tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22766983975431718652024-03-19T16:23:29.478-04:00Occupy Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in White Plains, NYAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-56682216218116749972013-07-01T23:35:00.000-04:002014-06-17T19:29:13.533-04:00Bobby Kennedy: We Are Asking You To Sign Walter Hang's "Withdraw the Revised Draft SGEIS" coalition letter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I think we need to "Occupy RFK, Jr. in White Plains." At this time, I don't mean for masses of people to invade RFK's physical space as been done everywhere in the past year. Maybe later. I mean we need to inundate Bobby's office with phone calls and emails telling him, "NO FRACKING WAY!"<br />
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<b style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="background-color: white;">~Harry Davis </span></i></b><br />
<b style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="background-color: white;">~Bonnie Cannan </span></i></b><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="background-color: white;">On April 16, 2012, about ten of us including Patrick McElligott, Walter Hang, Sandra Steingraber, Bonnie Cannan, Lisa Barr, Ben Perkus and myself met for about three hours with Bobby Kennedy, Jr. in his office on the campus of Pace University in White Plains, New York to discuss the possibility of fracking in New York State. I, personally, came out of this meeting feeling that Bobby was, in his heart, against fracking. However, at this same meeting, when asked if he would sign Walter Hang's well known letter against fracking, a pledge to maintain the drilling moratorium pending resolution of the problems documented in the Withdraw the Revised Draft SGEIS coalition letter, which today has about 22,000 signatures, Bobby's response was:</span><br />
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"I do not see any reason why I would not sign the pledge." Bobby also said that he would have to check with Kate, meaning Katherine Hudson, <span style="background-color: white;">Watershed Program Director of Riverkeeper, New York's "clean water advocate.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.riverkeeper.org/about-us/our-team/katherine-hudson/">http://www.riverkeeper.org/about-us/our-team/katherine-hudson/</a><br />
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On Tuesday, June 26, Kate Hudson telephoned me to discuss the above. Ms. Hudson told me that Riverkeeper and Bobby Kennedy would sue the State of New York to stop fracking if Governor Cuomo issues fracking permits. When I asked Ms. Hudson why Bobby Kennedy would not sign Walter Hang's letter to withdraw the RD SGEIS, she told me that Bobby is essentially against fracking and had "relationships" that would allow personal lobbying to stop permits and, if Governor Cuomo issues fracking permits, Bobby Kennedy and Riverkeeper would sue! Hudson then emailed me the Riverkeeper link from Kennedy dated March 7, 2012 which states:<br />
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"My current position is that I oppose shale gas extraction by means of fracking unless and <b><i>until </i></b>the industry can prove it CAN and WILL be done safely for both human health and the environment.<br />
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<a href="http://www.riverkeeper.org/news-events/news/safeguard-drinking-water/frackinggas-drilling/robert-f-kennedy-jr%E2%80%99s-march-7-2012-statement-regarding-hydraulic-fracturing/">http://www.riverkeeper.org/news-events/news/safeguard-drinking-water/frackinggas-drilling/robert-f-kennedy-jr%E2%80%99s-march-7-2012-statement-regarding-hydraulic-fracturing/</a><br />
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"Until."<br />
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I think that this position of Robert Kennedy, Jr. completely misses the point with Governor Cuomo essentially stating that he is ready to frack 5 counties in New York's southern tier!<br />
I DO NOT feel that fracking can be done "safely for both human health and the environment" no matter how many "scientific" studies are done!<br />
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Bobby can stand tall against fracking if he wants to. He should! I know he has enormous family issues right now but Governor Cuomo's fracking timeline will not wait for Bobby. Here is my thought regarding a response to Kate Hudson. I think that people like Kennedy, who say they favor environmental values, still operate largely from their position of privilege which enables them to decide if and when they will support an issue publicly.<br />
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They have long records of looking as though they will go along and please but not until they feel no danger of jeopardizing their favors or privileges. In other words there are really no magic words or deeds we can do to assure any response we may want from Kate Hudson and indirectly by Bobby. He may decide to speak out about fracking but it might not be until two days before Cuomo issues fracking permits, or, the day after Cuomo gets elected president. To Kate: I understand you are calling to tell me that Robert Kennedy and his children have experienced a very traumatic event with the lose of their mother and want the summer to recover. I (We) have definite empathy for that sadness. We believe that Robert Kennedy, Jr. is against fracking and has stated so in our April meeting with Walter Hang & others.<br />
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Bobby wants to support his children. The way he could honor both is to renounce his support for fracking publicly and tell the Governor to do the same. This would undoubtedly be the most important act to assure his children's and all children in New York quality of life. He could then go away for his summer retreat with his ethics intact. We all know Governor Cuomo wants NYS residents/voters to go away on vacation when he pulls the trigger. Kate sent me an RFK statement that was dated March, 2012. Bobby left open the door that fracking was OK if there was a health study to say so, and, if there was scientific evidence to say it is good. We all know that is not possible. He is stalling, like Cuomo is but the only difference is, Governor Cuomo has the power and he will use it. Bobby, please come out once and for all and state what you said to me & 10 others on April 16, 2012 in White Plains: "No Fracking, No Way!"<br />
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To "Occupy RFK, Jr." please <b>call and/or email Kate Hudson</b>. Ask her to tell Bobby to sign Walter Hang's letter:<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/cuomo/coalition_letter/2011" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Withdraw the Revised Draft SGEIS coalition letter</a></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Email:</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span> KHudson@riverkeeper.org<br />
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914-422-4410<br />
800-217-4837<br />
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Riverkeeper Address<br />
20 Secor Road<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Ossining, New York 10562</span><br />
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http://www.riverkeeper.org/contact/<br />
info@riverkeeper.org
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"No Fracking, No Way!"<br />
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<i><br />~Harry Davis<br />~Bonnie Cannan</i></h4>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-50210476667629893762013-03-17T21:40:00.000-04:002013-03-17T21:41:33.999-04:00 New York Toxic Sites Map<center>
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Homes and properties in communities across New York are located on or near toxic sites that can cause health hazards or reduce property value.<br />
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Use Toxics Targeting's Free Map to search any address for more than 650,000 toxic dumps, landfills and leaking tanks and other government-reported contamination threats.<br />
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Check out additional sites of concern in New York's Marcellus Shale formation, including gas and oil production wells, groundwater aquifers, abandoned and unplugged wells and geologic faults.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-3746339162611150652013-03-02T19:33:00.001-05:002013-03-02T19:33:00.155-05:00Occupy Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in White Plains, NY: WE DID IT! AP: NY Fracking Held as Cuomo, RFK Jr. ...<a href="http://occupyrfkjr.blogspot.com/2013/03/we-did-it-ap-ny-fracking-held-as-cuomo.html?spref=bl">Occupy Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in White Plains, NY: WE DID IT! AP: NY Fracking Held as Cuomo, RFK Jr. ...</a>: <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px;">New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo came as close as he ever has to approving fracking last month, laying out a limited drilling plan for as many as 40 gas wells before changing course to await the findings of a new study after discussions with environmentalist and former brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy Jr., several people familiar with his thinking told The Associated Press.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdiqPQmBh178LlIjyrwzC4DqQZJuuACc466nEDUUTzw65ExvX9Uss6dq0mg6u7BUCfpIiLo8AA1xJeT4FTQXGK8PIv17fQfT4SnNNuIbKCs5cq6T7M1zqCYvK5pGOndmPZ0rhnNGPdis-/s1600/Cuomo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdiqPQmBh178LlIjyrwzC4DqQZJuuACc466nEDUUTzw65ExvX9Uss6dq0mg6u7BUCfpIiLo8AA1xJeT4FTQXGK8PIv17fQfT4SnNNuIbKCs5cq6T7M1zqCYvK5pGOndmPZ0rhnNGPdis-/s1600/Cuomo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; text-align: left;">These 2013 file photos show New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, in Albany, N.Y. and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Dallas, Texas. People familiar with Cuomo's thinking on fracking tell The Associated Press he was on the brink of approving the much-debated gas drilling method in February 2013 but held off after discussions with environmentalist and former brother-in-law, Kennedy. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)</span></td></tr>
