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Innovative organizations are finding ways to make augmented and virtual reality a more efficient, and even more practical, way to interact with technologies and tools, including letting people learn complex skills through virtual training. The businesses in Fast Companys Most Innovative Companies in AR/VR reflect that trend.Texas A&M University has brought AR/VR production into its celebrated Visualization program, letting students learn to build state-of-the-art virtual productions before they leave college. And other organizations are using AR/VR itself for educational purposes. Excurio has built immersive, historically accurate versions of iconic eras from 19th century Paris to ancient Egypt, while Varjo has adapted virtual reality headsets to enable more efficient pilot training, winning approval from the FAA in 2024.FundamentalVR is using the technology to help train surgeons on new procedures and medical equipment, letting users practice techniques before they need to use them on human patients. Squint has created software that makes it easy to train manufacturing workers on hardware and techniques used in a plant, capturing documentation from video of experienced practitioners demonstrating those skills on real hardware. And Haiku has developed virtual twins of real-world digital networks to help train students and experts on cybersecurity operations and respond to diverse attacks through a game-like environment. On the infrastructure side of things, Xreal developed inexpensive AR eyewear that integrates with laptops and smartphones consumers and businesses already have, and Snaps virtual Lenses let millions of its users tap AR to transform images they capture of the world around them and easily create their own Lenses with AI. And video game engine maker Unity released new versions of its software with added support for quickly building AR and VR features, including interacting with Apples Vision Pro headset.1. XrealFor bringing affordable AR/VR to popular apps and devicesFor years, Xreal has been known for developing inexpensive AR/VR headsets that integrate with popular devices like smartphones, computers, and tablets. In January 2024, the company debuted its Xreal Air 2 Ultra line of AR glasses, equipped with the cameras and processing power necessary to provide spatial computing experiences comparable to professional devices from Apple and Meta, all for $699.And in June 2024, it launched the Xreal Beam Pro, a smartphone-like touchscreen device that includes Google Play Store support, but which is designed for use with its glasses. Users can use the device as a pointer or control apps with its touchscreen while privately viewing apps, movies, or other content in augmented reality. The device has two USB-C ports, which allow it to stay plugged in while also connected to AR glasses, and supports Bluetooth audio output and keyboards. Xreal announced in January 2024 it had raised an additional $60 million in funding for further development of its AR glasses. And in October, it shared that it has sold more than 430,000 pairs of glasses as it promoted new retail distribution deals around the world, including with Micro Center in the United States.2. SquintFor training manufacturing workers with AR/VR and AISquint, which launched in 2022, works with manufacturing companies to generate AR demos of common procedures. In April 2024, it unveiled Squint 2.0, which can use AI to automatically turn videos of a factory task into an AR demo for training or as a process refresher. The new software also includes an AI copilot that answers further questions users may have based on uploaded manuals and other relevant documents. Companies using the technology have found that it cuts downtime, boosts worker productivity, and significantly reduces the time needed to produce usable instructions. Squints mobile app can also help customers identify employees who may need additional training based on questions the employees ask, or highlight difficult tasks that could be simplified or streamlined. Customers include Ford, Michelin, and Colgate-Palmolive. In February 2024, the company also released Expert Eyes, an Apple Vision Pro app that provides VR video instructions for common tasks such as preparing recipes or changing a flat tire.3. ExcurioFor bringing virtual reality experiencesand audiencesto museumsExcurio builds immersive, historically accurate installations that feature a shared virtual reality for up to 100 simultaneous attendees. In 2024, the company made its North American debut with Horizon of Khufu, an exhibit in which visitors to sites in Montreal, Atlanta, and New York City don VR headsets to explore Egyptian life in the time of the pharaohs. It soon established a permanent venue in New York. The company also debuted Tonight with the Impressionists, Paris 1874, at the Musée dOrsay in March 2024. In the 45-minute experience, visitors stroll with friends and family through the first Impressionist exhibit and the figures that inhabited artistic Paris 150 years ago. The exhibit brought new visitors to the storied institution, with 39% of visitors between 18 and 25 saying they were on their first trip to the museum, and 90% of visitors saying they had come specifically for the VR expedition.Other exhibits focus on the history of Notre Dame and the evolution of life on Earth across nine eras and landscapes. The company has drawn more than 2 million visitors to its expeditions across 12 venues in five countries around the world.4. VarjoFor bringing