, We All Win!!! read more of this posting »