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</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-63023724658627025552013-03-02T19:22:00.000-05:002013-03-02T19:22:00.135-05:00WE DID IT! AP: NY Fracking Held as Cuomo, RFK Jr. Talk Health<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px;">New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo came as close as he ever has to approving fracking last month, laying out a limited drilling plan for as many as 40 gas wells before changing course to await the findings of a new study after discussions with environmentalist and former brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy Jr., several people familiar with his thinking told The Associated Press.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px;"><i><b><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ap-ny-fracking-held-cuomo-rfk-jr-talk-18636918" target="_blank">>>>>Full Story Here <<<<</a></b></i></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4HStz1AA3lXKSyRXF9xfXb6-huIU24L9mr6NLHw1hGrhq2lT3r9xrHKbIxeMYCJW07DXaDYtVR9w1khWy60JtT-v4BPqvuKDXYywg9FCAVLHz562pIq4uMFuK0gq1CFr1yPBBRKnp7GjK/s1600/Cuomo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4HStz1AA3lXKSyRXF9xfXb6-huIU24L9mr6NLHw1hGrhq2lT3r9xrHKbIxeMYCJW07DXaDYtVR9w1khWy60JtT-v4BPqvuKDXYywg9FCAVLHz562pIq4uMFuK0gq1CFr1yPBBRKnp7GjK/s1600/Cuomo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; text-align: left;">These 2013 file photos show New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, in Albany, N.Y. and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Dallas, Texas. People familiar with Cuomo's thinking on fracking tell The Associated Press he was on the brink of approving the much-debated gas drilling method in February 2013 but held off after discussions with environmentalist and former brother-in-law, Kennedy. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-52302898666111889202013-02-02T20:31:00.002-05:002013-02-02T20:32:43.492-05:00Environmental groups call for ban on fracking waste<b><a href="http://www.njbiz.com/article/20130117/NJBIZ01/130119861/Environmental-groups-call-for-ban-on-fracking-waste" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Jared Kaltwasser</span></span></a></b><br />
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<span id="article2" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">With New Jersey's one-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing expiring Thursday, a group of environmental organizations is calling on the state Legislature to override Gov. Chris Christie's veto of a ban on fracking waste.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
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Hydraulic fracturing, known as “fracking,” refers to the highly controversial practice of using chemically treated water to free shale natural gas reserves deep underground. The advent of fracking technology has led to vast new drilling opportunities and an economic boom in Western Pennsylvania, but environmentalists say the chemicals used in the process often end up in water supplies. Industry groups deny that charge.<br />
<a name='more'></a>Moreover, fracking water must be disposed of or treated, sometimes across state lines. Environmentalists fear that waste could end up in New Jersey and possibly contaminate the state’s water supply.<br />
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New Jersey’s Legislature last year passed a fracking ban, but Christie vetoed the bill, instead instituting a one-year moratorium on the practice.<br />
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The governor also vetoed a bill banning the disposal of fracking waste in the state. The environmental groups are now calling on the Legislature to override that veto, something plausible because the original bill passed with a veto-proof majority.<br />
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Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said Hurricane Sandy serves as a warning, because it shut down 20 percent of the state’s sewer plants.<br />
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“…If fracking waste was being stored in New Jersey or processed here, it would have taken a disaster and turned it into a tragedy, with billions of gallons of toxic waste going into our waterways,”<br />
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Tracy Carluccio, deputy director of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said a preliminary report from an ongoing Environmental Protection Agency study shows more than 1,000 chemicals are used in the fracking process, some of which are carcinogenic. She said fracking companies are increasingly looking for facilities to handle the solid waste that results from fracking, and there aren’t enough landfills or processing facilities in Pennsylvania and Ohio to deal with the task.<br />
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“So it’s just a lot of waste – liquid and solid – moving around the eastern part of the United States looking for a place to go,” she said. “That’s why New Jersey’s in such jeopardy here.”<br />
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Though the statewide moratorium on fracking has ended, a moratorium continues on fracking in the Delaware River basin. That likely means fracking won’t take place in New Jersey in the immediate future, but Tittel said clean water advocates want legislative action before fracking becomes an issue in the state. He thinks an election year is a good time to push for the bans.<br />
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“The concern is if we don’t move forward and we don’t move forward quickly, given the power of the oil and gas lobby it may be harder to get later,” he said.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-73232492729161403772013-02-02T20:24:00.000-05:002013-02-02T20:24:09.981-05:00What's Fracking Our Minds? Reality, Imagination and What Is Below the Surface<br />
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<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/g-benjamin-bingham" style="border: none; color: #ed0978; cursor: pointer; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;"><img alt="G. Benjamin Bingham" height="45" src="http://s.huffpost.com/contributors/g-benjamin-bingham/headshot.jpg" style="border: none; float: left; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;" width="45" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/g-benjamin-bingham" rel="author" style="border: none; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Century, Times, serif !important; font-size: 20px !important; height: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.05em; line-height: 24px !important; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: red;">G. Benjamin Bingham</span></a></h2>
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CEO and Founder, 3Sisters Sustainable Management</div>
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The word "Impact" standing alone could be good or bad -- or both. Crashing into something is not the same as transforming it, and in a media rich world there is a constant flood of conflicting data and confusing innuendo. This seems to be particularly true around the issue of fracking (the fracturing of deep layers of rock to unleash cheap natural gas). Ironically, it seems Matt Damon kind of lied when interviewed on NPR about his latest movie built around the issue of fracking: <em style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Promised Land</em>. Asked why he would make a movie about fracking, he implied that he just happened to pick the topic because it seemed to be the best way to highlight current polarized American characters. Can we believe the discarnate voice of the smart Harvard guy-next-door on our car radio when he says it is not a personal passion of his? No fracking way! He is the co-founder of <a href="http://www.water.org/" style="border: none; color: #ed0978; cursor: pointer; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_hplink">www.water.org</a> after all. So what was going on? By the way, it gets even more complex when considering his description of the anti-hero he plays, the everyman, Steve, a super salesman for natural gas, who, Damon says, develops a feeling both for and against fracking and ends up promoting democracy: i.e. let the farm towns of America vote pro or con on the opportunity to sell their souls to the devil. But this is not how it goes in the movie at all... so what gives? Is he cleverly pretending to be evenhanded just like the powerful money interests who are pushing natural gas in the movie and for real? It is hard to trust the facts of anyone who clearly is not being straightforward.</div>
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So are we all being fracked? Drilled into and force-fed illusions to break us apart on a deep level, releasing sub-conscious toxicity together with some powerful natural energy at the same time? Is life inherently compromised, with every choice paired in layers of good and bad, harm and benefit, being and nothingness? Does "impact" always create a fracked downside along with every positive change? Is original sin so woven into the human story that we have to keep making mistakes to wake up a little more? Damon is a "gifted" artist and if we can learn from Lewis Hyde's classic book on culture, <a href="http://www.lewishyde.com/publications/the-gift" style="border: none; color: #ed0978; cursor: pointer; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_hplink"><em style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Gift</em></a>, we can realize that art is an embodiment of the culture in which it is embedded. Perhaps that is to say we are a culture that is fractured, literally, in body and mind.</div>
