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November 23, 2012

Sierra Club Hosts Free Screening of The Sky is Pink at Kalamazoo Public Library

Media Contact: Gail Philbin, gail.philbin@sierraclub.org, 312-493-2384

Event Focuses on Environmental Issues in Southwest Michigan

The Sierra Club Michigan Chapter presents a screening of The Sky is Pink, a short film about horizontal hydraulic fracturing (a.k.a. “fracking”) by Josh Fox, the Oscar-nominated director of Gasland, Tuesday, Dec. 4, from 7-8 pm at the Kalamazoo Central Library, Van Deusen Room, 315 Rose St., Kalamazoo.

Southwest Michigan residents concerned about the quality of their water, air and natural resources are invited to this free event, which will focus on important regional environmental issues such as fracking and the Kalamazoo River Tar Sands oil spill  and how concerned citizens can get involved. The “25x25” effort – getting utilities to use 25% renewable energy and energy efficiency by 2025 -- to make Michigan a leader in renewable energy and energy efficiency will also be discussed. To RSVP, email William Strong at williamstrong@sbcglobal.net.

The Sky is Pink is an 18-minute documentary about New York state’s urgent crisis of drilling and fracking, a brutal but increasingly popular method of extracting deep-seated natural gas that recently has come to southwest Michigan. Exempt from environmental regulations, fracking blasts 3-7 million gallons of chemical-laced water into rock to release gas.  The result is air pollution and toxic water wells that can produce flaming faucets, as shown in “Gasland,” and even earthquakes.

The Sierra Club Michigan Chapter has been working with legislators on a package of bills to delay its actual practice in order to strengthen regulations to protect people from the fallout of this dangerous process. Learn more at www.michigan.sierraclub.org/issues/greatlakes/Hydrofracking.html

For more information, email williamstrong@sbcglobal.net.

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