A group of anti-frackingactivists with the Food & Water Watch have launched an art installation that’s sure to get the Democratic Party’s attention. Their message: Fracking is crappy. Literally.
On Tuesday, the group unveiled their artistry, a modification to the Donkeys Around Town series found around the city ahead of this month’s Democratic National Convention. Artists Tamara Clements and Becca Epstein spraypainted the message “No ban on fracking? The Dem platform is crap” and placed poop sculptures underneath the fiberglass donkey in the City Hall courtyard. Eighteen other donkeys, mostly along Broad Street, were decorated with the droppings, made of papier-mâché.
Sam Bernhardt, senior organizer at Food & Water Watch, introduced the stunt, called”The Crappy Platform.”
“We think our amendment to thisexhibit provides a little bit more clarity as to the situation regarding the Democratic Party platform and their position on fracking,” Bernhardt said Tuesday. “Over the past several weeks, the Democratic and Republican parties have been convening a series of commitees to draft their respective platforms.Abanonfrackingshould be among the goals included in both parties platforms,” Bernhardt said, citing a recentGallup pollthat indicated 51 percent of the general public opposes fracking, up from 40 pecent in 2014. Only 25 percent of Democrats said in the poll that they support fracking. Fracking, the process of extracting natural gas and oil from below the earth’s surface,can contaminate water supplies and has been linked to small tremors. Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has called for regulation and a moratorium on expanded fracking, andsaid she would support frackingonly under specific conditions. She is against it if “any locality or any state is against it,” “when the release of methaneor contamination of water is present,” and “unless we can require that anybody who fracks has to tell us exactly what chemicals they are using.” Her former opponent Bernie Sanders,who endorsedClinton Tuesday, had a simpler answer when asked if he supports fracking: “No, I do not support fracking.” Meanwhile, Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump has indicated he supports the gas-extraction method.
Fracking will lead to American energy independence. With price of natural gas continuing to drop, we can be at a tremendous advantage.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2012
