NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Demonstrators who lined a rural highway included a woman dressed like Mother Nature and holding an “SOS Fracking” sign.
Lisa DeSantis of New Castle said she was dressed that way to show her concern about Marcellus Shale fracking – a process used to free gas trapped far below ground.
The protest was mainly in opposition to a Shell Appalachia drilling site less than a mile from an organic farm.
The picketers were met by police cruisers who were called to keep order.
Although about 30 people holding anti-drilling and anti-fracking signs stood along the highway, no problems were reported.
The event was organized by the Shadbush Environmental Justice Collective, a Pittsburgh volunteer-run group interested in protecting the water, air and health.
Drilling along the Marcellus Shale area across much of Pennsylvania offers the potential to recover a vast amount of natural gas and create thousands of jobs; meanwhile, opponents say, it has the potential to unlock disastrous environmental problems, including damage to the area’s supply of clean water.
At one point 27 officers and about 20 cruisers were staged to respond if problems developed at the protest. Joe Minnitte, a Shell case manager, was on site and said the protesters caused no real problems.
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Details for this story were provided by the New Castle, Pa., News;
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