Author: Rachael Colley, EID Marcellus Field Director

Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon, together with a host of other characters, jumped into two Mercedes vehicles to head to Dimock and campaign against natural gas in New York, the same natural gas that heats the home of the Beatles beneficiaries.

Yesterday, Tom and I had an opportunity to travel to Dimock, Pennsylvania for a magical mystery tour with some names and faces from Hollywood .  There was one legitimate star, Susan Sarandon, a couple of lesser known entities (Sean Lennon and Josh Fox) and Yoko Ono, the name made famous by her marriage to John Lennon and, to a much lesser extent, her loco line of clothing.

The tour was an attempt to lend their support to what they imagine to be a trendy cause.  I can’t help suspecting, though, one goal for the stunt might have been to boost results for the release of Sean’s new album.  Regardless, the group was accompanied by well-known local natural gas opponents Vera Scroggins, aka Vera Duerga, and Craig Stevens.  Also joining in the fun were Rebecca Roter from Bucks County, and Wes Wilson, who donned his old EPA jacket for added effect.

It’s worth noting there were no regulatory officials or actual experts on the bus.  There were no geologists,no engineers, and representatives from natural gas companies. There wasn’t even anyone with natural gas wells or infrastructure on their property among the group.  There were only celebrities and local anti-natural gas activists who have achieved minor notoriety fighting with their neighbors.

The whole event had a strong resemblance to a reality TV show; what you might expect if TMZ did a “Whatever Happened to (fill in the name of an attention-starved celebrity).”  I can’t help but imagine Susan Sarandon was mumbling “what was I thinking” to herself, as she toured a Dimock junkyard with this motley crew and ran away from Phelim McAleer (more on that in a moment).

These “celebrities” are used to living in a make-believe world where money, homes and cars are plentiful and real world responsibilities are few.  That stands in stark contrast to the the folks from Dimock who just a few years back were stuggling in a stagnant economy until natural gas development arrived and  materially improved the local economy and, as a result, improved the financial prospects of residents in the region.

The stated purpose of this reality show tour was to see the “devastation” supposedly created by natural gas development and send a message to Governor Cuomo to stop natural gas development in New York.   Craig Stevens even sported his “Don’t Frack Your Mother, Don’t Poison Our Water” T-shirt for the occasion (see picture to right).

Unfortunately, if these “celebrities” eyes were open, there was little destruction to see amidst the beautiful, fresh snowfall on a few back country roads.  I’m sure many of them expected to see “industrialization” everywhere they turned, but there was only countryside and evidence of some new prosperity in and around Montrose, all due to natural gas.

Now let’s take a look at the tour through the lyrics of John Lennon, it’s more than appropriate given Yoko and Sean have essentially made a living off his name alone.

Read more at: http://eidmarcellus.org/marcellus-shale/loco-ono-son-descend-on-dim...