By Florence and John Carnahan
As more news comes to light about the natural gas drilling issue people are beginning to ask more questions about its safety. Over 10,000 people and organizations have written comments to the DEC regarding the Draft Environmental Generic Impact Statement (dEGEIS). Others have written letters and emails, made phone calls and signed petitions to the DEC and the Governor, the state legislators and Congress. The issue is alive in local newspapers.
There were two rallies in Albany on Monday, January 25. Those opposed to the drilling gathered to hear numerous speakers from Otsego and surrounding counties. The speakers included state legislators, representatives of local groups including Native Americans, environmentalists, children and their families and other concerned citizens. People carried signs illustrating their views on the drilling. Perhaps the most telling poster was one carried by a woman who signed with a gas drilling corporation and said she’d “been (f)leased”. Another poster had a picture of the devil winking and saying that drilling is safe. We can look at this with humor but it really is a serious issue that doesn’t seem to be going away. Those of us who attended the rally felt strongly enough about the issue to rally and walk in the wind and rain.
The second rally was one in support of the drilling sponsored by the gas corporations. The people who attended this rally were land owners and farmers who believe they will make money if the drilling is allowed to go ahead. It is true that in this economy many people are looking for ways to make ends meet. But that may be a short sighted view as the future of drilling may bring more costs in health care and environmental cleanup. Sometimes it is hard to project the future but this may be a time when it is necessary.
If you want to learn more about gas drilling you may want to attend the following meeting:
Citizens’ Community Forum on Hydro-Fracking
Wednesday February 10, 2010 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Nottingham High School
3100 East Genesee St.
Syracuse, New York
The sponsors of this meeting have invited a variety of local through federal representatives.
Confirmed Participants (as of January 27th) are:
- Lee Macbeth, Syracuse Watershed Control Coordinator
- Ken Lynch, Region 7 DEC Director
- Dave Valesky, State Senator
- Mark Dunnau, Northeast Organic Farmers Association and Delaware County Farm Bureau
- Local landowners who have signed leases
They are awaiting confirmation from Region 2 EPA, Governor Paterson, State Senator Antoine Thompson and Congressman Dan Maffei.
Representatives will open the event with brief comments. Then there will be time for citizens to voice their concerns.
Concerns will go under the following categories:
- Environmental concerns
- Human Health concerns
- Fossil Fuel versus green, sustainable energy concerns
- Climate Change concerns
- Economic concerns
- Rural, agricultural concerns
Contacts:
Stacey Smith 315-470-0778
Leyana Dessauer 315-470-0778
