More than a dozen people rallied in a controlled area across from Alumni Arena in Buffalo today. While some were there to ask President Obama to pull out of the Middle East and stop using drones, the majority of protesters were there to urge the president to ban the gas drilling technique known as hydrofracking. Rita Yelda is with Food and Water Watch. She says her group was hoping to get the chance to meet the president and let its voice be heard.
"We're also asking that he reopen the investigation in Dimock, Pennsylvania," Yelda said. "The EPA's own findings found water contamination in Pennsylvania, and instead of doing something about it, the EPA closed the case and told people there that their water is safe. There are people that still have brown water, foul smelling water and they have absolutely no recourse. So we're calling on President Obama to get away from natural gas, get away from fossil fuels, reopen that investigation and really acknowledge water contamination all across the United States.”
There was also a group on campus voicing support for President Obama and the rollout of the Affordable Care Act. Protesters didn't get their chance to see the president, as he came and went through a back entrance. New York state's moratorium on the controversial gas drilling process is now entering its sixth year.