Inspirational 10-minute video – important for all citizens in farmlands, villages and cities of the world. Watch it. Share it.



As this video shows, there are other ways to move forward than through politicians and the media – and they start in our own street, in our own neighbourhood – they start with ourselves, our families and our neighbours.

The story which is being told in this video from the United States is similarly taking place in hundreds of other cities and residential areas in Australia. This is something that takes place wherever the fracking industry pushes forward – and there are many examples of successful results: It IS actually possible to keep the gas industry out of the way, to put a lock on the gate and say: NOT HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.

But it is a waste of time and energy to start knocking media and politicians on the doors. The way things work these days, we must – and we are indeed able to – for a moment completely to let the media and the politicians out of the picture.

They do not understand what’s going on or what is at stake – and they are too busy with their self-indulgent navel-gazing and short-term economic prospects to take an interest in what the consequences are. They’ll wake up eventually, but only when you and I, the concerned citizens, have managed to create the change and the popular movement that is needed.

So instead, work from ground up: with Facebook, emailing, letterboxing and meetings, go door to door and talk with your neighbours. It starts there.

You might, for example, knock at your closest neighbour’s door today and invite her/him/them over to take look at this video. It takes just 10 minutes – and then you are engaged and moving forward with this. The journey has begun, and it won’t stop until we have a permanent ban on fracking in our region.

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Lee Ziesche, Gasland Grassroots Coordinator, wrote:

“It’s rare you watch a video and think “wow that’s what democracy looks like” but that’s what I thought when I saw this Earthjustice video. And it’s exactly why we want to share it with you today, as our video of the week.

Watch Our Video of the Week: Dryden – The Small Town that Changed the Fracking Game

Through good old fashioned organizing like neighbor talking to neighbor, and a great legal team in Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, the citizen’s of Dryden were able to take democracy back and ban fracking.

I was a field organizer on the 2012 Obama Campaign, and while I’m often deeply upset about the administration’s view on fracking, I’m still grateful I was apart of the campaign because I learned a powerful lesson that has guided my work ever since. And it came straight from the President himself.

On a nationwide staff call leading up to Election Day Barack President said, “I still believe that neighbor talking to neighbor is worth more than any amount of corporate spending. “

That sentence sums everything I believe about the anti-fracking movement.

The citizens of Dryden have proven the President’s words to be true. Dozens of other communities across the world, who have passed bans or moratoria, have proven his words to be true. And even those who couldn’t keep fracking out, but now know new neighbors or have become activist for the first time are proving his words to be true.

The industry wants people to feel isolated, like they have no choice but to sign a lease. They want to fracture communities and stay in control.

But if we get organized and talk to our neighbors, we can build something they can’t buy.

I hope this video inspires you as much as it did me to keep up the fight. We are truly building something worth more than any corporation’s yearly profits.

Please watch and share tour video of the week with your community.

What you’re doing is democracy at work.

Thanks and have a great weekend,

Lee Ziesche, Gasland Grassroots Coordinator”

» www.blog.gaslandthemovie.com/?p=610