Intro: "Academy Award winning actress Melissa Leo brings life to the words of a fracking victim in the American Rust Belt."

$Jamie Frederick's letter regarding her experiences with fracking in Ohio, as read by Melissa Leo at the New Yorkers Against Fracking Rally & Concert at The Egg in Albany, NY on May 15, 2012. (photo: YouTube)$
Jamie Frederick's letter regarding her experiences with fracking in Ohio, as read by Melissa Leo at the New Yorkers Against Fracking Rally & Concert at The Egg in Albany, NY on May 15, 2012. (photo: YouTube)

Melissa Leo Brings Life to the Words of a Fracking Victim

By Jon Bowermaster, Take Part

20 August 12

Academy Award winning actress Melissa Leo brings life to the words of a fracking victim in the American Rust Belt.

hen Jamie Frederick bought her home outside Youngstown, Ohio, a little more than three years ago, she was unaware that her neighbor had already leased his land to a natural gas company. Neither did she know that the gas company had already fracked the shale beneath her home.

When she first started to get sick - blinding headaches, nausea, mystery illnesses that ultimately took her gall bladder - she had no idea the two were related. But they were.

While the human health impacts of fracking are still being documented, the natural gas industry shrugs off any such claims of a connection, contending there is no proof. Medical studies are underway to prove the linkage, but that will take years. In the meantime, it is not a stretch to imagine that pumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemicals into the earth and groundwater will inevitably, and adversely, impact both land and man.

Fredericks went public with her story last January on the steps of the capitol building in Youngstown; she is a reluctant symbol of the growing relationship between fracking and people getting sick.

In May, Academy Award winning actress Melissa Leo put life to Fredericks' words near the steps of a different capitol, in Albany, New York, where Governor Andrew Cuomo is right now considering lifting his state's moratorium against fracking.

Leo's audience in Albany included state capitol workers - lobbyists, legislators, and staffers - as well as New York-based musicians Natalie Merchant, the Felice Brothers, Joan Osborne, Citizen Cope, John Sebastian and more.

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+19 # DPM 2012-08-20 08:13

Send this to all you know.

+27 # genierae 2012-08-20 08:49

The inmates have escaped the asylum and are now in charge of our country. Those who are sane must step up and stop this madness, or face the consequences.

+14 # HowardMH 2012-08-20 10:27

Have the inmates escaped – I don’t think so. The inmates are really the millions of Idiots that voted these politicians into office in the first place, and are too stupid to realize they are being totally screwed.

As long as the oil and coal companies continue to own the politicians, nothing is going to change on Capital Hill. Until there are two hundred thousand really, really pissed off people on Capital Hill (all at the same time) raising some serious hell absolutely nothing is ever, ever going to happen to these totally bought and paid for by the richest 50 people in the world that are becoming more and more powerful with each passing rigged election thanks to the stupid people.

+3 # genierae 2012-08-20 17:34

And so you think that these hideous right-wing Republicans who are destroying our country, are sane? I wasn't speaking literally, HowardMH. These Republican extremists were kept on the fringe, (asylum), for decades by those in their party who were more rational and decent, but now they have escaped their confinement, and are running amok in our government. Until the most sane members of this society leave the sidelines en masse, and put these lunatics back into their political exile, the corruption, (insanity), will continue to worsen.

In this world sanity is on a spectrum, where the most lunatic of us are on one end, and the most lucid of us are on the other. In the middle, there are actually billions of human beings who are more or less disturbed. We have abandoned our spiritual essence, closed our hearts and minds, and now we are lost. Nevertheless, the day will come when the lost sheep will be found. That will be a very good day indeed!

+16 # Joe Bob 2012-08-20 08:51

And we let these Oil companies and Polluters and Greed monsters ROLL OVER us with total complicity of government.
With the blessing of the Mitts and Ryans of this game. They who don't want government yet are the government. In bed with the corporate persons. Long Live Greed and Power.

+16 # LeeBlack 2012-08-20 09:05

Vested interests are touting jobs and reduction of harm to the atmosphere and are trying to convince us (and themselves?) that it is safe. The risks far outweigh the benefits. Only active citizens can catch up with the lead the industry has and stop this madness.

+15 # Buddha 2012-08-20 09:38

And the tobacco industry tried to say that cigarettes didn't cause cancer too. But in our current system where overt corpo-political corruption is allowed through our ludicrous campaign finance laws, how will this ever change? Big Oil and Fracking companies will just buy the politicians they need to keep this going, and voters and citizens be damned.

+15 # chrisconnolly 2012-08-20 09:44

And these fracking activities are made immune to the Clean Water Act by our former Republican vice president, DICK Cheney. Why does anybody with a mind and a heart vote Republican. The Repub's don't give a good god damn about we the people, only they the corporate persons. This is one of the most egregious crimes against humanity that will surely go unpunished and just as surely rewarded.

+5 # HowardMH 2012-08-20 10:33

They don't have more than two brain cells and the Republicans have enough money in super pacs to contine brain washing them into believing their BS.

When NBC or CBS interviews a 64 yr old woman (yesterday) who is scared to death she will not get any social security check starting in one year -- be afraid people be very very afraid.

As Forest said, "Stupid Is as Stupid Does" and we got a whole lot of stupid out there just letting this crap happen.

+8 # tuandon 2012-08-20 10:10

Yeah, but if we control, limit, or stop fracking somehow, why, some Stinkin' Rich Rethuglicans might lose a few bucks! Horrors! Why should we worry about a few regular humans when Rethuglican money could be at stake?

+3 # keenon the truth 2012-08-20 17:39

Just watched the Youtube clip. I am in tears.

+4 # Rascalndear 2012-08-20 23:50

what surprises me is that there was no rule about disclosing this fracking lease to or by neighboring property holders...?!?!? !?! Surely, that should be a simple point to amend from now on. You're obligated to disclose so many other things...

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