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One image of internal and external disconnect is the <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57515968-37/riots-suicides-and-other-issues-in-foxconns-iphone-factories/" style="border: none; color: #ed0978; cursor: pointer; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_hplink">suicidal leap of a rural Chinese worker</a>separated from their family and traditions when suddenly thrust into a material and technological world that is a contradiction to the life they knew. I cannot defend Apple, but wonder if these suicides may in part reflect this overwhelming culture shock. Another example of disconnect can be explored in the way we generally invest financially in a toxic world we don't love, to grow assets to provide natural energy for ourselves and our loved ones. If art is an embodiment of culture, then investment is an expression of values, and laissez-faire is not enough. Investors like consumers need to express what matters to them. Mostly, the financial experts have the investors confused.</div>
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To return to the focus on fracking, Robert Kennedy, after an inspiring environmental talk to the Riverkeepers of North Carolina last year, surprised the audience by saying that fracking is inevitable because natural gas is so abundant and therefore so cheap. He had agreed to serve on Governor Cuomo's appointed committee to figure out how to frack without harm. The guy who fought successfully to clean up the Hudson River now voting yes to fracking because it is cheap! Well, in full disclosure, I cannot truly distance myself from that decision, for I had had my own Faustian dilemma about fracking:</div>
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In an advisory committee meeting for a water technology fund called <a href="http://www.meidlingerpartners.net/" style="border: none; color: #ed0978; cursor: pointer; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_hplink">Meidlinger Partners</a>, we were considering a technology company that had developed a way to isolate Selenium in the waters of coal mines in West Virginia. They were speculating that their proprietary technique could apply to fracking waters and were offering a good chunk of their company for a song. My guideline for decisions of this kind is based on a reworking of the premises of the <a href="http://www.naturalstep.org/en/our-story" style="border: none; color: #ed0978; cursor: pointer; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_hplink">Natural Step</a>, which teaches that if we want to end environmentally caused cancers we should avoid extraction, chemical compounds and general degradation of the environment. In order to be proactively positive, our approach is to invest in natural alternatives to extraction, clean-up of the environment (aha!), and essential products and services. So explaining away the conflict about extraction, and focusing on clean-up (and seeing profit potential), we voted yes.</div>
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After his talk, as Kennedy descended from the podium, I tried to buttonhole him to see if he knew about this fantastic technology. He zombied past me, assuming I was just another Steve-type promoter; and he was right, but may have missed something important for his fracking committee. However, questions of impact remain. Are we encouraging extraction by focusing on ways to clean up the mess? Is the fact that natural gas burns cleaner enough of an offset to the toxins released in an imperfect mining process? By facing the issues honestly and with positive intent, perhaps we can begin to heal what is fractured. That, in itself, would have a positive impact on our world.</div>
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<b style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Follow G. Benjamin Bingham on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/gbbingham" style="border: none; color: #ed0978; cursor: pointer; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;">www.twitter.com/gbbingham</a></b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-26073562834334901542012-12-22T06:53:00.001-05:002012-12-22T06:53:19.366-05:00Over a dozen groups join NRDC in calling on NYS to open fracking health review to public input<a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ksinding/over_a_dozen_groups_join_nrdc.html" target="_blank">Kate Sinding’s Blog</a><br />
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NRDC, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on behalf of the Waterkeeper Alliance, and a dozen other national and statewide groups sent a letter to the Cuomo Administration calling on it to open the on-going review of the potential health risks of proposed new fracking to public review and comment.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGWLTWN7ycgRjiCnCWiqaktxP4GFKrND0WyBUxBfUb-kFxs18H4FQFrs0t5gCJhmC4qHqQLlx5euWff_yCDi9cCOgVmYjIyvrJLa9_KKSG-kh5OSvitzIOtstDfQ_AKHZ57YwkUBPc1jD/s1600/RobertKennedyJr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGWLTWN7ycgRjiCnCWiqaktxP4GFKrND0WyBUxBfUb-kFxs18H4FQFrs0t5gCJhmC4qHqQLlx5euWff_yCDi9cCOgVmYjIyvrJLa9_KKSG-kh5OSvitzIOtstDfQ_AKHZ57YwkUBPc1jD/s200/RobertKennedyJr.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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A brief bit of history may help put things in perspective.<br />
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In September – following months of advocacy by NRDC and other members of the environmental and medical communities – the Cuomo Administration agreed to conduct an evaluation of the health risks posed by fracking. Although agreeing to do less than the formal, independent, comprehensive health impact assessment that we requested, we remained hopeful the state would nonetheless commit to evaluating the health impacts in a robust, unbiased and transparent manner.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Ultimately, we hoped this process would produce a first-of-its-kind statewide evaluation of fracking’s potential risks to the people of New York, one that would in turn meaningfully inform the state’s ongoing consideration as to whether to move forward with new fracking.<br />
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Last month, in a further promising sign, the Department of Health named a panel of three highly qualified public health experts to assist in its consideration of fracking’s health risks.<br />
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Unfortunately, more recently, things have taken a decidedly less encouraging turn. Since its announcement, the health review has been shrouded in secrecy, with the public denied access to any of the materials being reviewed by the agencies and its experts, or even to the details of the process itself. Nor has the public or other key stakeholders, including state and local health professionals, been given any opportunity to submit their own comments and concerns associated with the health risks associated with potential fracking in New York State for the experts’ review.<br />
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In one particularly troubling sign, it was revealed that the experts were only contracted to perform a maximum of 25 hours of review – a startlingly paltry allotment given that some health impact experts have estimated that it would take at least a year to properly and fully evaluate the potential risks in New York.<br />
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Further, as I have previously blogged, despite having just initiated the health review process, the Department of Environmental Conservation rushed out revised proposed rules for fracking in the state – before either the outside review of health impacts or the ongoing environmental review – has been completed. Whether intended or not, this signaled that – contrary to the Governor’s repeated assurances that no decisions on fracking would be made before the science was fully developed – the state had already decided that, and how, fracking would proceed.<br />
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In an effort to get things on track before a unique opportunity is squandered and irretrievable mistakes made, our fourteen groups wrote today to the commissioners of health and the environment to call on them to take three immediate steps to ensure that the health review is legitimate and meaningful:<br />
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Publicly release the scope, substance, and any supporting data or information used to complete the “health impact analysis” conducted by DEC and reviewed by DOH, as well as the scope and substance of the outside experts’ evaluations of that review.<br />
Provide a minimum sixty-day public comment period on the scope and substance of the health review.<br />
Hold one or more public hearings throughout the potentially affected parts of the state to receive testimony from interested parties.<br />
We further called on the Administration to reiterate its commitment not to make any final decisions related to fracking until this public health review process has been completed and due consideration has been given to the information elicited during that process<br />
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Now you can add your voice. Tell Governor Cuomo to give New Yorkers a chance to consider the health review and to participate in the decision-making over whether – after full consideration of the risks – fracking moves forward in the state.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-7404078240669991942012-10-11T12:40:00.002-04:002012-10-11T12:40:53.935-04:00Division of Mineral Resources Documented Oil and Gas Problems<center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-76591366174659065982012-07-31T18:32:00.000-04:002012-07-31T18:41:09.535-04:00Village of Owego, NY Votes to Ban Fracking for 1 Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="color: #515151; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Last night the Village of Owego (Tioga County, NY) became the second municipality in the Marcellus gas-rich Southern Tier area of New York state to vote for a temporary ban on fracking. The village board voted to ban fracking for one year to give the village a “time out to look at the documentation,” referring to the village’s master plan for not only drilling but flooding.</b><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="background-color: #e5e5e5; color: #515151; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Towns, villages and cities across the state expect new drilling rules will soon be released by the Dept. of Environmental Conservation. In anticipation of that, many are voting to either ban fracking, or voting to support the DEC’s forthcoming rules. Owego is only the second municipality in the rumored five county area likely to receive permits for fracking when the time comes. Those counties (in what is referred to as the Southern Tier) are Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Tioga and Steuben.</span><br />
