Sit still and be quiet...

The UK currently IS frack-free and that puts us in the stronger position - IF this industry gets a foothold, then we are dis-empowered by laws and the cost of accessing 'justice'. Then we will only have direct action as the option - all others will be gone.

Nothing is more important than our air and water - nothing. For those still unsure if NOW is the time to stand up and say no, to get involved in a local campaign, to join others to stop this industry as it steamrollers through our communities and shatters democracy... please be assured that NOW is when you are needed most.

Not all are able bodied, many are tied to carer duties and others simply struggle to find a way that fits what they can contribute... what we've found over the years (6 years frack free) is that ALL are able to impact in some arena and that it needs ALL arenas to be worked in... unions, workplaces, at frack sites, in town centres informing people, your MP's office, parliament, the law courts, the streets, the comments threads on newspapers, letters to Editors, the supplier set-off points providing for this industry and of course, many tactics to achieve results that last.

For instance, the current breaches of planning at sites in construction phase, are nourishing the content of legal challenges; the people protecting those sites are the witnesses and the amplifiers of what is being done; the direct actions taken to slow progress, are costing the industry time, money and investors; those applying political and Union pressure are ensuring those who want our votes, know they won't have them unless they fight too for frack free status; those who are so eloquent online in comment threads and newspaper letters, are bringing the information to residents so that it's not just industry PR out there and this in turn brings residents to roadsides and beyond... everything counts. Then there's those online who weave the parts together for sharing, those online who soothe ragged edges and uplift those who are falling - so important.

What the industry needs to succeed is very simple - for you to sit still and be quiet and for those already active - to mistrust each other. Thing is though, we ALL share the same intent...

keep the UK frack free 

...and therefore, ARE united in this singular aim, completely. We may not always see eye to eye - but we are all aiming the same way and CAN find that shared intent as a re-start point for co-operation that gets us results we are each seeking. Together, we are many many more of us than 'them'.

There is genuine respect in this movement for everyone who does something to stop this threat - be it awareness raising in posts online or industry stalling by blockading a truck on roads... we just don't always communicate or co-ordinate for best effect. Mainly this is a logistical thing as we are all autonomous volunteers in different places - full of determination and certainly not meek and mild lol!

It's finding the best way to use our diversity as well as our unity that seems to be important and will scare the hell out of the industry - us all joined up is a scarey big beast of a movement. I wouldn't mess with us ;)

That we have different approaches is good, it is less predictable - but that we remember how much we share in wanting the same thing and that we are acting from the same place in ourselves... is something I have sometimes neglected to keep in mind - as have others, we're all uniquely flawed:)

Think the challenges from each other though can be a powerful thing for our movement, that in the healing - strengthens us