Lennon family launches "Artists Against Fracking" campaign

PanARMENIAN.Net - The family of late Beatles music icon John Lennon on Wednesday voiced opposition to a controversial process of natural gas drilling known as fracking, CNN reports.

Sean Lennon, who appeared at a press conference in New York with his mother, Yoko Ono, said fracking is "dirty, it's just inherently dirty."

"The bottom line is there is a campaign of misinformation to try to tell people that hydraulic fracturing is a clean alternative to coal or other fossil fuels," he said.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to take up the decision on whether to allow fracking, or horizontal hydraulic fracturing, which involves pumping millions of gallons of water and chemicals into shale formations deep beneath the Earth's surface.

This process causes the fracturing of the rock and the release of natural gas, but has raised concerns over the potential for chemicals to seep into the drinking water supply.

Lennon unveiled a campaign called "Artists Against Fracking" to oppose the expansion of the process while it is under review by New York's Department of Environmental Conservation.

The regulatory decision would not require a vote in the state legislature.

Lennon's family acquired a farm in upstate New York in the 1970s, and he said he grew concerned about fracking after being invited to a community meeting held by the natural gas industry that was seeking to expand drilling.

Those concerns led Lennon to form "Artists Against Fracking," with his mother's help, and to sign up former Beatles Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as actors Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway, among more than 100 other artists.