Fracking the Finger Lakes (NY): Sandra Steingraber (video)

Sandra Steingraber gives a talk in Hammondsport, New York, on September 15, 2011.  She describes the earth below the surface as a living eco-system, especially in the Marcellus Shale.  It is not a dead, inert place, just rock and dirt, as many of us might assume.  She tells the story of how New York State was formed.

Then she addresses the effects of natural gas drilling on air, water, food production, tourism, and road safety.  She explains that the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement that is now being vetted does not even mention these impacts.

 She says, inspite of gas industry representatives' claims to the contrary, there are now 1000 documented cases of ground and/or surface water contamination from the natural gas drilling process.  That contamination includes the carcinogen benzene.

If you have 40 minutes, please watch this talk.  At the end, she shows some visual aids which are presented in a very poignant and clever way.