I think most of my friends are aware of the gas drilling looming on the PA border while our New York State DEC works on its draft Supplemental Generic Enviromental Impact Statement that will set the conditions by which big energy companies can exploit the deep gas reserves below us. Their record in other states, including PA, is atrocious. A friend has asked me to share the message below, plus the attachment. (My apologies if you've already received this or many similar things).There is a bunch of info including links for more info.
Perhaps the most important thing to note is the "public hearing" in Ithaca sponsored by the Tompkins County Council of Governments on November 19 (Thursday, 7:00 p.m. in the State Theatre; preceded by a rally on the Commons at 5:00) where citizens can make comments on this watershed document, as it were (and an extremely leaky one at that). Tony Ingraham ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Judy Hyman <[email protected]> Sent: Mon, November 9, 2009 10:40:15 PM Hi, All ... Subject: Destructive Gas-Drilling Coming to Ithaca Area -- What You Can Do! Dear Friends: *Important -- please read then forward... thank you!* Some of you already know about this, but others may not. Incredibly destructive gas-drilling is almost certainly coming to the Ithaca area. If you don't know about the process used to extract the gas -- hydrofracturing (hydrofracking or fracking), which involves blowing millions of gallons of water full of extremely toxic chemicals thousands of feet into the ground, both vertically and horizontally -- I urge you to read about it at: http://www.un-naturalgas.org/image_gallery.htm http://tcgasmap.org/default.asp?metatags_Action=Find('PID','5') http://tcgasmap.org/ (see what parcels have been leased) http://www.shaleshock.org/drilling-101/ http://www.earthworksaction.org/FracingDetails.cfm http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE5A80PP20091109?rpc=6 0 Without considerable resistance and regulation, we are threatened by thousands of wells, not just a few. This has happened in Colorado, Texas, northern Pennsylvania, and other parts of the country, and the consequences have been horrific. Not only is the beauty of the landscape scarred forever, but, much more importantly, the water in wells, aquifers, and lakes can be ruined (with, for example, people able to light the water coming out of their faucets!), the air quality near compressor sites is often so toxic that it produces serious neurological damage in farm animals and residents, and the 24/7 noise is very intense (some people in Texas have actually suffered permanent hearing and ear drum damage). In addition, the drilling companies are allowed to draw the water used in the process from natural local sources such as rivers and lakes, taking it out of the natural cycle permanently. Yes, really!! The drilling companies are currently allowed > to operate exempt from the Safe Water Drinking Act, due to changes guided into policy by Dick Cheney when he was Vice President. Not surprisingly, much of the industry comes out of Texas, and Halliburton is one of the dominant companies involved. For those of you who didn't know anything or much about this before reading this, and/or who live in town and feel exempt, please understand that the above is not hyperbole, and the drilling will affect us all. Many people in the Ithaca area have signed leases allowing gas drilling on their land -- some are uninformed, some have been misled, and others are hoping to strike it rich without concern for the broader environmental, human, and economic effects. Many think it couldn't really be so bad and that, certainly, government agencies wouldn't let horrible things happen to us, would they? If your first impulse is to think I'm being overly dramatic or political, I encourage you to read. And, if you get a chance, see the film, "Split-Estate," about what has happened in Colorado. It's unbelievable! *I also URGE you to attend a Nov. 19th session sponsored by the Tompkins County Council of Governments where the public will have an opportunity to register their opinions and concerns regarding a draft document by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (800 pages full of loopholes and weak language). This event will be held at the State Theater in downtown Ithaca, November 19th at 7 p.m. It will be preceded by a rally at 5:00 p.m. on the Commons. It's vital that we pack the State to show large scale concern and resistance. You don't have to comment at this point (though we all should comment before the December 31, 2009 deadline), just be there! http://www.shaleshock.org/tccog-public-hearing/ Some drilling companies have actually begun to pull out of pursuing hydrofracking in this area due to fear of regulation and resistance.* Some websites: http://www.un-naturalgas.org/image_gallery.htm http://tcgasmap.org/default.asp?metatags_Action=Find('PID','5') http://tcgasmap.org/ http://www.earthworksaction.org/FracingDetails.cfm http://www.shaleshock.org/drilling-101/ http://www.shaleshock.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/reapresentation.pdf http://www.shaleshock.org/resources/ http://www.shaleshock.org/water-contamination-and-gas-drilling-the-legal-iss ues/ http://www.shaleshock.org/of-local-interest-new-york-natural-gas-summit/ http://www.propublica.org/series/buried-secrets-gas-drillings-environmental- threat http://www.shaleshock.org/video-tccog-information-session-on-the-dsgeis-itha ca-unitarian-church-11509/ http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20091108/NEWS01/911080372 *AND, please forward this email to all and any friends...* Thank you!!
_______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