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The City of Binghamton—with a Democrat Mayor and an all-Democrat city council—rammed through a fracking ban last December, while they still had a stacked deck (before new incoming Republican council members were seated in January).</div>
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<a href="http://marcellusdrilling.com/2012/07/village-of-owego-ny-votes-to-ban-fracking-for-1-year/?utm_source=Marcellus+Drilling+News&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cf2ff85167-MDN_Daily_Alert" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read More >>></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-51967757804260207602012-07-31T05:19:00.003-04:002012-07-31T05:19:56.794-04:00Thousands Gather for Stop the Frack Attack Rally<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAGl2rdxT_hL-n909wagLOkQdrhbUKhv6MrMAR5dmysCSDnG1K5sxwjKX4Je213rt0K2v-w-BTnE8zXfvpSBe-4Gme7bBi6K9bKV90ujFOAeyaz49f6U0aq_96plAKFsT9jjjQLB7IjW1/s1600/6a00d83451b96069e2016768eeb5bc970b-500wi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAGl2rdxT_hL-n909wagLOkQdrhbUKhv6MrMAR5dmysCSDnG1K5sxwjKX4Je213rt0K2v-w-BTnE8zXfvpSBe-4Gme7bBi6K9bKV90ujFOAeyaz49f6U0aq_96plAKFsT9jjjQLB7IjW1/s400/6a00d83451b96069e2016768eeb5bc970b-500wi.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">On Saturday, July 28th, more than 5,000 people rallied on the West Lawn of the Capitol in Washington, DC, and then marched through the streets of DC as part of the Stop the Frack Attack Rally. </span>
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<a name='more'></a><div class="entry-category-dirty_fuels entry-category-energy_solutions entry-category-health entry-category-natural_gas entry-category-politics entry-category-safe_and_healthy_communities entry-category-video entry-author-heather_moyer entry-type-post entry" id="entry-6a00d83451b96069e2016768eeb7c6970b" style="clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 20px; overflow: hidden; position: static; text-align: left; width: 470px;">
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This was the <a href="http://ecowatch.org/2012/5000-people-unite/" style="color: #4a87db;" target="_self">first-ever national rally on fracking</a>. "Fracking," a violent process that dislodges gas deposits from shale rock formations, is known to contaminate drinking water, pollute the air, and <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/07/whats-energy-extraction-and-earthquakes" style="color: #4a87db;" target="_self">cause earthquakes</a>.<br /><br />"Our call to action, in concert with over 130 other organizations, was to demand that no more drilling harm our public health, water and air," said Deb Nardone, Director of the Sierra Club <a href="http://sierraclub.org/naturalgas" style="color: #4a87db;" target="_self">Beyond Natural Gas Campaign</a>. "Elected officials and public agencies must put communities and the environment first, starting with removing special exemptions and subsidies for the oil and gas industry, while ushering in clean, renewable energy."</div>
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<a class="asset-img-link" href="http://sierraclub.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b96069e2017743c9dd3c970d-popup" style="color: #4a87db; display: inline;"><img alt="Alison2" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d83451b96069e2017743c9dd3c970d" height="289" src="http://sierraclub.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b96069e2017743c9dd3c970d-500wi" style="border: 0px;" title="Alison2" width="467" /></a><br /><br />Sierra Club Board President Allison Chin (pictured above) spoke at the rally - here are her complete remarks:</div>
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The natural gas industry is powerful. Everyday we hear their rhetoric -- "there's never been any water contamination due to hydraulic fracturing", and "the chemicals we use are the same as in your shampoo." Yet, everyday WE get to see the results: roads torn up, polluted air, and water from the faucet you just don’t want to drink!<br /><br />No state has adequate protections in place. Even where there are rules, they are poorly monitored and enforced. Thanks to the multiple federal exemptions, we can't even count on the federal government to keep us safe! <br /><br />TOGETHER, THOUGH, WE CAN CHANGE THAT! No industry, no matter how wealthy or powerful, can withstand the righteous passion of the American people. The out-of-control rush to drill has put oil and gas industry profits ahead of our health, our families, our property, our communities, and our futures.<br /><br />If drillers can’t extract natural gas without destroying landscapes and endangering the health of families, THEN WE SHOULD NOT DRILL FOR NATURAL GAS.<br /><br />We also must stop the emerging threat of exporting liquefied natural gas, which would increase fracking, increase carbon emissions, and put sensitive areas at risk. If the US Dept. of Energy allows all 18 LNG terminals to be built, we'll see as much gas exported per year as we currently use in the entire electricity sector. WE CANNOT LET THAT HAPPEN!<br /><br />The winding network of pipeline infrastructure slices through wildlands, rivers, and backyards -- just as the pipes and cracks below our feet slice through aquifers, faults and bedrock. We KNOW that pipes will inevitably leak and rupture, fouling the environment where people live - further polluting the air we breathe and the water we drink.<br /><br />And what will this do to solve America’s energy problems? NOTHING. It only leaves our families and communities to suffer the impacts and pay the true cost, while the 1% makes billions more in profits. <br /><br />The industry claims natural gas is the answer to energy independence, but the only way to achieve energy independence is to move beyond all fossil fuels. A clean-energy economy based on energy efficiency and renewable sources of power like wind and solar remains the only safe and responsible way to achieve energy independence while putting Americans to work.</blockquote>
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EcoWatch posted video of the event.</div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IIbjHx90U7k?fs=1&feature=oembed" width="460"></iframe><br /><br />As did the Delaware RiverKeepers.<br /><iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SmZZGM--G6Q?fs=1&feature=oembed" width="460"></iframe><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45286431@N02/sets/72157630795059622/detail/" style="color: #4a87db;" target="_self">You can see more photos of the rally here</a>. And if you want to watch the whole event, <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/channel/yahktoe#utm_campaign=t.co&utm_source=9912312&utm_medium=social" style="color: #4a87db;" target="_self">Ustream has it here.</a></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-68388355145577489382012-07-24T20:28:00.002-04:002012-07-24T20:33:11.422-04:00Anti-Fracking Bail Fund<span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;">This is a fund to be used for bail when people fighting the use of hydraulic fracturing are arrested during a direct action at well sites, government officials' offices, corporate offices, and to block natural gas industry infrastructure. When arrestees attend their court dates, bail money is recycled back into the fund, so your donation helps more than once over time. Donations are not tax deductible. The fund will be deposited into a club account monthly at a small community bank. For more information, <a href="https://www.wepay.com/donations/110786" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contact Alex Lotorto, (570) 269-9589</a></span><br />
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<a name='more'></a>ExxonMobil, Chesapeake Energy and Range Resources have hundreds of millions of dollars to spend lobbying Congress, influencing elections and buying airtime for their slanted advertisements. To stop them, we'll need to work together.<br />
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>> Sign up on the right for email updates from us. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-17731461377775053752012-07-20T01:10:00.001-04:002012-07-20T01:10:48.089-04:00Woodstock NY Bans Activities tied to Marcellus Fracking<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">WOODSTOCK, N.Y. — The Town Board has voted to prohibit in Woodstock any activity associated with the exploration or extraction of natural gas or petroleum.</span></div>
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<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />The unanimous approval Tuesday night followed a public hearing that drew six speakers, all of whom said the zoning amendment was needed to discourage the process known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracking or fracking.</div>
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<a href="http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2012/07/19/news/doc50076d4cd1861663882345.txt" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read More >></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-46934276766042559952012-07-20T01:02:00.000-04:002012-07-20T01:02:49.091-04:00Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon Sing "Don't Frack My Mother" launching Artists Against Fracking on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Show<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="235" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uzZ_Fix5K6I" width="420"></iframe>
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Appearing recently on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," musician Sean Lennon told the world "Don't frack my mother." Although the son of the late John Lennon was joined by his mother, Yoko Ono, the mother he sings about isn't just her.
