Between The Lines - Seth Gladstone: Environmental Movement Divided on Negotiating Voluntary Fracking Standards with Energy Industry (Week Ending April 5, 2013)

Award-winning Investigative Journalist Robert Parry (1949-2018)

Award-winning investigative journalist and founder/editor of ConsortiumNews.com, Robert Parry has passed away. His ground-breaking work uncovering Reagan-era dirty wars in Central America and many other illegal and immoral policies conducted by successive administrations and U.S. intelligence agencies, stands as an inspiration to all in journalists working in the public interest.

Robert had been a regular guest on our Between The Lines and Counterpoint radio shows -- and many other progressive outlets across the U.S. over four decades.

His penetrating analysis of U.S. foreign policy and international conflicts will be sorely missed, and not easily replaced. His son Nat Parry writes a tribute to his father: Robert Parry’s Legacy and the Future of Consortiumnews.

Thank you for donating

If you've made a donation and wish to receive thank you gifts for your donation, be sure to send us your mailing address via our Contact form.

See our thank you gifts for your donation.

The Resistance Starts Now!

Between The Lines' coverage and resource compilation of the Resistance Movement

"The man who predicted Trump presidential win now says Trump impeachment could happen," AM Joy with Joy Reid, MSNBC, Jan. 21, 2018
"Sketchy Kazakh money finds its way into Trump dealings," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Red flags seen in many Trump real estate deals," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers," BuzzFeed, Jan. 12, 2018
"The Scandals of Donald Trump: Presidential Edition," The Atlantic, May 15, 2017
"Here's what we know so far about Team Trump's ties to Russian interests," Washington Post's ongoing compilation
"What Comey Was Investigating, Explained," The Moscow Project, Center for American Progress

"Donald Trump's Financial Ties to Russian Oligarchs and Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary from the Netherlands," Dutch TV documentary, Alternet.org, May 12, 2017
Ongoing compilation of Trump's creeping authoritarianism," MotherJones.com
Full resource list ...

SPECIAL REPORT: "The Resistance - Women's March 2018 - Hartford, Connecticut" Jan. 20, 2018

Selected speeches from the Women's March in Hartford, Connecticut 2018, recorded and produced by Scott Harris

SPECIAL REPORT: "No Fracking Waste in CT!" Jan. 14, 2018

Jen Siskind Jennifer Siskind, local coordinator for Food and Water Watch, describes the campaign to stop fracking waste in Connecticut, which so far has led to fracking waste bans in 34 towns around the state. Interviewed by Richard Hill on Mic Check, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT

SPECIAL REPORT: "Resistance Round Table: The Unraveling Continues..." Jan. 13, 2018

Lindsay Kanaly The panel discusses Trump's long history of racism and the Republican voter suppression juggernaut confronting Democrats leading up to the 2018 elections. Special guest: Lindsay Kanaly, a lead organizer of the Women's Marches planned for Jan. 20, 2018. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill on Resistance Roundtable, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT.

SPECIAL REPORT: "Capitalism to the ash heap?" Richard Wolff, Jan. 2, 2018

Richard Wolff, Economics professor Richard Wolff declares U.S. capitalism to be beyond repair and suggests the need for a radical alternative. Interviewed by Richard Hill

SPECIAL REPORT: Maryn McKenna, author of "Big Chicken", Dec. 7, 2017

Maryn McKenna, investigative journalist and author of Big Chicken, talks about the widespread use and dangers of antibiotics in commercial poultry, beef and fruit production. Interview by Bill Duesing, Richard Hill and Guy Beardsly on WPKN's Organic Farm Stand.

SPECIAL REPORT: Nina Turner's address, Working Families Party Awards Banquet, Dec. 14, 2017

Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, talks about the fight ahead for progressives as she receives the Working Families Organization Award for Exceptional Leadership Towards Advancing Progress. The event was held in Meriden, CT. Produced by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Dec. 12, 2017

Working Families Party of CT talks strategy and issues for 2018.
Lindsay Farrell, executive director of the Working Families Party of Connecticut, discusses the state's electoral landscape and lays out the issues and strategies that could lead to progressive victories in 2018. Interviewed by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Dec. 9, 2017

Disturbing developments in the Trump/Republican Agenda
Focus on the tax bill, destruction of our public lands, North Korea and Trump's private CIA. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill. Special guest: Jo Macallero of Rise and Resist.