flight training into the VR ageVarjo creates leading-edge virtual and augmented reality headsets and software used to train complex, critical skills such as piloting planes. In August, the company and its partner Loft Dynamics announced that their VR-powered pilot training had become the first approved by the FAA to qualify toward pilot certification. In December 2023, Varjo launched its latest hardware series, the XR-4. It is designed to match the visual fidelity of users eyes, enabling wearers to examine sharp details in virtual and surrounding real-world environments such as a cockpit.The XR-4 Focus Edition offers particularly high pixel density for enhanced realism. And for applications demanding maximum resilience, the Secure Edition, made in a specialized facility, offers assurance against tampering during manufacturing and offline operation to prevent network-based hacking. Varjo and partner Dogfight Boss also announced in August that their headset-based F-16 simulator had been deployed to help Ukraine train fighter pilots in its war with Russia. In the U.S., the company is working with the Army on virtual helicopter training and announced in November that it won a contract through the Air Forces Super Goggle virtual flight training challenge.5. FundamentalVRFor using virtual reality to train the next generation of surgeonsFundamentalVR uses VR to train surgeons on new techniques and equipment. In 2024, it added new features to its Fundamental Surgery platform to track user gestures, letting edcators and makers of medical devices more efficiently see how quickly doctors understand products and techniques. AI-powered assessments guide users through refining their skills and improving techniques. The system can detect in real time when trainees make a mistake, reducing the risk of them making dangerous errors when working with real-life patients. And a new AI-powered tutoring system, dubbed Maia, can converse with doctors about the virtual environment and answer questions, reducing the need for one-size-fits-all written instructions.In October, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and FundamentalVR launched a new pediatric eye surgery training program. The company has also received accreditation from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Royal College of Surgeons of England for its training technologies. In September 2024, FundamentalVR released a new version of its Apple Vision Pro app, letting users practice skills like an ultrasound-guided femoral access procedure in an immersive virtual environment. FundamentalVR also supports haptic feedback, providing a realistic tactile experience to users as they practice surgery. The company reported a 59% year-over-year increase in revenue in 2024.6. RembrandFor using AR and AI to make ads and product placements less annoyingRembrand uses augmented reality and generative AI technology to insert less annoying, more noticeable ads into online video. The companys AI Studio technology, released in June 2024, lets video creators or ad studios easily insert promotional content like branded posters into videos post-production, with the AI adjusting the lighting, angles, and other attributes to make the inserted content look more natural. In June, the company announced support for more complex ad units, including 3D animated characters such as brand mascots or semi-transparent hologram ads that can interact with on-screen environments. Rembrands ads are much easier to insert than traditional after-the-fact product placement. Integrated right into the video, theyre less likely to send users switching to another app or video than traditional interruptive ads. The companys supported platforms include YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitch and Instagram. In 2024, ads that it created with companies like Lenovo, PepsiCo and LOreal registered greater visibility than traditional ads. Working with PepsiCo brands Starry and Bubly across 14 YouTube and TikTok content creators, a campaign initially targeting 7 million impressions ultimately received over 18.5 million global views.7. HaikuFor using virtual gaming to teach real world cybersecurityHaiku uses the Unity game engine to build digital roleplaying games that help employers and colleges train workers and students on cybersecurity. The company says the audience for roleplaying games is 60% female, meaning the approach can help narrow the gender gap in cybersecurity (and most capture-the-flag competitions on the platform have been won by women). In 2024, the company released support for new digital protocols, operating systems, and 5G network emulation. It also added features letting companies build digital twins of their own networksvirtual environments where employees can practice without disrupting real operations, even working offline for securitys sake.The company in December 2023 released Haiku Forge, which makes it easier for businesses to customize their own experiences. Haiku even supports emulation of real network compromises, enabling virtual versions of real-world attacks and responses to those threats. In July, it won a DARPA award to support its expansion into 5G training. In May 2024, the company secured funding from the U.S. Air Force to add more advanced AI into its experiences. The military branch followed up in August with an additional $1.8 million contract to support cybersecurity training for its ranks.8. UnityFor creating a technical foundation for the latest AR/VR experiencesUnity has long allowed developers to build games and other