Lennon and Ono recently launched Artists Against Fracking to protest hydraulic fracturing, specifically in New York State. According to the site's list, actors and artists that have joined the initiative include Leonardo DiCaprio, Lady Gaga and Mark Ruffalo. Lennon told Fallon that they've recruited 120 artists, also including MGMT, Beck and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Lennon told Fallon that he's "not an activist, inherently." But after observing the spread of fracking, he said, "We suddenly felt like we had to do something."
Fracking, a controversial drilling method for extracting natural gas, has spread throughout the U.S. in recent years, despite growing acknowledgement of the risks involved. Nationwide Insurance recently became the first major U.S. insurer to announce that it would not cover damage related to fracking. According to AP, Nationwide said in an internal memo, "We have determined that the exposures presented by hydraulic fracturing are too great to ignore."
Fracking is especially controversial in New York, where activists are calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to reject the drilling practice. Despite a ban since 2008, reports suggest that Cuomo may consider permitting fracking in portions of the state's Southern Tier.
Watch part of Jimmy Fallon's interview with Sean Lennon and Yoko Ono:
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-64627288664603654212012-07-20T00:45:00.004-04:002012-07-20T00:45:51.452-04:00Governor Cuomo’s Next Wise Move on Gas Drilling<a href="http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/cuomos-next-wise-move-on-gas-fracking/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read More >></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-38674135482442765242012-07-20T00:40:00.002-04:002012-07-20T00:48:15.645-04:00Adoption of Local Pro Fracking Resolutions Opposed in all Five NY Demo Counties and 33 Municipalities<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Greetings,<br /><br /><b>I write to thank all the activists who wrote to request </b></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>that their local government officials "</b><u><b>adopt </b><b>no resolutions or </b><b>public policies</b><b> </b></u></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><u>at this time supporting Marcellus Shale gas extraction</u>.</b>" </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>Those letters have been sent to all five county legislatures in the reported Fracking Demonstration Project area and a total of 33 municipalities. Great work. Pour it on.</b>Multiple favorable replies have been received: </span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Mr. P___ – Thank you for this information which I have forwarded on to the Town Board and our attorney. At this time the Board is not voting on any resolutions or moratoriums regarding fracking. We are collecting as much information as we can from residents, the DEC and the State and waiting for their recommendations. <u></u><u></u></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Hal</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /><br />I wrote to tell Governor Cuomo the good news. See: <a href="http://toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/documents/letters/2012/07/18/cuomo" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://toxicstargeting.com/<wbr></wbr>MarcellusShale/documents/<wbr></wbr>letters/2012/07/18/cuomo</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /><b>It is worth noting that you are among more than 25,000 signatories to two key coalition letters who have supported the principle of "equal protection" from shale gas fracking hazards for all New Yorkers. </b><br /><br />The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York has two competing coalition letters supporting </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>"...developing the natural gas reserves that underlie New York State in the Marcellus Shale formation immediately.</i></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">" and "...</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>exploring for clean-burning natural gas." </i><b>I was shocked to learn that those letters only have a total of only 221 and 155 signatories, respectfully. </b> <b>Can you believe that? JLCNY's grassroots citizen support is virtually non-existent. </b>See: <a href="http://www.jlcny.org/site/index.php/tool-box/petitions" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.jlcny.org/site/<wbr></wbr>index.php/tool-box/petitions</a></span><a href="http://www.jlcny.org/site/index.php/tool-box/petitions" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank"><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><b></b></span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />When I originally circulated my form letter, many activists wrote me to say that I had missed the boat: </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"</span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">I am sorry to say that the towns of Wheeler (where I live) and Bath, both in Steuben County, have signed the resolutions supporting fracking."</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> and "Well, you can let Walter know that the town of wheeler in Steuben passed a pro fracking resolution already (over the objections of dozens of landowners/residents). It specifically said they would not allow a ban nor a moratorium to be passed. So, this boat has sailed. Thanks for thinking of us anyway."</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />This is not true. Dan Fitzsimmons, president of the JLCNY, was quoted in a 7/10/12 article in the Binghamton Press and Sun Bulletin about the JLCNY resolution passed by various municipalities: <b>"The resolution reflects a 'neutral' stance toward drilling </b>(emphasis added)... and merely states that the town is accepting DEC's <a href="http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20120710/NEWS01/207100393/Broome-towns-facing-opposition-fracking-resolutions#" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 100, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0.075em; color: darkgreen; padding-bottom: 1px;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: inherit;">leadership</span></a> over the issue."</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /><br />There you have it straight from the proverbial horse's mouth. The JLCNY resolution is not pro-fracking. See: <a href="http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20120710/NEWS01/207100393/Broome-towns-facing-opposition-fracking-resolutions" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.pressconnects.com/<wbr></wbr>article/20120710/NEWS01/<wbr></wbr>207100393/Broome-towns-facing-<wbr></wbr>opposition-fracking-<wbr></wbr>resolutions</a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">As you know, The New York Times reported on 6/13/12 that: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's administration was pursuing a plan to limit fracking to portions of several struggling upstate New York counties along the border with Pennsylvania, and to <b>permit it only in communities that express support for the technology</b> (emphasis added)."<br /><br />See: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/nyregion/hydrofracking-under-cuomo-plan-would-be-restricted-to-a-few-counties.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/<wbr></wbr>06/14/nyregion/hydrofracking-<wbr></wbr>under-cuomo-plan-would-be-<wbr></wbr>restricted-to-a-few-counties.<wbr></wbr>html</a><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/nyregion/hydrofracking-under-cuomo-plan-would-be-restricted-to-a-few-counties.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">IT IS NOW PLAIN THAT NO LOCAL RESOLUTIONS HAVE BEEN ADOPTED ANYWHERE IN THE REPORTED FIVE-COUNTY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT AREA SPECIFICALLY DECLARING THAT A VILLAGE, TOWN OR CITY WANTS SHALE GAS FRACKING TO BE PERMITTED IN THAT LOCALITY <i>PER SE. </i><br /><br />I IMPLORE YOU TO TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY TO FORESTALL ANY SUCH PRO-FRACKING RESOLUTIONS FROM BEING ADOPTED.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>LOCAL RESIDENTS</u> MUST SEND THE FORM LETTER BELOW TO EVERY MUNICIPALITY THAT IS NOT HIGHLIGHTED IN RED.<br /><br />Hurry up. Leave no stones unturned. <b>Anyone in the five demonstration project counties living outside the red towns is a sitting duck for frackers.</b></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><img src="https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/?ui=2&ik=afab7444a6&view=att&th=1389c46ef82c6afe&attid=0.2&disp=emb&realattid=65496ee4b060320d_0.1.1&zw&atsh=1" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /><br />Thanks so much for your assistance. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Cheers,<br /><br /><br />Walter</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Fill in the blanks and Email it ASAP to Your Local Town/Village/City as well as County authorities.</span><u></u><u></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Honorable _____<br />Mayor/Town Supervisor/Town Board Member/County Executive/Village Trustee/County Legislator/Environmental Management Council Member/Natural Gas Advisory Committee Member<br />Address<br /><br />Dear _____:</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">My name is ______ and I live at _______________.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"> <b>I write today to request that the Town/City/Village/County of ____ adopt </b></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><b>no resolutions or </b></span><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">public policies </span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><b>at this time supporting Marcellus Shale gas extraction.</b><br /><br />Since 2008, a shale gas fracking moratorium has been in effect in New York pending adoption of comprehensive environmental and health safeguards </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">pursuant to a Final Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS).</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br />Until a Final SGEIS is adopted, I believe that it would be premature and entirely inappropriate for the Town/City/Village/County of ____________ to adopt any pro-fracking policies.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Executive Order No. 41</b><br /><br />The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released a Draft SGEIS in the fall of 2009, but </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Governor Paterson</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"> deemed the proposal to be inadequate and incomplete.<br /><br />In December 2010, he signed Executive Order No. 41 which requires DEC to analyze shale gas fracking's environmental impacts "comprehensively" and to make "revisions" </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">the draft SGEIS to comply with applicable legal requirements.