Saturday, March 20, 2010

Fracking in Context: Following the Money

A Roundtable Public Forum Initiated by Ithaca DSA



Sunday, March 28th , 2010 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Borg Warner Room of the Tompkins County Public Library
Corner Green St. and South Cayuga St., Ithaca


  • Eric Banford Deep Democracy Activist, Danby Drilling Task Force
  • Cecile Lawrence PhD, JD Social Justice Activist, Tioga Peace & Justice
  • Joseph M. Schwartz Prof. Political Science Temple University, National Vice-Chair of Democratic Socialists of America.
  • Moderator: Valarie FitzRandolph


The current explosion of natural gas exploration in the Marcellus Shale has brought to light the serious lack of democratic choices communities face as they attempt to protect vital areas of common interest, most prominently water resources, from exploitation by large, well-financed corporate interests. We will trace the concept of corporate personhood up to and including the recent Supreme Court decision. Natural gas exploration forces us to examine the ways in which our democracy has been eroded by the corrupting influence of corporate money. We will discuss possible options to push back against the recent Supreme Court ruling on corporate personhood which allows unlimited financial influence of corporations in the political sphere. We invite everyone to bring their ideas.

No comments: