Carol Houser of Curwensville rallies outside the Penn Stater during Marcellus Protest 2011 on Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. Photo by Doug Bauman

by Doug Bauman

Activists from across Pennsylvania gathered to express their anger with Marcellus Shale drilling, to support the health of the environment and to protest corporate America’s role in government at Penn State on Nov. 18.

Marcellus Protest 2011, “Power To The People, Not The Corporations,” was held in opposition to Marcellus Summit 2011, a conference held for industry representatives, government officials and various community groups at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.

The grassroots event’s sponsors included Groundswell, Eco-Action at Penn State and Elk County C.A.R.E.S.

The first part of the rally, held at Old Main, celebrated the Nov. 8 passing of an amendment to the State College charter that guarantees borough residents the right to clean water, clean air and a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. It also enables the community to take legal action against an outside entity that endangers any of the rights afforded by the bill. This was the first popular vote on a community bill of rights to ban fracking in the nation.

“We have the right to a sustainable future,” said speaker Braden Crooks, a 2011 Penn State graduate who founded the local anti-fracking group Groundswell, which is also dedicated to responsible local environmental stewardship.

He also talked about the democratic process, saying that corporations may run Harrisburg, but the citizens of State College have made it clear they don’t run their town.

Speaker Barb Jarmoska of the Responsible Drilling Alliance congratulated the community on the referendum and its “infusion of much-needed hope” to the anti-fracking movement.

“This is all preaching to the choir,” said Jarmoska in an interview.

Jarmoska’s speech focused on five sound bites circulated through the media by gas companies. She stressed how crucial anti-fracking publicity is when dealing with such formidable foes; ones, she said, she’s never seen the likes of. The advertising and public relations campaigns run by these companies are some of the most clever and pervasive ever seen in the history of our country, she said, adding, “All we have is the power of speech.”

An environmental activism crash course

Local residents recently learned how to exercise that power during a Marcellus Shale citizen training event held on campus on Nov. 5. Organizers said they held it to educate people on Marcellus Shale drilling and how citizens can help change policy and influence politics.

About 25 people from the Centre County region and surrounding communities attended the event hosted by PennEnvironment, a statewide citizen-funded advocacy group working for clean air and water. The Philadelphia-based group has made appearances before in Centre County, notably every summer with its door-to-door canvassing campaigns to help acquaint citizens with current environmental issues.

“Marcellus shale and gas drilling is one of our top-priority issues because it’s one of the top threats facing the state,” said Adam Garber, PennEnvironment field director, who spearheaded the class. “We want to empower people who are new to fighting for protections from gas drilling to fight for our environment and our health.”

While the event touched on how Marcellus Shale drilling is affecting the environment, it focused on how citizens can make a difference in their community and how they can convert their concern into action.

The event also featured a mock meeting with a local legislator where attendees had the opportunity to present their anti-fracking stance to a PennEnvironment representative acting as a legislator, as well as a “letters to the editor” how-to session.

Despite the attempts of PennEnvironment and other pro-environment groups across the state, no significant Marcellus legislation that deals with the environment or health impacts of drilling has been passed in the last few years, said Garber. Still, he remains optimistic.

“People are learning more and more about the serious danger gas drilling poses to Pennsylvania,” he said. “As the public opinion shifts towards calling for more public health protections, more environmental protections and even for an outright moratorium, we know that will shift the political discussions—we’ve already seen that happen. We’ve seen legislators who didn’t want protections three years ago introducing legislation now that will introduce buffer zones or increase bonds or other things... so public opinion is a huge driver for this.”

Garber compared the situation to the biblical account of David and Goliath, in which Goliath, a colossal warrior fell at the hand of David, a young man dwarfed by Goliath’s size and might.

“We can’t win on the dollar-for-dollar battle, but we can win on the vote-for-vote battle because the majority of the public is growing more and more concerned about this,” he said. “By getting more people involved, we can actually win on this issue.”

A movement in action

After rallying at Old Main, about sixty of the protesters headed to the Penn Stater Conference Center. Businessmen in ties and jackets attending Marcellus Summit 2011 peered out through windows to see the bevy of activists holding anti-fracking signs and chanting “no fracking way” and “end the gasocracy now.”

Some protesters lined up for a chance to give an impromptu speech through a bullhorn. A unifying thread among many speakers was the power of the people.

“We’re going to win,” said Jeffrey Kurland, a retired anthropology professor living in Pennsylvania Furnace. In his late sixties, Kurland has been an activist for decades (his list of experiences include a Martin Luther King Jr. peace march and the first Earth Day, to name a few).

“You know why?” he asked. “Because there’s more of us than them.”

Kurland had positive things to say about the anti-fracking and Occupy movements, which he called more “sophisticated” than their 1960s predecessors.

“One thing that makes these movements so important is that they come from the ground up; it wasn’t underwritten by the Koch brothers,” said Kurland, referring to the financial and organizational support lent to the Tea Party movement by conglomerate millionaire brothers David and Charles Koch of Koch Industries.“The Occupy movement has driven the media crazy because you can talk to someone over here, or over here, or over there.”

This is part of the movement’s success, said Kurland: it’s grassroots. He also urged activists not to give up.

Master of ceremonies and Groundswell member Peter Buckland said he was pleased with the event and hoped it would inspire a sense of solidarity and continue the movement’s forward motion.

“It’s not about my backyard, it’s about our backyard,” said Buckland. “We need to be persistent and focused.”