<br /><br />Upon taking office, Governor Cuomo immediately signed a "continuation" of Executive Order No. 41.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"> As a result, DEC issued a Revised Draft SGEIS in September 2011 and is currently reviewing approximately 67,000 public comments regarding that proposal.<br /><br /><b>Documented Shortcomings of DEC's SGEIS Proposals</b><br /><br />DEC's Draft and Revised Draft SGEIS proposals have received intense criticism from the elected officials, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, academic researchers, physicians, scientists, farmers, local businesses as well as concerned citizens across New York and in our own community.<br /><br />Please review a detailed coalition letter with <b>more than 22,000 signatories</b> which requests that Governor Cuomo withdraw the Revised Draft SGEIS until 17 documented concerns have been fully resolved.<br /><br />See: <a href="http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/cuomo/coalition_letter/2011" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.toxicstargeting.<wbr></wbr>com/MarcellusShale/cuomo/<wbr></wbr>coalition_letter/2011</a><br /><br />I also ask you to review a coalition letter with <b>more than 2,700 signatories</b> that opposes any Fracking "Demonstration Project" in the Southern Tier and requests strict enforcement of Executive Order No. 41.<br /><br />See: <a href="http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/cuomo/coalition_letter/2012/demo-order-41" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.toxicstargeting.<wbr></wbr>com/MarcellusShale/cuomo/<wbr></wbr>coalition_letter/2012/demo-<wbr></wbr>order-41</a><br /><br />Finally, you can review <b>a bi-partisan letter co-signed by a total of 76 Assembly and State Senate representatives</b> which requests that Governor Cuomo resolve six critical concern before permitting shale gas fracking.<br /><br />See: <a href="http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/documents/letters/2012/06/13/legislators-letter" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.toxicstargeting.<wbr></wbr>com/MarcellusShale/documents/<wbr></wbr>letters/2012/06/13/<wbr></wbr>legislators-letter</a></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Conclusion</b>For all these reasons, I request that the Town/City/Village/County of ___ adopt no resolutions </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">or public policies </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">at this time in support of Marcellus Shale gas extraction.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Shale gas extraction in New York is a highly complex issue that warrants careful and transparent public policy consideration. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">If the Town/City/Village/County of ____ ultimately addresses that matter, I request that all deliberations strictly comply with the New York State Open Meetings Law regarding public disclosure and participation.<br /><br />See: <a href="http://www.dos.ny.gov/coog/openmeetlaw.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.dos.ny.gov/coog/<wbr></wbr>openmeetlaw.html</a><br /><br />Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about my request. I can assure you that I am entirely open to your views. I look forward to receiving your prompt reply.<br /><br />Thank you for your consideration and your public service.<br /><br />Very truly yours,<br /><br />_____</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-38234652606235094482012-07-18T01:09:00.000-04:002012-07-18T01:27:12.989-04:00Riverdale Mobile Home Park Evicted to Make Room for Fracking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Trailer Park Evicted to Make Room for Fracking</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">—By Xian Chiang-Waren| Fri Jun. 22, 2012 3:00 AM PDT</span><br />
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/06/pa-fracking-eviction" style="color: #12459b; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/06/pa-fracking-eviction">http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/06/pa-fracking-eviction</a><br />
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<b><i><a href="http://frackedagain.blogspot.com/2012/06/riverdaled.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">More</a></i></b></h3>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-82100457813791343802012-07-12T22:43:00.000-04:002012-07-12T22:43:58.786-04:00New York Fracking Moratorium Causes Drilling Company To Shut Off Gas In Avon, NY<br />
In the latest salvo in local battles over gas drilling, a company said Monday it's shutting down wells and turning off the free gas to landowners in a western New York town that passed a moratorium on drilling.<br />
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Local sentiment for or against gas drilling has taken on greater significance in New York since the Cuomo administration said the state Department of Environmental Conservation will consider local ordinances when it starts granting permits for shale drilling and hydraulic fracturing. The agency hasn't issued new permits since it started an environmental review in 2008; the review and new regulations are expected to be completed by the end of summer.<br />
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The New York Times quoted unnamed state officials last month as saying that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is likely to allow shale drilling only in towns that have proclaimed their support, in the five counties near the Pennsylvania state line where gas is considered to be most plentiful.<br />
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The town of Avon, 20 miles southwest of Rochester, passed a one-year moratorium on gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing on June 28. Lenape Resources has more than 5,000 acres under lease and 16 wells in production in the town. None used the horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing that would be covered by regulations now under development.<br />
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The company sent a letter over the weekend to landowners saying Lenape was shutting down its wells in Avon and that royalty checks and free gas provided under leases would cease. The company said the action was required under the town's moratorium and listed the town supervisor's home phone and street address for any questions.<br />
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Town Supervisor David LeFeber said Lenape's shutdown wasn't required by the moratorium.<br />
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"We were very careful to word our moratorium to protect existing gas wells," LeFeber said Monday. "This is only a moratorium, it's not a ban. We wanted to take some time to study the issue and put in place any things that would help make sure we protect the health, safety and well-being of our local residents."<br />
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Lenape also has a lot of acreage under lease in the nearby town of Caledonia, where town officials are considering a similar moratorium, said attorney Michael Joy, who represents Lenape. John Holko, owner of Lenape Resources, is lobbying against the moratorium in Caledonia and other towns.<br />
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"The town (Avon) has put a grandfathering provision in for existing wells, but the town knows full well that the terms of the provision cause Lenape to operate at a loss," Joy said. "They don't understand the need to bring new wells into production."<br />
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More than 100 communities have enacted similar moratoriums or bans. Dozens of others have passed resolutions stating support for gas drilling.<br />
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The main concern of opponents relates to high-volume hydraulic fracturing, which injects millions of gallons of chemically treated water at high pressure into horizontally drilled wells to fracture surrounding shale and allow trapped gas to flow. Environmental and health groups say it could contaminate drinking water. The industry says that fear is unsupported by scientific data.<br />
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"Certainly John Holko's company has been aggressively trying to stop moratoriums not only in Avon but in other towns where it has land under lease," Joy said. "They just weathered through four years of DEC not allowing them to drill cost-effective wells. Now they have the town telling them they can't drill here. Lenape doesn't know where its future operations are going to stand."<br />
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In Vestal, near Binghamton in the prime shale gas region, Vestal Residents for Safe Energy will present more than 500 new anti-drilling petition signatures to the town board on Wednesday, bringing the total to more than 2,000, said Sue Rapp, a member of the group.<br />
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"We want the right to the quiet enjoyment of where we live," Rapp said in a statement. The petition represents residents who want to "guard themselves against the dangers of air and water pollution, the industrialization of their neighborhoods and the degradation of the value of their homes," Rapp said.<br />
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The town also faces pressure from landowners seeking gas leases, who want the board to pass a resolution in favor of drilling.<br />
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Two local ordinances against gas drilling, in Middlefield and Dryden, were challenged in court but upheld by local judges. The gas industry is appealing the decisions, arguing that state law specifically says that local ordinances are trumped by state regulations in the case of oil and gas drilling.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-83515044853652185672012-07-12T22:29:00.000-04:002012-07-12T22:29:02.467-04:00Tell New York Governor Cuomo that the road to the White House is not lined with fracking rigs!Does Governor Andrew Cuomo have what it takes to be President of the United States? According to a recent New York Times article, his father, former Governor Mario Cuomo, seems to think so. Leadership requires taking bold steps for the benefit of the public, but Governor Cuomo is doing the opposite in considering opening up New York state to fracking.<br />
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<a href="http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=11076" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read more >></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-86785380784124925382012-07-12T22:06:00.003-04:002012-07-12T22:09:24.827-04:00Science Trumped by Politics in Cuomo's NY Fracking Plans?<br />
