Gasland: A film by Josh Fox

The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, formed in 1987, is a nonprofit organization. Our mission is to organize and maintain a diverse grassroots organization dedicated to the improvement and preservation of the environment through education, grassroots organizing and coalition building, leadership development and media outreach. Our work encompasses much of West Virginia. The structure of OVEC is a common one: volunteers / members, board of directors with officers, and staff members. What is uncommon is the committed participation of many ordinary citizens in OVEC, united for the common purpose of protecting the environment in which we all live. OVEC's board of directors is active.

The shadbush collective formed in the spring of 2010 out of a desire to develop a more radical response to the climate crisis and environmental injustice as they manifest in Pittsburgh and throughout our region. In many ways we came together around the immediate need to organize against natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale, which threatens even some of our own neighborhoods in Pittsburgh. This struggle is at the forefront of our work. But we do not wish to limit our work to a single campaign or issue – the destruction of communities and ecosystems under capitalism will not end with a single practice, nor will the “solutions” offered to us from above lead us to a sustainable future. Regionally, we see the need to work in solidarity with coalfield communities in Pennsylvania and throughout southern Appalachia, affected by longwall mining and mountaintop removal. Connecting struggles against coal and natural gas is critical to showing that no form of fossil fuel extraction, or consumption, is safe or clean. We also see a need to help grow community solutions to climate change and peak oil. In our city, we see the growth of so-called green businesses, development projects, and city programs heralded as the seeds of a green economy. However, these institutions often undermine our capacity for self-sufficiency by co-opting community projects and contributing to gentrification. We hope to support projects which truly build community sustainability and autonomy in Pittsburgh.

The Sierra Club in Maryland is working with residents of western Maryland, other state wide groups, and elected officials to pass legislation requiring very strong regulatory controls on gas drilling and fracking in our state. Please contact us about film screenings, bill hearings, and other ways to get involved in this campaign.