- Resolution on Climate Change; and
- Resolution on Hydraulic Fracturing (“Fracking”)/Oil and Gas Industry Drilling Standards.
Climate Change Concerns
After completing a review of research, we determined that the predominant conclusion by numerous scientific agencies is that human activities over the past fifty years, in particular the burning of fossil fuels, have contributed to an increase in detrimental climate change.
“A Human Health Perspective on Climate Change” prepared jointly by the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of State, concluded that the current pattern of climate change will have a detrimental impact on human health.
The adverse effects of climate change include the likelihood of an increase in various ailments, including an increased risk of cancers; a substantial likelihood of an increase in foodborne diseases and nutritional deficiencies; an increase in human developmental concerns due to the decrease in food supplies and exposure toxins; an increase in infections and disease pathogens found in water and food through vectors including mosquitoes as a result of rising sea levels, changes in temperature extremes and weather patterns; and an increase in extreme weather events leading to an increase in injury, disease and death.
Climate Change – Illinois PTA Takes Action
At the direction of the delegates to the 2017 Illinois PTA convention, we will be taking action that includes:
- providing information with respect to the environmental concerns related to climate change and its impact on the health and welfare of children and youth;
- strongly urging school districts to include renewable energy sources in their plans, and to refrain from excessive purchase and use of products that contribute to climate change;
- working with like-minded organizations to raise awareness of the impact of climate change on the environment, health and welfare of children and youth; and
- supporting related legislation.
Hydraulic Fracturing/Oil and Gas Industry Drilling Concerns
We also conducted research on hydraulic fracturing (also known as “fracking”), a process that breaks up rocks below the earth’s surface by injecting chemicals and liquids at high pressure in order to extract natural gas or oil. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), some of the chemicals in the hydraulic fracturing process are known to be hazardous to human health, including known carcinogens such as benzene, and radioactive materials, including radium.
The fracking process can impact drinking water in certain circumstances, including during the injection of fracking fluids into groundwater resources, in spills or discharge of inadequately treated fracking wastewater, or storage of fracking wastewater in unlined pits. An estimated 35% of Illinois residents, including 90% of all rural Illinois residents, obtaining their drinking water from groundwater/aquifers – all of whom could face adverse impact to their health if hydraulic fracturing is not adequately regulated.
Additionally, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), air contaminants released in the fracking process include known carcinogens, as well as ground level ozone. The Natural Resources Defense Council (“NRDC”), a non-profit organization, reports that the pollutants from fracking include chemicals that are known to aggravate asthma and other respiratory conditions, as well as to lead to blood disorders, birth defects, immune-system related diseases, and cancer.
Another import concern with respect to fracking is an increase in induced earthquakes – that is, earthquakes triggered by human activities. This is of particular concern to Illinois, which rests on a portion of the New Madrid seismic zone. According to the 2014 United States Geological Survey, Illinois is one of the states at the highest risk of having an earthquake. The process involved in oil and gas extraction using wastewater injection wells and hydraulic fracturing have been connected to a substantial increase in induced earthquakes in other areas of the Midwest: in the years 1978-2008, there was an average of 24 earthquakes per year; in the years 2009-2015, these increased to an average of 314 per year, with a total of 1,010 recorded earthquakes in 2010.
Hydraulic Fracturing/Oil Drilling Concerns – Illinois PTA Takes Action
At the direction of the delegates to the 2017 Illinois PTA convention, the Illinois PTA will be taking action that includes:
- providing information on the health and safety concerns in connection with hydraulic fracturing and wastewater well injection;
- working with like-minded organizations to raise awareness of related health and safety concerns;
- supporting additional evaluations of the current and new methods of gas and oil extraction and their potential impact on the environment by independent agencies; and
- supporting related legislation.
For additional information, read the Resolution on Hydraulic Fracturing/Oil Drilling Concerns and watch for additional information on related advocacy actions.
How can you help? Pass on this information to your family and friends. Don’t forget to join the Illinois PTA Takes Action Network to stay up to date on Illinois issues!
For questions concerning advocacy issues, contact:
- Lisa S. Garbaty, Illinois PTA Legislative Advocacy Director at lgarbaty@illinoispta.org.
For questions regarding a potential resolution, contact:
- Wendy Powers, Illinois PTA Resolutions Director at wpowers@illinoispta.org
181