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said repeatedly that, in making the decision on whether to allow horizontal hydrofracking in New York State, he wants to rely on “science, and not emotion.” He is relying on the NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to give him that science -- but an array of documents suggest the Governor is being badly served.<br />
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<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendan-demelle" style="border: none; color: #399800; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Brendan DeMelle" height="45" src="http://s.huffpost.com/contributors/brendan-demelle/headshot.jpg" style="border: none; float: left; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;" width="45" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendan-demelle/science-trumped-by-politi_b_1665680.html" rel="author nofollow" style="border: none; color: #2f7b02; font-family: Arial, Century, Times, serif !important; font-size: 24px !important; height: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.05em; line-height: 24px !important; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Brendan DeMelle</a></h2>
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Executive Director, DeSmogBlog.com</div>
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Documents recently uncovered by Environmental Working Group shine a unique spotlight on privileged access granted to gas industry lobbyists by DEC officials with regards to fracking.<br />
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Some of the most important conversations revealed in those pages have little to do with debate over the science of fracking’s environmental footprint -- and everything to do with the politics of ending New York’s temporary moratorium and allowing shale gas fracking to move forward in the state.<br />
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Governor Andrew Cuomo has gone to great lengths to present the course his state will take with regards to fracking as the opposite of Pennsylvania’s drill-baby-drill approach, which has left regulators scrambling to keep up and allowed a growing list of problems to emerge. By contrast, New York will make an incremental, guarded entry into fracking, Cuomo alleges. And his regulators will take an approach that rises above the fray of conflicts between industry and environmentalists.<br />
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“We have a process. Let’s get the facts,” Governor Cuomo said last year, with regards to ending the state’s temporary moratorium on fracking. “Let the science and the facts make the determination, not emotion and not politics.”<br />
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But it’s increasingly clear that the process has actually been based on anything but science. Politics, legal considerations and economic concerns have instead predominated. Most tellingly, documents recently uncovered by Environmental Working Group show that industry representatives allowed access to drafts of the state’s permit plans, and used that information to lobby hard against testing for radioactivity in wastewater, for example.<br />
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But the documents also show a regular pattern of behind-the-scenes communication between the industry and regulators, at the same time as environmental advocates and others were struggling to be heard through public comments and similar official channels.<br />
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The flow of email traffic is steady, the documents show, and there are references to conversations happening on the side. “Let’s talk in the morning,” writes a DEC official to an industry lobbyist, indicating that phone calls and other contacts took place beneath the public radar.<br />
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We don’t know what happened during those conversations, of course. “We were very careful what we put in emails," the industry lawyer and lobbyist, Tom West, admitted on a July 5 appearance on Capitol Tonight.<br />
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Nonetheless, in those emails, extensive lobbying takes place, and industry is provided an early look at the plans the DEC is developing weeks before the public comment period began.<br />
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DEC officials have defended their decision to provide the industry with these drafts of regulations, saying that state law required them to calculate the costs of complying with rules.<br />
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“DEC could not possibly fully understand the potential costs of regulations without seeking input from the affected regulated entities,” wrote Emily Desantis, Director of Public Information at the Department of Environmental Conservation in a July 4 letter to the editor of the Albany Times Union. “To imply there was anything untoward in DEC's actions is irresponsible and uninformed.”<br />
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But the documents show that the private discussions often centered on topics that had little or nothing to do with costs.<br />
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The topic of home rule, or local regulation of drilling under zoning laws, which Governor Cuomo hinted this week that he supports, comes up again and again. The documents show representatives of Chesapeake Energy, one of the most aggressive drilling companies, lobbying hard.<br />
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Some background: In early July 2011, DEC Commissioner Joe Martens seemed to indicate that his department’s permitting process would take local bans and zoning rules into account. “If we can't decide on our own, then it may become an issue just between the applicant and the local government,” Martens told the Star Gazette. “It may be that the courts will have to decide if something is consistent or not consistent (with local ordinances).”<br />
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These comments seem to have drawn a strong objection from Tom West, attorney for Chesapeake Energy, a July 7, 2011 email shows. West wrote to Steve Russo, general council for the DEC, that “some of the comments being made to the Commissioner … overstate both the law and the discussion of the local preemption issues in the draft document.”<br />
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In another email, West again objects to the way the department might handle zoning questions, arguing that Martens has no right to decide zoning issues, and for a commissioner to do so would be to “arrogate unauthorized power to himself”.<br />
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The legalese is dense, but these issues are of great importance. In New York state there now are more than a hundred municipalities that have set in place bans and moratoria to prohibit fracking in their communities. The DEC’s approach to permitting could decide who will have the upper hand in enforcing those bans -- crucial questions for small towns and counties with limited budgets to fight lengthy court battles.<br />
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Another exchange suggests that the DEC has already taken steps at industry urging.<br />
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In a July 25, 2011 letter from Dennis Holbrook, Executive Vice President of Norse Energy to Commissioner Martens, Holbrook writes that the DEC's initial advisory panel “can only be strengthened by including additional, relevant viewpoints. Specifically, the panel is light in terms of industry representatives... ”<br />
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In a September 29, 2011 letter, Commissioner Martens responds to Dennis Holbrook. “I am pleased to inform you that five new members were added representing local governments, the agricultural community, landowners, and the natural gas industry," he writes. "I believe these additions will make for a complete panel for this important review.”<br />
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When the DEC began the process of determining how fracking would be regulated, residents were told that New York State would conduct a study that would be built on a solid scientific basis.<br />
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But after early drafts showed a lack of attention to key issues, an unprecedented flood of public comments, many from prominent scientists and experts, has raised serious concerns about the adequacy of Cuomo's approach. Major flaws in the state’s draft plan have been pointed out again and again.<br />
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For example, in a June 13 letter, seventy New York state legislators on both sides of the aisle pointed out six major issues they said were under-addressed, including the impacts that fracking could have on homeowner’s insurance and on mortgages, industry exemptions from hazardous waste handling rules, and the practice of disposing of wastewater by spraying it on roads.<br />
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Instead of focusing on issues like these, DEC staff were busy discussing zoning questions with industry lawyers and providing drillers with a chance to weigh in on the expense of complying with environmental protections.<br />
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It's time for Governor Cuomo to send the DEC back to the drawing board and, this time, they should pay closer attention to science and the public interest than they have clearly paid to gas drillers and their lobbyists.<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-45564099268632530582012-07-12T21:58:00.000-04:002012-07-12T22:02:32.043-04:00Cuomo Calls for Curbing Money in Politics, But Will Money Influence His Decision on Fracking?<br />
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that reducing the role of money in politics will move to the top of his agenda: He will begin a push for campaign finance reform in the state. This is great news. But some are questioning whether Cuomo is ready to put his money where his mouth is right now, on an issue of critical importance: Pressure from big money lobbyists might be a factor pushing Cuomo's administration toward lifting a moratorium on the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Cuomo has indicated he will decide shortly, and he seems to be close to a decision to permit fracking in some areas.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>VIDEO:<br />
In Albany on Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo discusses fracking in New York state.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Fracking involves pumping large amounts of water, plus chemicals and sand, underground to extract natural gas. There's plenty of evidence, especially from Pennsylvania, that fracking can be a terrible deal for local residents, with many of them reportedly ripped off in deals leasing their land to energy companies and suffering from contaminated water. (Watch this video).</span><br />
