The story of an unlikely activist


** News of the world environment
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Hi there,
friend,
—

Picture your own slice of paradise.

For Sharon Wilson, paradise was 42 acres of dense post oaks full of wildlife; a pasture of Texas prairie grasses, where animals ran free; a place where the night sky was dark enough to explore the Milky Way and its constellations with the naked eye.

Can you imagine how it would feel to slowly watch all those stars disappear? That’s exactly what happened. Hulking light towers first appeared on the horizon, but inched closer until they drowned out the stars.

The light towers belonged to a fracking operation led by a billionaire Texas oil baron, and light pollution was only the beginning.

As Sharon describes it, “the crystal clear air and blue skies disappeared, leaving a brownish haze. My water also disappeared, then returned black and slimy.”

When Sharon started posting fracking photos and videos to her blog, something surprising happened. People began reaching out asking for help. Fracking had been encroaching on their pieces of paradise as well.


** “I never wanted to be an activist”
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Sharon is an incredible example of an everyday person taking action for what’s right, despite incredible odds. As she heard stories of people harmed by fracking pollution, she started organizing to help them fight back. Eventually, she trained to be an optical gas thermographer ([link removed]) and helped collect evidence of the invisible emissions poisoning people and their land.

Have you ever heard the saying, “many hands make light work?”

When we all pitch in, we amplify our effort into a bigger impact than acting as individuals.
* Sharon Wilson learned to become an optical gas imaging thermographer thanks to support from dirty energy watchdog groups.
* Tree-sitters perching 65 feet above the ground to stop logging companies from felling redwoods, had teams on the ground helping them with food and other supplies.
* A former special education teacher standing up to Big Plastic in Louisiana draws strength from her family and extended community to keep at it.

You might not be up for getting arrested or living in a tree six stories in the air. But there are other ways you can contribute today.

Movements need storytellers and documenters, too. Earth Island Journal tells stories that inform, educate and inspire people, because these stories don’t get space in the mainstream media.

Now more than ever, we need independent publications like Earth Island Journal to make passionate arguments for defending Earth. I hope we can count on you.

Yes! I'll support the Green Journalism Fund! ([link removed])
For Earth Island Journal, monthly donations make a big impact. We curate stories from across the globe, and donor support helps us pay the writers, photographers and editors that tell these incredible stories.

Won't you join us?

Regards,

Maureen Nandini Mitra
Editor, Earth Island Journal
P.S. You can get 4 issues of our award-winning magazine delivered by clicking this secure link: [link removed] ([link removed])

Photo by: USDA NRCS Texas ([link removed])


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