Protecting Southern Illinois since 2012
After an initial meeting in 2012 between the two Southern Illinois residents, and the agreement upon the name of SAFE Southern Illinoisans Against Fracturing Our Environment, another meeting including a few more concerned citizens took place, and further plans were made.
In March of 2012, the first public meeting of SAFE took place in Marion, IL, and many new folks met each other who shared concerns over fracking. In the following month, another public meeting took place in Carbondale, and by that point, enough volunteers were ready to help to take SAFE into its next phase.
A large public campaign started, and a detailed, carefully researched letter spelling out the dangers of high-volume fracking was sent to every Illinois state senator and representative, as well as other important public servants in Illinois. This letter campaign helped SAFE gain quick recognition as a serious organization of concerned Illinois citizens opposed to fracking.
Among the subsequent activities of SAFE was participation in creating momentum for a state-wide moratorium on high-volume fracking in Illinois. SAFE worked with several other environmental groups on this endeavor. Although the moratorium was tabled when the larger environmental groups caved to pressure to broker a deal with industry, SAFE continued to work with the remaining environmental groups on a new moratorium bill in the spring of 2013.
SAFE continues its efforts to fight fracking on various fronts, including the local level as well as the state level. Until fracking is permanently stopped in IL, the residents who live here will be forced to defend their homes, families, and property from the harms to health, safety, and the environment, and the massive invasion of privacy, that fracking represents.