Activists, Community Leaders to send Senator Erickson “Wake Up Call” at Plum Street Mall

Media, PA – Delaware County residents joined activists from Food & Water Watch and Transition Town Media today to send State Senator Ted Erickson a “wake-up call.” Community members gathered at the Plum Street Mall wielding an oversized alarm clock, calling on Senator Erickson to wake up to the concern voiced by his constituents, who have called on him to support recently introduced moratorium legislation.

This event was one of more than 200 taking place around the world on October 19th as part of the second annual Global Frackdown (www.globalfrackdown.org), a worldwide day of action against fracking and related infrastructure, initiated by Food & Water Watch.

“We have a moral responsibility to keep our drinking water safe, to preserve our pristine woods, and maintain the integrity of our food system,” said Rick Joers, Local Coordinator for Food & Water Watch. “State Senator Ted Erickson should uphold that responsibility by co-sponsoring SB 1100, to enact a moratorium on fracking.”

“We are very concerned about the negative impacts of gas fracking on our water, air, environment, climate and the health of PA residents,” said Marion Yaglinski, co-founder of Transition Town Media, “and given the track record of leakage and explosions of gas pipelines, we are concerned about the Sunoco Logistics plan to construct new facilities in Marcus Hook to process fracked gas. Senator Erickson needs to stand up for his constituents and support a stoppage to fracking in Pennsylvania.”

Senator Jim Ferlo (D-Allegheny) recently introduced the legislation for a moratorium on fracking. To date the bill has accrued 8 cosponsors. Moreover, recent polling shows Pennsylvanians, and more generally, Americans, support these policies. A recent poll by the University of Michigan poll showed nearly two-thirds of Pennsylvanians support a moratorium on fracking, and a Pew Research Center poll released last month showed approximately one half of Americans oppose fracking.

Food & Water Watch (www.foodandwaterwatch.org) works to ensure the food and water we consume is safe, accessible and sustainably produced. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping the global commons – our shared resources – under public control.