There will be thousands of gas wells drilled over the next two decades using slick water horizontal hydrofracking – turning Central New York into an Industrial “Sacrifice Zone.”

If enough New Yorkers speak out, the State Senate could pass a hydro-fracking moratorium next week. We have to push them to pass this now, or drillers will begin blasting chemicals into the ground that could poison our drinking water. 

The Working Families Party is sending a letter to every single single State Senator, signed by thousands of New Yorkers, insisting that they pass a moratorium while they’re still in Albany. 

Read and sign the letter here: 
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2112&tag=hydro2taf

“No matter how cynical you become, it’s never enough to keep up.”

- Lily Tomlin in The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe.

You really have to have the I.Q. of Joe the Plumber to believe that state regulators have a handle on high-density, high-pressure horizontal hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in shale.

Here’s another case that intentionally ignorant and deviously disingenuous gas-drilling proponents will ignore when they insist that this process is safe enough, and you should “let the D.E.C. do it’s job.”:

Check out this story from the AP on CNN about 2 Killed In Gas Well Explosion Near Pittsburgh.

Notice these back-to-back paragraphs from the article:

In northeastern Pennsylvania, state environmental officials said construction flaws in gas wells were responsible for allowing gas to seep into the area’s groundwater.

Hey! That can’t be true because gas-passing know-nothings insist that that has never happened. Not once.

DEP Secretary John Hanger said in an e-mail message that the well where the accident occurred Friday is not part of the lucrative Marcellus Shale, a rock formation that drillers have begun tapping only recently.

Well, that settles it - since it wasn’t part of the Marcellus, there must be no danger there. Buncha’ mealy-mouthed misdirection. You can trust these guys as far as you can fart a bowling ball.

This video is a good one to introduce people to if they are not familiar with the dangers of the impending gas-drilling invasion into New York State.

Some of the footage is from Gasland, and the music is by Pete Seeger and Johnny and June Cash.

Make sure you’ve joined youtube so you can leave a comment on the video. It’s free, it’s easy, and it’s important.

You can also follow earthworksaction on twitter.

After you watch the vid, make sure you take the action at cleanwaternotdirtydrilling.org

Here’s a little gem from Indonesia. A drilling company caused a disaster that is putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk. The drillers released a volcano of mud that has created a pool of mud larger than 50 football fields and is threatening to overflow a barrier that would release it to destroy villages and the only rail-line that serves the area.

Yes, the report is from Al Jazeera, which may not be considered the most respected name in political news. There is nothing political in the report, though. I would have rather seen or read the report from an American news outlet, but they don’t report on things like this. Only when it hits here.

Want to wait till hit happens here?

Oh, yeah – one of Indonesia’s most powerful politician’s family owns the drilling company.

* Before the intentionally ignorant say that we’ve had this kind of drilling since the forties, let me remind them (once again) that we are talking about high-density, high-pressure, horizontal hydraulic fracturing, which we have never had in NY state. Read the whole sentence again if you don’t understand that.

How will it impact You?

Rally at the

Otsego County Board Meeting

Wednesday, July 7, 9:30 a.m.

Meet in front of the County Office Building, 197 Main Street, Cooperstown

Tell our county government we are concerned about:

· Contaminated ground water

· Decreased property values

· Industrialization of our rural way of life

Conserve energy and CARPOOL!

Parking is tricky. Leave in time to park and arrive at the County Office Building by 9:30!

United We Stand, Divided We’re Fracked!

Above is a poster devised and posted locally by Jeri Wachter with info regarding a rally at Wednesday’s county board meeting.  Please try to come so we can show our county government the depth and breadth of concern over the threat of hydrofracking.  Try to enlist others to come with you.  Carpool if possible.

Parking in Cooperstown is problematic in the summer.  The spaces immediately in front of the building have a 2-hour limit (which should be enough, provided you find a space).  Nelson Ave and Pine Blvd are good options for parking, with no time limit.  You may wish to arive extra early.  Cooperstown Diner and Doubleday Cafe have great breakfasts.  The Stagecoach and Danny’s cafes are nice, too.  Another option is to go via Oneonta, park in the public parking, and take the bus.  Buses leave every hour, on the hour, so it’s recommended to take the 8 a.m. bus.  Get your pass in OPT office, just across from Vic’s Service on Main St.  Tell the bus driver you’re going to the county office building, and he/she will know where to let you off.

Big companies outsource to smaller companies, most of which are from out of state and somehow just don’t feel beholden to the interests of the locals or our area. If the big companies have certain screenings for their employees (and that is a big “if”), they can always hire smaller companies to do the dirty work. If the smaller companies are not rigorous in screening their employees, the bigger ones feel insulated against responsibility. This is what’s called “plausible deniability.” It works against the interests of the suckers who think the industry regulations are sufficient. It also works against everyone in the communities that are affected.

It’s sort of how the mafia works. Lenny the Shark contacts Joey the Fish who hires Sammy the Clam to hit Elmer the Yokel. Sammy is caught, but doesn’t rat on Joey. We all know that Lenny knew what he was doing, and is responsible. But just try to pin it on him.

It’s also similar to terrorist cells. Smaller groups are sacrificed to do the dirty work, but you can’t trace it back to the source. In our case you can trace it back, but convoluted laws and exemptions from laws protect the real perpetrators.

So what is happens when a small company hires someone who screws up? What happens when the person who screws up disappears from the scene? What happens if the company has been cited for violations before, but it keeps operating the without much accountability? What good are the regulations? Not much good, it appears.

Read this story about how 5J Oilfields Services violated permits several times in March of this year.

The tractor trailer, driven for 5J Oilfield Services, LLC out of Texas, was in violation of its permit and weighed in at nearly 53,000 pounds over the limit. The driver was fined more than $16,000 and released.

