Huffington Post: 7 Ways the Oil and Gas Industry is Buying Fracking Policy (and What You Can Do About It)

Wenonah Hauter is as eloquent and inspiring as they come. I have had the opportunity to hear her speak on multiple occasions and she has never let me down. Her passion is evident in her direct, well thought out and well researched pieces. Her dedication to and involvement in the anti-fracking campaign has been invaulable.

In this article she lists 7 ways the oil and gas industry is buying fracking policy

1. Legal Bribery in Washington
-Over $145 million worth

2. Slick PR and Ad Campaigns
- For example... trying to debunk Gasland

3. Buying Silence
-"the industry pays to keep details of the public safety problems associated with gas drilling hidden from government agencies that could do something to regulate it. This has been happening for decades, and it allows the industry to continue using one of its most disingenuous talking points: that there have been no documented cases of contamination from gas drilling."

4. Using Legal Muscle to Stop Public Inquiry
5. Influence Pedaling Beyond Washington
"Recently, Wellsburg, West Virginia rescinded a ban on shale gas drilling. It appears that one reason for this might be that Chesapeake Energy recently rescinded its funding for the community's school music program in direct response to the ban. $30,000 might not seem like a lot, but for a struggling rural school system, it certainly is no small potatoes.
A more straightforward example of how the industry buys influence beyond Washington is in New York State, where the oil and gas industry spent $1,204,567 lobbying against fracking moratorium bills in 2010, outspending groups supporting the bills 4 to 1.
Spending big money to influence policy in New York paid off for the industry. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation released a report early last month suggesting that 85 percent of the Marcellus Shale be opened up to fracking, and Governor Andrew Cuomo appears to be on board."

6. Buying Academic Shills

7. Swag

What You Can Do
"If, despite the industry hype, you are still concerned about fracking, you're not alone. In fact, a movement is growing to ban this risky, destructive practice that has led to explosions, leaks, adverse health effects from air pollution, and more. More than 76 local and state governments have passed resolutions against fracking. Click here to become part of that movement."