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Many New York residents are working to keep fracking out of their state. On Tuesday, the group New Yorkers Against Fracking held a rally at New York City Hall. According to EnergyWire (subscription required), four New York state legislators and three members of the New York City council charged that the Cuomo administration had engaged in "collusion" with the natural gas industry during the drafting of state regulations on hydrofracking. This charge comes after the Environmental Working Group published emails indicating that Cuomo's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) gave industry lobbyists secret access to draft rules weeks before publicly releasing them or sharing them with environmental advocates.<br />
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DEC officials have replied that they did nothing wrong and simply were seeking data from the industry to complete the assessment. But the contacts gave industry lobbyists an inside track on influencing the outcome. Thomas West, a high-priced oil and gas lobbyist, drew on information exchanged to make "one last pitch" to DEC on changes before the agency released proposed rules last fall.<br />
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As Cuomo nears a decision on whether to allow fracking to go forward, there are reasons to be concerned about the influence of special interests, including the two largest U.S. natural gas companies, Exxon Mobil and Chesapeake Energy.<br />
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Last month, when the New York Times reported that Cuomo's DEC was preparing to recommend fracking in five economically-troubled counties in the southwest part of the state, but only in places where local communities are supportive, an industry group praised the DEC trial balloon.<br />
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The Times, citing an analysis from the New York Public Interest Research Group, reported that ten corporations or trade associations spent $4.5 million over the last three years lobbying Albany on fracking and other natural gas issues. (Republic Report has asked NYPIRG for the data.)<br />
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Another cause for concern is that the director of the DEC's Division of Mineral Resources, involved in preparing a related environmental impact statement on fracking, is Bradley J. Field, reportedly a persistent advocate for fracking (and also a climate change denier).<br />
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And while Cuomo said Monday that "it's inarguable" that local community opposition fracking "should be taken into consideration" in granting hydrofracking permits, the next day he stressed that local views are "relevant," but not "necessarily determinative."<br />
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The group of influential people now pushing Cuomo to make New York a leader in getting money out of politics should ask that the Governor apply that principle to his decision on fracking.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-45628003412795399282012-07-12T21:48:00.001-04:002012-07-12T21:48:29.160-04:00Governor Cuomo offers limited support for hydrofracking in NY stataeGovernor Andrew Cuomo has offered some support to a plan to permit hydraulic fracturing in New York state, in communities that welcome the gas drilling process.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="background-color: white;">Numerous sources and published reports have said that the Cuomo Administration may permit hydro fracking in some communities in New York’s Southern Tier where the majority of residents want natural gas drilling . Communities that are mainly opposed to fracking would not be forced to accept drilling. Governor Cuomo has not confirmed the reports, but in an interview with public radio, he offered some support to the idea that individual towns should decide whether or not they want fracking.</span><br />
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“I think it’s inarguable that one should take into consideration home rule,” said Cuomo. “If you decide to go down this road at all.”<br />
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The governor says his environmental agency will come out with a plan later this summer on what he says will be a “professional timetable and not a political timetable”.<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-32562814576770852132012-07-08T14:23:00.002-04:002012-07-08T14:24:16.037-04:00Tell Gov. Cuomo: NY Isn't Ready For Fracking!<br />
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signaled that he is getting ready to allow gas companies to start fracking in New York. <span style="background-color: white;">This decision could come at any moment. So he needs to hear from you today that New York is not ready for fracking. </span><span style="background-color: white;">The governor is hinting that fracking will initially be limited to a few economically depressed areas of upstate New York.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8XU2UkVFtARCS6uxT6W5Y7P25c8KAVWxV_f289yVt2Gb-RA7P0_6kMo95Gl5rXXnkMvatfMKSqyhrRPHl16x5FdYgGuXlFQTVKNqgXtMGwCDnfqX8X_TE7F3-ObQDDXYZh4ihN-81AH5U/s1600/action_cuomofemaact_1207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="57" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8XU2UkVFtARCS6uxT6W5Y7P25c8KAVWxV_f289yVt2Gb-RA7P0_6kMo95Gl5rXXnkMvatfMKSqyhrRPHl16x5FdYgGuXlFQTVKNqgXtMGwCDnfqX8X_TE7F3-ObQDDXYZh4ihN-81AH5U/s320/action_cuomofemaact_1207.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Tell Gov. Cuomo that we should not subject our fellow New Yorkers to a health experiment—especially people without the money and political power to fight back against gas industry abuses. <span style="background-color: white;">The gas has stayed in the ground for millions of years. It can stay there a little longer until experts can figure out if we can protect our health, communities and the environment from fracking.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://secure.earthjustice.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1305" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">{More}</a></span></i></b></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-47707482645376053502012-07-08T13:24:00.000-04:002012-07-08T13:24:46.881-04:00American Water Works Association Statement on Hydrofracking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2sAhRXN1Tpv0-JxPtHSDEzAvPAXXlkROOzTKnjBDN9yqv9OVyQgJvGQ1kzP04GlpjMVpUFzF4JDX22TywY_qB-3wZr7ePeI6uHOwrJSANB05y9swhNmikba2qHfLMxTJfEcaOxjQm-nmL/s1600/AWWA.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2sAhRXN1Tpv0-JxPtHSDEzAvPAXXlkROOzTKnjBDN9yqv9OVyQgJvGQ1kzP04GlpjMVpUFzF4JDX22TywY_qB-3wZr7ePeI6uHOwrJSANB05y9swhNmikba2qHfLMxTJfEcaOxjQm-nmL/s200/AWWA.bmp" width="200" /></a></div>
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The American Water Works Association has joined with the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies and the National Association of Water Companies in issuing a joint policy statement on the protection of drinking water supplies from hydraulic fracturing and associated oil and gas development.<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://www.frackcheckwv.net/2012/07/06/american-water-works-association-statement-on-hydrofracking/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+frackcheckwv+%28Frack+Check+WV+%29" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">[More]</a></span></i></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15122412695954774255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2276698397543171865.post-44426648247603644562012-07-07T13:12:00.000-04:002012-07-08T14:52:25.208-04:00Coalition Cover Letter to Withdraw the draft SGEIS Before You Leave Office ... by Walter Hang<br />
I write to provide a coalition letter that requests you to withdraw your Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) draft Marcellus Shale Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (draft SGEIS) before you leave office.<br />
See: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/urgent_letter<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Honorable David A. Paterson<br />
Governor, State of New York<br />
The Capitol<br />
Albany, NY 12224<br />
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Dear Governor Paterson:<br />
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I write to provide a coalition letter that requests you to withdraw your Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) draft Marcellus Shale Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (draft SGEIS) before you leave office.<br />
See: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/urgent_letter<br />
You have stated that sufficient concerns have been raised about DEC's draft proposal to prevent a Final SGEIS from being adopted during your administration. You are now requested to send that proposal "back to the drawing board" until it can be adequately revised to safeguard New York's environment and public health.<br />
The coalition letter documents that the draft SGEIS has major shortcomings which have received withering criticism, notably from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. It also documents that DEC has huge funding problems which prevent the agency from regulating horizontal hydrofracking activities in the Marcellus Shale region where more than eight million New Yorkers obtain their drinking water.<br />
The coalition letter has more than 2,000 signatories, including elected and appointed public officials, farmers, business owners, wineries, environmental organizations, good government groups, religious leaders, students and citizens.<br />
Those signatories include a total of 84 official group endorsements. Signatories are associated with more than 300 organizations.<br />
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I trust you will find the coalition letter self-explanatory. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions I might be able to answer or if you would like to meet to discuss the request.<br />
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Finally, you stated on 11/24/10 during a WAMC interview that you are considering "working in the field of energy" after leaving office. With all respect, please eliminate concerns about potential conflicts of interest by withdrawing the draft SGEIS.<br />
Thank you for your consideration and public service.<br />
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Very truly yours,<br />
Walter Hang<br />
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cc: Honorable Governor-Elect Andrew M. Cuomo<br />
Honorable Sheldon Silver<br />
Honorable Brian M. Kolb<br />
Honorable Jonn L. Sampson<br />
Honorable Dean G. Skelos<br />
Honorable Peter M. Iwanowicz<br />
Honorable Judith Enck<br />
Honorable Carter H. Strickland, Jr.<br />
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