SPECIAL REPORT: On Tyranny - one year later, Nov. 28, 2017

Professor Timothy Snyder, author of the highly acclaimed resistance manual On Tyranny, discusses his book and offers a fresh assessment of the state of our beleaguered republic. Timothy Snyder, history professor at Yale, is introduced by Stanley Heller, administrator of Promoting Enduring Peace, a Connecticut-based organization that sponsored this event at the United Church Parish House in New Haven on Nov. 28. A brief interview with Snyder conducted by WPKN radio producer, Richard Hill, follows his talk.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Nov. 12, 2017

Lynne Ide, director of program and policy with the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, talks about the current state of health care coverage in Connecticut. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Nov. 11, 2017

Focus on the Republican tax plan, the just-released autopsy on the Democratic Party, and Internet censorship by Google, Facebook and Youtube. Including an interview with Hilary Grant, a lead organizer with Action Together Connecticut, who discusses the local results of the recent election, with hosts Richard Hill, Scott Harris and Ruth Baumgartner WPKN producers

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Two leaders from Redneck Revolt, an anti-racist, anti-capitalist movement, talk about their work organizing with white working class people in Suffolk County, New York. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator for the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, describes the extent of -- and motives underlying -- the vast US network of military bases around the globe. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resisting U.S. JeJu Island military base in South Korea, Oct. 24, 2017

Joyakol, South Korean peace activist and singer, discusses the crisis on the Korean peninsula and focuses on the resistance to the U.S. huge military base being constructed on Jeju Island. The event was sponsored by the Greater New Haven Peace Council and this audio was recorded by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.
Joyakol discusses Americans' biggest misconceptions about the conflict between North and South Korea and the U.S., Interview by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.

SPECIAL REPORT: John Allen, Out in New Haven

John Allen, founding director of the New Haven Pride Center, Connecticut, talks about his new LGBTQ television show, Out in New Haven, which presents a range of political and cultural issues to the community. Interviewed by Richard Hill on WPKN's Rainy Day Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018.

2017 Gandhi Peace Awards

Promoting Enduring Peace presented its Gandhi Peace Award jointly to renowned consumer advocate Ralph Nader and BDS founder Omar Barghouti on April 23, 2017.

Subscribe to our Weekly Summary & receive our FREE Resist Trump window cling

(Car window cling)

Email us with your mailing address at contact@btlonline.org to receive our "Resist Trump/Resist Hate" car window cling!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE...

who helped make our 25th anniversary with Jeremy Scahill a success!

For those who missed the event, or were there and really wanted to fully absorb its import, here it is in video

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 1 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 2 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Between The Lines on Stitcher

Between The Lines Presentation at the Left Forum 2016

"How Do We Build A Mass Movement to Reverse Runaway Inequality?" with Les Leopold, author of "Runaway Inequality: An Activist's Guide to Economic Justice,"May 22, 2016, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, 860 11th Ave. (Between 58th and 59th), New York City. Between The Lines' Scott Harris and Richard Hill moderated this workshop. Listen to the audio/slideshows and more from this workshop.

Listen to audio of the plenary sessions from the weekend.

JEREMY SCAHILL: Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker "Dirty Wars"

Listen to the full interview (30:33) with Jeremy Scahill, an award-winning investigative journalist with the Nation Magazine, correspondent for Democracy Now! and author of the bestselling book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," about America's outsourcing of its military. In an exclusive interview with Counterpoint's Scott Harris on Sept. 16, 2013, Scahill talks about his latest book, "Dirty Wars, The World is a Battlefield," also made into a documentary film under the same title, and was nominated Dec. 5, 2013 for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Listen to Scott Harris Live on WPKN Radio

Between The Lines' Executive Producer Scott Harris hosts a live, weekly talk show, Counterpoint, from which some of Between The Lines' interviews are excerpted. Listen every Monday evening from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT at www.WPKN.org (Follows the 5-7 minute White Rose Calendar.)

Counterpoint in its entirety is archived after midnight ET Monday nights, and is available for at least a year following broadcast in WPKN Radio's Archives.

You can also listen to full unedited interview segments from Counterpoint, which are generally available some time the day following broadcast.

Subscribe to Counterpoint bulletins via our subscriptions page.

BTL Blog

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Special Programming

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Progressive Resources

A compilation of activist and news sites with a progressive point of view

Share this content:

|

Subscribe to BTL

Podcasts: direct or via iTunes

Subscribe to Program Summaries, Interview Transcripts or Counterpoint via email or RSS feed

If you have other questions regarding subscriptions, feeds or podcasts/mp3s go to our Audio Help page.

Between The Lines Blog

Stay connected to BTL

Learn how to support our efforts!

Tweets by @BTLRadioNews

Environmental Movement Divided on Negotiating Voluntary Fracking Standards with Energy Industry

RealAudio MP3

Posted March 27, 2013

Interview with Seth Gladstone, Northeast regional communications manager, Food & Water Watch, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

$fracking$

Some of the nation’s largest energy companies have recently agreed to meet voluntary standards as they employ natural gas extraction known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking in the Northeast. In fracking, large amounts of water and chemicals are pumped underground to break up tight shale formations and release the oil or natural gas within. If drilling and pipeline companies abide by 15 measures to protect the air and water – based on an independent review – they will receive the blessing of the new Pittsburgh-based Center for Sustainable Shale Development, established by some environmental groups and the energy industry.

Participants in the agreement include Shell, Chevron, EQT Corporation, Consol Energy, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Clean Air Task Force, and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. Among the 15 standards in the agreement are limitations on gas flaring, maximizing water recycling, responsible wastewater disposal and reducing the toxicity of fracking chemicals.

One of the participating environmental groups, the Clean Air Task Force, applauded the agreement, but said it's not a replacement for stricter state and federal regulations, which are currently lax enough to permit massive air and water pollution. But other environmental organizations are pursuing a ban on fracking and say collaborating with the industry is not the way to go. They cite growing public opposition to fracking, as seen in a March 20 Quinnipiac Poll that found New York state voters oppose fracking by a 46 to 39 percent margin. Many of those surveyed said concern for the environment was more important that the promise of economic benefit. While New York state still maintains a moratorium on fracking, more than 6,000 wells have already been drilled in neighboring Pennsylvania. Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Seth Gladstone, the Northeast regional communications manager for Food and Water Watch, who explains why his group supports a total ban on fracking.

SETH GLADSTONE: The bottom line here is that fracking is a process that is inevitably dangerous and harmful to human health and the environment, and no set of regulations will make fracking safe or healthy or acceptable. When organizations that call themselves environmental organizations go in concert with the fossil fuel industry to create some consensus, it really does a disservice to all the harmed, affected communities out there that are resisting fracking to the best of their ability and urging our leaders to put an end to it, to prevent it from happening where it's not happening and to shut it down where it is happening. Unfortunately, there's no set of regulations, no technology out there that will make this process safe, and it's naive to think otherwise. I think it's naive to think that working with this industry, this fossil fuel industry, to create something that will be acceptable to these communities on the ground. I think it's foolish to think that working with these corporations...these are the same corporations, by the way, that used their political power to force exemptions to current fracking operations from things like the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Healthy Drinking Water Act. These are federal regulations that are the cornerstones of our environmental protection, and the industry has succeeded in exempting itself from these regulations when it comes to fracking, and to think that they have our best interest in mind now is naive. We're talking about an inherently extreme and polluting process that blasts millions and millions of gallons of water and chemicals deep into the ground to crack rock and invade that ecosystem under the ground. This is inherently dangerous. It pollutes groundwater sources. It releases an awful lot of climate-changing methane into the atmosphere. And you have a number of connected consequences of this practice: truck traffic, industrialization of our rural landscapes, car accidents – a whole host of issues that arise when these large-scale industrial operations come into our rural communities.

BETWEEN THE LINES: But it is being done, especially in Pennsylvania. Do you see any advantage to making it safer, as opposed to just outright opposing it?

SETH GLADSTONE: Well, around the nation we're seeing a growing movement to ban fracking, and the more folks learn about fracking the more they're opposed to it. So we're not looking for stricter regulations; we're looking to grow the momentum around a ban movement. And in places like New York state, for example, where this issue has been debated for a number of years, a steady, consistent stream of public polling now shows that a majority of New Yorkers are opposed to fracking. They do not want this in their state. And we're seeing this movement grow across the nation, in places where fracking has occurred and in places where it has not occurred. We're seeing movements in fracking states to enact local bans, municipal bans. So we're seeing a real groundswell of energy towards making this practice a thing of the past. So there's no reason to undercut that effort – I'm talking about regulations – when more and more people every day want it banned.

BETWEEN THE LINES: I did a major story on fracking in 2011, and looked specifically at New York, where there was, and still is, a moratorium. At that time some polls showed more opposition than support for fracking, while others were the reverse. Has that opposition consolidated since then?

SETH GLADSTONE: Oh, without a doubt. With regard to the polling specifically, there are two polls that occur regularly in New York state that are seen as the most comprehensive and most well respected polls in New York state. One is the Quinnipiac University Poll and the other is the Sienna College Poll, and both of those polls now are consistently showing growing opposition to fracking, and in fact majority opposition to fracking now.

Find more information about fracking and Food and Water Watch at FoodandWaterWatch.org .