A $16,000 fine to the gas industry is a joke. That’s less than their lobbyists spend influencing local government officials and industry collaborators all over NY state in the time it takes to rent hotel space for a supposed “information conference”.

Less than 24 hours later, police stopped two more trucks from the same company at that same location after people called in traffic complaints.

Is there no end to this?

Then read about how a few months later how this Texas company’s truck ran off the road while speeding through Owego, NY, shearing off several telephone poles and a guardrail before resting the cab in a stormwater drainage ditch near a Family Practice office, and cut of local power to the area, including a nursing home, for hours.

The driver left the scene and wasn’t found by the police until hours later, after an extensive search. He was charged with fleeing the scene of a property damage accident, Driving While Intoxicated, imprudent speed, and criminal mischief 4th degree. According to Owego Police officer Brett Kobylarcz, Mohr was arrested and remanded to the Tioga County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash or $10,000 property bond. (Another joke!)  (Thanks to Wendy Post at the Owego Pennysaver for her coverage of this incident.)

How serious is this industry? Just look at the website of the company they outsource to. Is it a sham?

After all of the egregious BS this industry hands out, and after we’ve all seen how lax regulations work (or don’t work) from the Gulf of Mexico to Wall Street, how is it that some flunky from the gas coalitions still think anyone will take them seriously when they try to pretend that the “DEC and a good lease will protect us?”

Josh Fox (left) and James Hermann (right) at the screening of "Gasland" in Cooperstown, June 16, 2010

Josh Fox presented Gasland – The Movie last night in Cooperstown to a packed house and several standing ovations.The presentation was sponsored by the remarkable groups Sustainable Otsego and Otsego 2000.

Josh fielded questions from what was obviously a very well-informed public. A lot was learned this evening. I must say, it was one of the few times when I left the meeting not feeling disheartened. Combine that with the fact  that one of two bills before the New York State assembly, each calling for a moratorium on gas drilling in the Marcelllus Shale, had a good chance of passing the following day.

A call to action was made by Josh and the sponsoring organizations for audience members to call their representatives and the next morning expressing their support for the bills.

What can I say about this amazing film? It was a labor of love by a filmmaker who obviously loves where he lives and labored hard on this prize-winning film. Gasland is the winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Gasland is premiering on HBO, Monday, June 21 at 9 PM Eastern / 8 PM Central time. If you live anywhere in New York State, including New York City, you will really want to see this film. Natural gas drilling is the next environmental disaster waiting to happen. This film will inform you of the dangers, and what you can do about them.

You can find out more about Gasland  at http://gaslandthemovie.com/

Bunk

Josh Fox releases response to industry attacks on GASLAND,

“AFFIRMING GASLAND”

co-written with Weston Wilson, EPA, Professor Anthony Ingraffea, Cornell University, and Barbara Arrindell of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability and others.

41-page document addresses industry attacks point by point.

Read the document: http://www.damascuscitizens.org/Affirming-GASLAND.pdf

Also see their website at: http://www.actionotsego.org/

It’s working! The NYS Assembly may well pass a moratorium

Quick report:

A few days ago the Senate’s Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Committee passed the 1-year moratorium as proposed by committee chair Sen. Antoine Thompson. That’s certainly better than nothing!

Sen. Thompson has told us that he doesn’t think the Addabbo bill would pass on the floor of the full legislature; he thinks his bill has a better chance. He may be right, but the folks calling our senators have been getting increasingly positive responses! If we keep the pressure up FOR ADDABBO, in other words FOR SCIENCE BEFORE DRILLING, we just might push them into doing the right thing!

Thompson himself told me that if the Addabbo bill is the one that comes to the floor, he will vote for it!

So here are TODAY’s ACTION STEPS from our friends who know Albany:

BOTTOM LINE: WE NEED A MORATORIUM BILL TO PASS

WHAT TO SAY: ASK the Senate leadership to make sure we get a moratorium bill. Explain that you prefer the Englebright/Addabbo bill (Senate 7592A, which links the moratorium to the EPA study), or register your desire to at least see the Thompson bill pass (that’s the one-year moratorium, not tied to the EPA). But, keep pushing, we are almost to the end of the session. Senate majority leadership is the key target.

Simple message in support of the Addabbo bill: Do the science before the drilling!

CALL THESE SENATORS: (I just called them all and it only took a few minutes. All the receptionists were friendly, helpful, and thankful for the support. – Brian)

Sen. Sampson 518-455-2788 or 718-649-7653,

Sen. Malcolm Smith, 518-455-2701. They have started a petition that people can sign to push the Addabbo Bill! PLEASE CALL AND SIGN. It only takes a minute. THEY SAID THAT THEY ARE RECEIVING MANY CALLS! It’s fantastic that they’ve done this!

Sen. Espada 518-455-3395 or 718-652-4329,

Sen. Klein (co-sponsor of Addabbo bill, so thank him!) 518-455-3595 or 718-822-2049

Sen. Addabbo – 518-455-2322

Sen. Hassell-Thompson 518-455-2061 or 718-547-8854

CALL THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE — 518-474-8390 Remember, if one of these bills passes, we have to make sure that Governor Paterson signs it!

Click here for details about Why it is necessary to suport the Englebright/Adabbo bill currently in the NYS legislature (A.10490/S.7592)

In a nutshell: The Englebright/Adabbo bill should be passed to establish a moratorium on conducting unconventional gas drilling in NYS until 120 days after the issuance of a report thereon by the federal EPA.

Cartoon courtesy of MARQUIL at EmpireWire.com

Cartoon courtesy of MARQUIL at EmpireWire.com

Cartoon courtesy of MARQUIL at EmpireWire.com

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