I don’t know how many reporters I spoke with yesterday before the Denton City Council voted to either adopt the citizen initiative to ban fracking in the city or rejected it but I told each one the same thing:

The Denton Council has never shown any political courage on this issue. Why would we think that would change now?

But, you know, there is always hope. And the Council’s aggressive response to industry during the hearing gave some a sense of false hope. The let down was brutal.

In the weeks leading up to last night’s public hearing that is required by city charter when citizens bring a verified initiative, the industry did what they do best. And that’s not drilling and fracking, folks. It’s bullying, lying, spreading propaganda and fear mongering. Their behavior and dirty tricks were abysmal and fooled no one who mattered and the Council called them out on it.

Well guess what. That will only get worse, much worse, now because instead of fixing the problem that they created,–the mayor, Chris Watts has admitted as much in recent interviews–the Council decided to make the voters bear the responsibility to fix what they broke.

Heard in the council chambers shortly after the vote by one of the industry suits representing mineral owners.

Good. They are taking it to a vote. All we have to do is rent up a bunch of cheap apartments and houses and get people to register to vote using those addresses.

I know who it was but I don’t have his name yet. He was there to speak on behalf of the mineral owners. Not the mineral owners with integrity but the ones who don’t mind profiting from another persons’ misery. And even if I have to watch the entire 8+/- hours of testimony again, I will post his name and picture here for you to see.

So there you have it. Just a taste of what the Denton City Council members have unleashed on their constituents. Millions will be spent and it will be ugly. And they unleashed this hell after admitting there is no way the vote will be fare fair because citizens cannot compete with the millions industry will pump into corrupting the vote.

About the meeting last night.

The Denton Council Chambers were packed with industry suits. Some groups were brought in by vans. I noted in a tweet what nice shoes they all have, especially Chris Faulkner who has a history of questionable business dealings, and who was shredded and handed his ass by the council. (see our much nicer shoes ===>)

Again and again the industry promised to help find solutions to the problems they have created if only given a seat at the table. Again and again when asked for even one solution, they had nothing, zero, no solutions to offer.

In the parking lot, I told one industry representative from Austin that they were making promises like a cheating husband. His response: You aren’t going to get your ban, little lady.

Oh and, State Representatives Craig Estes, Lifestyles of the Corrupt and Elected,  and Myra Crownover, who owns a fracking company and mineral rights all over Texas, promised to help Denton find solutions. Neither had any tangible solutions to offer last night. Crownover warned it will take years because the Texas legislature works very slowly (it takes time wading through and counting all the industry money pumped into campaign coffers). She compared fracking to the nuisance of barking dogs.

Some of my favorite moments and random thoughts.

I would like to thank the industry for displaying their typical bullying tactics the past few weeks and thoroughly pissing off Denton so they responded by turning out. Despite industry’s attempts to overwhelm us, the opposite happened. Denton showed up and sounded off with some well informed, powerful and often highly entertaining testimony.

The blank stare of council when they were presented with the bogus petition. Priceless.

Batavia and John Russel did a reenactment of the petition circulator caught on video lying about the bogus petition. It was brilliant and had people in one overflow room roaring.

Tara Linn’s testimony was terrific. One favorite line was when she told council that more people signed the petition to ban fracking than voted for any of them.

Lawyer Sara Bagheri’s myth buster where she explained that a lawsuit will not cost the city a gazillion-billion dollars.

An expanded version of what I said on Facebook: I have been speaking about fracking issues at Denton City Council for 5 years. I am considered one of the nation’s top citizen experts on Fracking. I have briefed NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Gina McCarthy and other top regulators, am a source for national and international media, give tours to all manner of officials, speak at venues all across the nation including universities and etc. Last night was the first time anyone on Denton City Council has ever asked me a question. EVER!!! When Kevin Roden asked me a question, I nearly fainted.

Cathy McMullen’s brilliant testimony and amazing video. She too was questioned by council.

The whiny industry supporter who said our overflow room was full of a bunch of meanies and unfair to him because we were laughing, clapping and cheering for ban supporters. Um, dude, go to a different room.

Industry repeating over and over and over again the insulting claim that Russia and East and West Coast environmentalists are behind the ban effort. And the council making them look like fools for it over and over and over again. (Those guys don’t learn.)

If you want to help

Several people want to know how they can help the courageous people of Denton. Listen up, Denton has a lot of guts and a lot of smarts so we don’t need a lot of money to fight the millions industry will pour into this. But we do need some money. So please, give whatever you can. Earthworks has a page set up for Denton where you can give a donation that is tax deductible. Or you can give a gift at Frack Free Denton.

