For the third time in recent years, opponents of hydraulic fracturing are organizing to end the practice in Michigan. The Committee to Ban Fracking, based in Charlevoix, has begun a ballot campaign hoping to put a ban before voters in next years general election.
Fracking critics say chemicals and gases involved in the process are destructive to human health and the environment. They also claim the practice worsens global warming and threatens property values, jobs and the food supply. Opponents of a ban, which include many state officials, claim the decades old practice is regulated and safe. They say about 12,000 Michigan wells have been fracked in about the last half-century without incident.
Current State speaks with campaign director of The Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan, Luanne Kozma.
Tomorrow Great Lakes Echo will publish an interview with an advocate of the practice, Jeff Cook, president of Southwestern Oil Company in Greenville, Michigan.
This segment was produced by WKAR’s Current State and is reproduced with permission.