interactive experiences that work across multiple computing platforms. In January 2024, it announced support for Apples visionOS, unveiling so-called PolySpatial technology that makes it easy for apps and games to exist with content in the real world. The technology has been used by brands like Audi and Diageo to provide Apple Vision Pro access to information about products like the Audi Q6 e-tron and Don Julio tequila, and game makers harnessed Unitys cross-platform support to quickly bring apps to Apples new VR platform.Businesses like KLM and Bosch Rexroth have also used Unitys virtual reality tech for more than playing games, deploying it for everything from training employees to showing off new products in virtual showrooms. And in October 2024, the company launched Unity 6, the latest version of its engine. In addition to targeting improved performance and enabling powerful new effects, VR-specific features include enhanced interactions based on VR motion sensors, support for foveated high-resolution rendering based on eye tracking, and developer templates to simplify building multiplayer VR games.9. SnapFor putting the power of AR into millions of handsIn 2024, Snapchat parent Snap unveiled new Lenses to customize selfies and surroundings, transforming images into virtual worlds of the past or future in just seconds versus the minutes of previous iterations. In June, the company launched Lens Studio 5.0, giving developers more power to build and share their own Lenses, and in September, it unveiled Easy Lens, which uses generative AI to create custom Lenses with a descriptive prompt. More than 375,000 users have made more than 4 million Lenses; on average, more than 300 million people use Snaps Lenses every day.The company also revealed in September that its AI was gaining more powerful features to let it translate written text, identify plants and other objects, and even interpret complex parking signs. Snap in September also introduced a new version of its SpectaclesAR glasses that support Lensespowered by a new Snap OS. LEGO Group, ILM Immersive, Niantic, and Wabisabi Games are already among those using Lens Studio to create new AR experiences for Spectacles, which are available to developers for $99 per month.10. Texas A&M UniversityFor bringing AR/VR production experience to the next generation of studentsIn February 2024, Texas A&M approved a new Virtual Production Institute after a $25 million award from the Texas legislature, helping the states oldest public university continue to meet evolving student and industry needs. The Institute, based at the Bryan-College Station campus with an extension at the Texas A&M-Fort Worth campus, will train students for careers using extended reality. New virtual production stages enable immersive effects beyond what green screens can support, and the Institute intends to offer virtual workforce training for sectors that include healthcare, the military, and manufacturing. The facility is also likely to be used for bulding a virtual twin of a manufacturing environment, letting a company see how best to lay out robotics and other features of the factory. In addition, the university debuted a new minor in virtual production. Graduate students in the schools storied Visualization program have already begun coursework in virtual production, working with experts at Texass own Stray Vista Studios.Explore the full 2025 list of Fast Companys Most Innovative Companies, 609 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. Weve selected the companies making the biggest impact across 58 categories, including advertising, applied AI, biotech, retail, sustainability, and more.
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Have you ever finished off your last pickle spear and, craving a little more of that vinegary punch, taken a couple of sips of brine straight from the jar? Or maybe youre more open about your pickle juice habits and like to mix up a pickle martini in the light of day, rather than hunched over your fridge light at 2 a.m. Whatever you prefer, now theres a product designed for exactly those kinds of moments. Claussen, the Chicago-based pickle purveyor, has picked up on the TikTok trend of using pickle brine as a mixer for everything from Diet Coke to pickle cereal, and theyre meeting customers where theyre at with a new drink called Just the Brine. As the name suggests, Just the Brine is an eight-ounce bottle of juice-sans-pickle. The limited-edition product comes in a six-pack, and it debuted for a short time on GoPuff over the weekend in honor of St. Patricks Day (for those who missed out, it’s now available to win on Claussens website while supplies last.) Just the Brine is the latest evolution of a pickle craze that started back in 2022 (remember Sonics pickle slushie?) and has shown a shockingly strong staying power in the cultural zeitgeist. [Photo: Claussen] Care for some pickles with that brine? Since 2022, weve gone from pickle pizza and potato chips to Grillos pickle toothpasteand, judging by TikToks ongoing pickle obsession, it seems like the trend has yet to run its course. Users are finding ways to use the preserved vegetables that even the most ardent pickle fans never couldve imagined, like a pickle fountain or a fried pickle board. The next evolution of the trend, it seems, is to just lose the pickles altogether. Last October, Dua Lipas viral TikTok video mixing Diet Coke with pickle juice sparked a cultural moment, amassing over 12 million views, says Caroline Sheehey, Claussens brand manager. Inspired by her