Anti-fracking activists blockade California State Office Building in downtown San Francisco

Early morning commuters to downtown San Francisco were surprised on Friday to find an oil derrick blocking traffic in front of the California state office complex, along with 70 protesters chanting in the streets, meditating on the front steps, and blocking all three entrances on McAllister street.

The protesters were there to petition governor Jerry Brown to support a statewide ban on fracking, the controversial oil drilling method that has exacerbated California's drought and caused drinking water contamination in the Central Valley, along with other health consequences in the already-impacted region.

“We thought, the strongest way we could show what's happening is by putting an oil derrick in front of his office,” said longtime Bay Area activist David Solnit.

About 20 people blocked the McAllister street entrances to the office building, including San Francisco resident Adrienne Fong.

“I think we're at a juncture in California where people can stand up and make a difference,” she said. “I feel like people really need to take a stand right now,” she said.

On the steps of the building another group of about 20, representing the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, sat in silent meditation, with signs around their necks reading things like “Mindful of environmental racism” and “Governor Brown, take Right Action!”

According to spokeperson Katie Loncke, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, a worldwide network of Buddhist social justice activists, was invited to participate because Governor Brown is a well-known practitioner of Buddhism.

“We wanted to remind him that fracking hurts precious beings,” Loncke said.

Chained to the base of the derrick were four activists, among them Scarlette, who said she was willing to risk arrest because of the health risks posed by fracking.

“We're already facing serious health consequences, especially in frontline communities,” she said, adding that there is a lack of transparency and widely-reported negligence by fracking companies, especially regarding waste water disposal.

California's Water Board confirmed last fall that they allowed fracking companies to dump waste water contaminted with multiple known toxic chemicals, as well as “proprietary” chemicals that fracking companies do not have to disclose, into clean, drinkable water in Kern County, California.

The region is especially hard-hit by California's ongoing drought, the worst the state has seen in 120 years.

“We can live without fossil fuels — we did for most of human existence,” said Pennie Opal Plant, of Idle No More San Francisco Bay, “but we can't live without water.”

Fracking threatens California's water supply even if fracking chemicals aren't disposed of in clean drinking water, because the process itself is extremely water-intensive. The process works by injecting a pressurized stream of water deep into the ground to create cracks in the rocks below, which causes oil to come to the surface.

Friday morning's action, organized by the Bay Area Climate Justice Action Council, comes the day before a planned mass mobilization, the March For Realy Climate Leadership, in Oakland, California. More information is available here: http://marchforclimateleadership.org/