Florida’s Festive Fracktivists Carol in Capitol, Urge DeSantis to Protect Water by Passing Ban

Tallahassee, FL - This morning, 15 carolers voiced -- well, sang -- their full support of a fracking ban throughout the halls of Florida’s Capitol building. Their holiday songbooks contained altered classics such as “We Wish You a Frack-Free Christmas”, “Frackers Go!” (Jingle Bells), and “The Frackers Song” (The Dreidel Song).

This festive twist on ban fracking activism ended at Governor DeSantis’ door, where carolers delivered a very special holiday card: a petition containing signatures from over 20,000 Floridians urging the Governor to ensure fracking is banned statewide. While DeSantis campaigned on the promise of a fracking ban, which is crucial to protect Florida’s water from the toxic chemicals injected into the ground to release oil and gas in the fracking process, he has yet to follow through. 

“The Governor ran on a platform of banning fracking, but, apart from a nebulous statement at the end of a long executive order that didn’t give clear direction, we’ve heard absolutely nothing from his office about fracking,” says Kim Ross, Executive Director of ReThink Energy Florida. “We’re calling on him to end his silence and do what he said he would do – to make it a priority to ban fracking in Florida this legislative session.”

“Until fracking is banned in Florida, the water we use for drinking, bathing, and recreation is at risk,” says Brooke Errett, Florida Organizer at Food & Water Action. “Tens of thousands of Floridians have spoken out in favor of a statewide fracking ban. Governor DeSantis himself has said he wants to ban fracking. This holiday season, I can’t imagine a better gift than a fracking ban, which would protect Florida’s aquifers long-term, and ensure our families and communities have access to safe drinking water. We’re ho-ho-hoping Governor DeSantis will deliver a fracking ban this holiday season.” 

“For everyday Floridians, banning fracking is a no-brainer: it’s dirty, dangerous, and destructive. Gov. DeSantis’ lack of action to protect our drinking water from such an easily preventable threat speaks volumes about how his environmental rhetoric diverges from reality,” says Ray Seaman, Digital Director of Progress Florida. “It’s past time for him to finally act and ban all fracking in Florida.”

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Food & Water Action is the political advocacy arm of the research and education organization Food & Water Watch. We mobilize people to build political power to move bold & uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water and climate problems of our time.