A city in Texas voted to ban fracking within its city limits. The ban in Denton passed with around 60% of the vote.
A very sensible thing to do, as fracking involves pumping 254 chemicals into the ground, of which 154 are skin and sensory organ toxicants, 143 are respiratory toxicants, 122 are gastrointestinal and liver toxicants, 84 are neurotoxicants, 73 are kidney toxicants, 63 are immunotoxicants and 56 are carcinogens.
The Texas legislature overturned the ban.
In 2013/14, 144 Texas legislators received $3.8 million dollars from the oil and gas industry. That’s $25,000 per legislator, on average. Texas senators received $1.7 million – that’s $56,000 each.
The US is supposed to be a beacon of democracy – has taken it upon itself to export it around the world, in fact. So you tell me – is this democracy? No, it’s not. It’s corruption, pure and simple.
But it’s perfectly legal within our corporate system. Which is why we need a new system.
Oh, and a move towards renewable energy and away from fossil fuels.