You could also buy one of our very cool t-shirts. Wear the t-shirt. Talk to people. Sign up for the mailing list. VOTE!

Photo by Jennifer Lane

I only slept about 2 hours so I expect this will be edited at some point.

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I received this beautifully written essay from a mineral owner who is a Denton resident.

If someone offered to give you $10, but in exchange, you would have to agree to put a child at increased risk for leukemia, would you do it? What if the dollar amount were larger, such as $100? Or $1,000? Or $100,000? Or $1,000,000? Is there a monetary value at which you would agree to this arrangement?

Now, what if you were approached with the same scenario, but instead of leukemia, you would have to watch a child experience multiple nosebleeds? Would you agree to it? If so, for what amount of money?

Finally, what if you were told that you had no control over whether or not children would experience these health problems, but that you would receive millions and millions of dollars based on actions that caused nosebleeds and leukemia? Would you rationalize the situation by saying “I can’t do anything about it, so I may as well enjoy the money”?

This isn’t just a hypothetical ethical quiz, but rather, it’s the reality of those who benefit financially from fracking (hydraulic fracturing). I’m one of those people. I can’t use my real name here because the oil and gas industry is so vicious that I would be endangering myself if they found out that I was writing this. I’m not exaggerating when I say that. If you think that their public actions are awful, imagine how much worse they are when they can do horrible things behind closed doors.

So I’ll add this disclaimer: if a reporter reads this and wants to confirm my identity, I’ll consent and provide more details as long as I have an assurance of my anonymity as a news source.

Now, back to the scenarios of money in exchange for childhood illnesses. The oil and gas industry claims that there are no related health problems, in spite of mounting evidence that proves them wrong. They’ve even bribed university-affiliated scientists to back them up with scientifically deceptive research. And they bully public officials into caving when local residents demand more regulations, by threatening multi-million dollar lawsuits.

All of these issues get back to money, the false idol that Jesus warned us about (“No one can serve two masters”). And we as a society have grown to love the almighty dollar. It drives so many of the decisions we make. Fracking is no exception.

I’m not going to pretend that it’s always been easy for me to take a stance against fracking. As someone who grew up poor, the money has been seductive at times, until I step back and remind myself that it is indeed a false idol. Every single day, I tell myself not to let the money take over my soul. I step up this mantra once a month when my bank account suddenly has an infusion of funds, which can be several hundred thousand dollars in a single month.

Sometimes I cry when I look at my bank account. I get distraught when I see the money and know that children are suffering. I think about how I’ve been told that their are no health-related dangers associated with fracking, and how dismissive the powers-that-be have been when I’ve repeatedly voiced my concerns. They talk to me in a condescending way, as if I’m a naïve child who “means well” but is misinformed.

They forget that I am highly-educated (I have two graduate degrees from a well-known university) and know how to conduct research. They don’t realize that I cannot be bought. I refuse to rationalize their actions and convince myself that what they’re doing is OK when I know firsthand that they are seriously harming communities. As strange as it sounds, my situation is such that I don’t have the authority to order the drilling to stop, at least not directly.

A few months ago, I visited some sites where fracking is taking place. I was nervous about doing this because I knew that everything I had read would suddenly become real for me. I knew that I would no longer be able to compartmentalize the financial aspect of my life. After several hours around the pollution, I struggled to breathe deeply because of the toxic fumes. My voice was sore the next day.

I can’t imagine how much worse it is to live near a fracking site, but then again, I don’t have to imagine it: I can listen to the reports of those who are right there. It’s absolutely horrible. No amount of money is worth subjecting children to such suffering. Don’t let the industry trick you into thinking that this is a “safe” technology. It’s not.

So what do I do with the fracking money? I channel it to organizations that are working to fight poverty, homelessness … and fracking. Yes, that’s right. “Income” generated by fracking is being redirected into efforts to halt the industry’s destructive activities.

While I might not be able to order the companies to stop drilling all by myself, I can take their profits and put the money back into causes that advocate for those who are harmed by the industry. I can only pray that we’ll reach a point where no child will have to endure leukemia or even nosebleeds in exchange for a supposedly “thriving” live-and-let-die economy.

This reminds me of “The Box,” a movie I watched where one person receives a box. If they open the box and push the button therein, they will receive $1 million dollars and someone will die. Only, with mineral ownership, you aren’t always given such a clear choice. Sometimes you aren’t given any choice at all.

I think there are a lot more people like this out there. I KNOW there are because they contact me.

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