More than 5,000 people from all over the nation, and various parts of the world including Australia, united today (July 28) on the West lawn of the U.S. Capitol demanding Congress take immediate action to stop fracking. After the rally that began at 2 p.m., rally participants marched for more than one hour, stopping at the headquarters of the America’s Natural Gas Alliance and American Petroleum Institute.

People impacted by fracking in their communities joined forces with 136 local and national organizations to call on Congress to Stop the Frack Attack and protect Americans from the dangerous impacts of fracking.

Rally speakers included, Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org; Josh Fox, producer of Gasland; Calvin Tillman, former mayor of Dish, Texas; Allison Chin, board president of the Sierra Club, and community members from swing states affected by fracking.

“As the increasingly bizarre weather across the planet and melting ice on Greenland makes clear, at this point we’ve got no choice but to keep fossil fuels underground. Fracking to find more is the worst possible idea,” said McKibben.
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Following an explosion yesterday at a natural gas well in Bolivar Township, Ohio, that left a 19-year-old worker dead, local residents gathered last night at Chesapeake Energy’s Canton office to protest Mayor Healy’s request that the Canton City Council approve the company’s plan to lease city-owned land for fracking.

Mourning the death of the oil and gas worker, protestors marched in a silent vigil to Canton City Hall, where they testified in opposition to the Mayor’s plan before the Canton City Council.

Earlier this year in Healy’s State of the City address, he dubbed Canton the “Utica Capital,” clearly demonstrating his support for the controversial practice of shale gas drilling. But a growing number of residents and concerned council members are now working to block his efforts to drill on city-owned property.

Kristine Vaughan, local coordinator for Food & Water Watch, said, “We are asking city council to uphold its responsibility to protect the health, safety and welfare of Canton residents and water customers. Risking permanent contamination of our city water supply for a short-term gain hardly seems logical. I’m certain that neither Mayor Healy nor city council wants to jeopardize the health of their constituents for a budget band-aid.”
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One person was confirmed dead from an oil- and natural gas-well explosion Monday morning, but authorities will need additional time to provide positive identification of the victim and an exact cause of the explosion that sent flames and an oil holding tank high into the sky and created a blanket of intense heat that could be felt across the street.

The explosion, believed to have occurred about 9:30 a.m., was in Lawrence Township at a site about two miles south of Bolivar in the vicinity of Bolivar Group Home at 10071 State Route 212, near the Wilkshire Hills subdivision.

Dr. James Hubert, Tuscarawas County coroner, said late Monday that the victim’s name won’t be released until identity is confirmed through the use of dental records. Hubert said once the victim’s dental records are acquired and examined by a specialist, he should be able to confirm the victim’s identity by the end of the week.

The victim, believed to be a 19-year-old male, was painting at the well site, according to Bolivar Fire Capt. Marty Huth, who served as incident commander at the scene Monday.
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