mixture, Claussen responded by seeding a product concept, Just The Brine, on Instagram. The post received nearly 70,000 likes and thousands of comments from fans sharing how they already love Claussens beloved brine and use it in a variety of ways such as after a sports workout, as a brine for their chicken, to help with dehydration as a morning after cure, cocktail mixer, and more. After seeing the fan response, Sheehy says, the team knew they had to make Just the Brine a reality. Claussen is marketing its brine bottles as a kind of dual-purpose product: a mixer to pregame your night out, and an electrolyte beverage for your inevitable hangover the next day. One serving size is two ounces, which contains 630 mg of sodium (about half the sodium content of a standard instant ramen pack.) [Just the Brine] is perfect for pickling at night and using as a mixer in your cocktails or soda, and perfect for unpickling the next morning as a refreshing electrolyte boost, Sheehy says. Its a strange marketing tactic, given that curing your pickle-induced hangover with more pickles seems like the quickest way to never want to set eyes on the color green again. But, lets be honest, the chances that Claussen ever actually adds this stunt product to its permanent line-up are slim to noneso the lucky few who get their hands on it might as well enjoy it via a pickle-fueled rager while it lasts.
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Her voice cracking with emotion as she stood under the fluorescent lights, Janice Blanock asked her local legislators in southwestern Pennsylvania to take a moment and leaf through the photos of her son that shed handed them. Theres really nothing different that I can say to you that I havent said already over the last several months, she told supervisors for the tiny township of Cecil outside Pittsburgh. I can, however, share these photographs. These are just a few of the many pictures we have of our son Luke, from the time he became ill until before he died. The supervisors were gathered to vote on a zoning ordinance amendment that would greatly increase the required buffer zone between oil and gas drilling operations and homes and schools. The proposed rule mandating a setback of 2,500 feetfive times the distance of the current lawhad originally been proposed as a statewide requirement by Governor Josh Shapiro when he was Pennsylvanias attorney general. A bill based on that recommendation later stalled out when introduced in the state House of Representatives. Blanock, a 30-year resident of Cecil, had a reason to take the issue seriously. Her son waged a three-year battle with a rare type of bone cancer known as Ewings sarcoma and died in 2016 at age 19. Many believe, though theres yet to be demonstrable proof, that his cancer could be tied to oil and gas drillings many carcinogenic pollutants, some that are radioactive. In 2019, a cluster of Ewings sarcoma cases was identified in Washington County, where Cecil is located. Cecils school district was hit particularly hard. The county is home to more than 2,000 natural gas wells and was the 2004 birthplace of the states fracking industry. (Fracking is a process in which sand, water, and chemicals are blasted into the earth to free fossil fuel.) A growing body of peer-reviewed research has linked living near natural gas drilling operations to cancers and respiratory, reproductive, and neurological damage. In 2023, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the state Department of Health linked fracking exposure in the region encompassing Cecil to increased risk of asthma and lymphoma. Will you look at the damn picture, Darlene, Blanock urged one supervisor after handing her a photo of Luke. Around an hour later, the zoning ordinance passed and the room erupted with applause. With that, Cecila town of just 15,000 residents and no outsize political powerbecame the first jurisdiction in Pennsylvania to adopt such a restrictive measure, even as similar efforts at the state level have failed. But already it is facing legal challenges from two natural gas companies active in the areaTexas-based fracking company Range Resources, and Colorado-based gas pipeline company MarkWest Liberty Midstream. The Cecil Township Board of Supervisors meets monthly at the towns Municipal Building. [Photo: Audrey Carleton] Under current requirements, natural gas wells in Pennsylvania must be at least 500 feet from buildings and water wells, which environmentalists and medical experts say is not far enough. In 2023, a bill that would have required all new natural gas wells in the state to be located at least 2,500 feetnearly half a milefrom buildings and water wells was slated for a committee vote, but was abruptly killed at the request of Democratic leadership in the state House of Representatives. Three years before that, then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro released a grand jury report calling for a statewide 2,500-foot buffer between human activity and natural gas production. There is one point that is impossible to deny, the grand jury report stated. The closer people happen to live to a massive, industrial drilling complex, the worse it is likely to be for them. While that plea failed to get political traction, environmental groups continue to urge action. For their part, natural gas industry groups have minimized concerns about health risks associated with fracking exposure and have resisted proposals for setbacks or no-drill zones. But despite industry efforts, Cecil has gone its own way. The townships