In what may shape up to be another Denton, TX-size city vs. state showdown on the right to ban fracking, the city council of Bonita Springs recently voted unanimously to pass an anti-fracking ordinance.
It didn’t take long for frackers to attack, threatening costly lawsuits against Bonita Springs, and leveraging cozy media connections to spew the same propaganda we’ve seen in the past.
Meanwhile, Bonita Springs citizens are strongly in support of the measure, giving it a raucous round of applause upon passing. Many spoke passionately at the meeting in support of the ban, alarmed at state plans to frack the Everglades and other sensitive Florida ecologies.
Unfortunately, Bonita Springs citizens may be in for a rude awakening if we see a repeat of what happened in Denton, TX. In a blow to the democratic process and city rights, the rich and powerful oil and gas lobby successfully persuaded state lawmakers to ban the ability of towns and cities to ban fracking at all. Oklahoma almost immediately followed suit with a similar ban on bans.
But as we’ve seen in Denton, these draconian measures have only rallied the community against fracking, and groups like Frack Free Denton are growing more powerful by the day. With 92-year olds being arrested on the frontlines of Denton fracking protests (and that’s just the tip of the iceberg), the movement shows no signs of stopping until fracking is stopped. Hence the rise of the No Fracking in Florida group, and other grassroots activist efforts to protect communities from the scientifically-proven dangers of fracking.