On May 2, an alliance of citizen groups from around the nation issued a call to action against unsafe gas and oil drilling and announced a national rally to take place on the West Lawn of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on July 28.
Called "Stop the Frack Attack," this national day of action promises to "bring thousands to the nation's capitol to demand greater government responsibility and corporate accountability for harm that existing oil and gas development causes."
Their press release includes statements from members of affected communities that decry the ongoing devastation that fracking creates, denounce the recklessness of the fossil fuel industry, speak to the need for more government oversight, and call for a clean energy future. Notably, the words ban, moratorium, prohibit, or any other synonym for cease and desist, appear nowhere in the announcement--except for that single verb in the banner, "Stop the Frack Attack." Which does not seem to be quite the same as saying stop fracking.
The question is, are they, in fact, the same?
In other words, with an insistence on best practices, could drilling and fracking operations be made safe enough to be sited in densely populated communities -- or even sparsely populated communities -- without making the people who live there feel they are living in a war zone?
Or do regulations simply build time bombs with longer fuses?