updated oil and gas ordinance prohibits new oil and gas wells from being drilled within 2,500 feet of protected structures, which includes homes, businesses, and religious institutions, and within 5,000 feet of schools and hospitals. Though the ordinance does not call for an outright ban on new drilling, Range Resources contends it would limit fracking in Cecil in such a way that it violates state law. The township argues otherwise: Wells located outside Cecil can still be drilled under the town. The ordinance also imposes additional restrictions on the industry that have generated less debate: It prohibits retention ponds for water used in the fracking process, places new noise restrictions on drilling, and limits work hours on well pads. I was not sure for the longest time that this was going to go this way, said Sarah Martik, a Cecil resident and executive director of the Center for Coalfield Justice, a southwestern Pennsylvania-based nonprofit environmental justice organization. This one thing is as far as weve ever gone, as far as regulating this industry in a way that is protective of our communities. But the road to this outcome was fraught. Documents obtained by Capital & Main through right-to-know requests reveal an up-close look at life in the shale fields, with citizens largely fed up with living alongside the natural gas industry. Noise, bright lights, and shaking at all hours were among the complaints emailed to supervisors in the months ahead of the vote. Here I am once again trying to prepare for another sleepless night, one resident wrote to the supervisors in May. My whole house shakes, my children are disturbed from sleep, my pets are afraid to be out in the yardcan you please help us. “I have SUFFERED from vertigo for years, another resident wrote in June, referring to vibrations from drilling at a nearby well pad that she felt in her home. You know in some places they torture people with this kind of low res hum and vibration. Torturebecause that is what it is. Documents also offer a look at the playbook the industry followed to curry favor among Cecil residents. Over the five years before the ordinance was adopted in 2024, Range Resources, the townships only active natural gas well operator with 34 active wells per state records, donated nearly to $300,000 to the community. The money was disbursed throughout the township, the encompassing school district, and local volunteer first responder organizations, and it was spent on festivals, childrens sports teams, a science fair, and CPR training sessions, according to a spreadsheet obtained by Capital & Main through a right-to-know request. Range Resources did not immediately respond to Capital & Mains request for comment. At least one township supervisor has financial ties to Range Resources. Records show Supervisor Darlene Barni has, for many years, maintained an oil and gas lease with the company; she ultimately recused herself from the final ordinance vote but participated in earlier stages of its development and routinely shares pro-oil and gas posts on Facebook. The company also weighed in at multiple stages during the drafting of the ordinance, using experts to testify against existing science that ties fracking to poor environmental and health outcomes and urging town leaders to refrain from enacting a setback as large as 2,500 feet. At least 92% of Cecil Townships surface property would be excluded from future oil and gas development, an attorney for Range Resources told supervisors in a letter. This would have the effect of limiting residents oil and gas royalty payments, he wrote. The attorney said the setbacks were exceedingly restrictive and inconsistent. Though the company currently has no permits under consideration for new well pads, Range Resources is challenging the ordinance with the townships Zoning Hearing Board. This process could take months, and the challenge is opposed by the township, residents, and several local environmental groups. At issue is whether Cecils ordinance is legal. Its a very, very specific question, said Kara Shirdon, who chairs the Cecil Zoning Hearing Board but recused herself for Range Resources legal challenge to eliminate the appearance of bias (Shirdon has been publicly supportive of the setback ordinance.) Though she said shes confident the ordinance will survive, she believes it will strain the townships resources. I think, honestly, the whole entire thing is because theyre pissed and they want to drain as much money as possible out of the township as punishment for not letting them do what they want to do. * * * Michelle Stonemark moved to Cecil township in 2012 after her parents bought around 30 acres there with the intent of housing their children and grandchildren. Her parents, sister, and family friends all built homes next to one another, in succession. And then it was my turn, Stonemark told Capital & Main. Just as I had gotten the drawing . . . we find out that Range Resources had applied to put a well pad in right behind my new house. With around 30 days notice, she recalled, Stonemark and her family found legal help and learned everything we could about fracking, in order to oppose the project. But their effort failed. We didnt have enough time. We were starting from nothing, she said. Drilling at the pad began in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown, as Stonemark, her husband and three children were stuck at home. Today, the well pad, known as Augustine George, sits just over 500 feet from her home, she said, and routinely rattles the walls and windows and sends fumes into the air. She said she and members of her family often experience headaches, nausea, nosebleeds, and earaches. They can feel vibrations from the well pad in their chests, she said. Flaring would go off at any and all times, during the day, at night, she said. Flaring, which involves burning off excess methane, has been linked to asthma and other respiratory conditions. In response, Stonemark launched a Facebook page she uses to serve as an industry watchdog: She posts photos, videos, and documents relevant to the oil and gas industrys indiscretions, and publicly mourns the future she once envisioned for herself in Cecil. As I stand outside on this beautiful morning I cannot enjoy the day, she wrote in one post in May. A foul odor lingers in the air, and the constant low noises pulsate through my ears and head. Stonemark and her husband are also now attempting to intervene legally ad become a formal party against Range Resources challenge to the setback ordinance. Shirdon said she first caught wind of Range Resources plans for a well pad in 2017, less than a year after moving into her home. Since then, she said shes experienced headaches, sinus and respiratory issues, difficulty concentrating and sleeping, and irritability. The part that people underestimate, I think, is how much anxiety it causes, Shirdon said. Every time you feel the rumble, or every time you get stopped on the road, you start to worry, Are my kids being adversely affected by whats going on here? Merle Lesko has lived in his house nearby for nearly 30 years. Lesko said he and Stonemark often jokingly spar over who lives closer to the Augustine George pad. Salmon pink sound walls, dozens of feet high, poke through a line of trees behind his property. Lesko first urged the township to adopt a new buffer ordinance in early 2024, after regularly recording the decibel level emitted by the Augustine George pad at different locations in his house. He moved his bed and the desk where he works based on the lowest noise reading he found in his residencehis basementjust to escape the vibrations that would rattle his house. The noise was so bad, you could hear or feel the noise over a running lawnmower, he said. Theyve taken so many summers from me.” Though it took months of often impassioned debate, the adoption of Cecils ordinance has added fuel to a fight at the state level, where climate justice organizations are urging environmental regulators to increase the statewide oil and setback of 500 feet. In October, the Protective Buffers Pennsylvania campaign filed a petition with the states Environmental Quality Board, pushing for the adoption of an executive rule that would require a 3,281-foot buffer between fracking wells and buildings and water wellsa setback nearly 1,000 feet wider than in Cecils ordinance. There should be a baseline floor of protection for everybody in the commonwealth, said Lisa Hallowell, senior attorney at the Environmental Integrity Project, an environmental nonprofit that helped author the petition. More than 10% of Pennsylvanians lived within a half mile of an active oil and gas well as of 2022, the petition notes. Many share medical symptomsrashes, cancers, sleep disordersand have seen their water supplies affected by fracking, the petition states. Protective Buffers Pennsylvania has been involved in previous attempts to pass tougher statewide setback rules, including the 2023 bill that died in committee, Hallowell said. These efforts never got far. The Legislature has not had an appetite for that, she noted. Indeed, around the time that the 2023 setback bill was circulating through the Legislature, state Senator Gene Yaw of Williamsport, Republican chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, questioned the need for the measure at all, saying in a public hearing that he had not heard of any links between fracking and cardiovascular, reproductive, or nervous system damage. Yaw has, separately, disclosed personal income from oil and gas companies EQT and Equinor, and won his reelection to the senate in November after accepting thousands of dollars in campaign donations from the oil and gas industry. A group of Democratic senators has announced that they soon plan to reintroduce the 2,500-foot setback proposal. But that bill will face an uphill battle in a divided Legislature. Janice Blanock at home [Photo: Audrey Carleton] After helping cement the setback proposal as law in Cecil, Blanock now wants to see other communities protected. Were hoping this movement goes far and wide, Blanock said the day after the ordinance passed. I think, just the fact that that happened last night, people will learn about it [and think], If they can do it, why cant we? Several months later, as legal challenges threaten Cecils hard-won victory, Blanock remains resolute. She still chokes back tears when she talks about Luke, and still resents having had her concerns about health risks associated with fracking exposure denied by the industry. Its not just about Luke, she said. This is about my other children, my grandchildren, my community, my family, friends, neighbors. Blanock shares photos and mementos of her son Luke. [Photo: Audrey Carleton] They can appeal it, she said of the natural gas companies challenging the ordinance. And then we can appeal it. Were as strong in our resolve to win this as they are. This piece was originally published by Capital & Main, which reports from California o economic, political, and social issues.
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