Home Rule in Avon, NY: Anti-fracking Rally

Photo: Michael Johnson
Livingston County News

 

It was a cold, cold day in Geneseo, NY, on Monday.  Frigid cold.  We couldn't feel our fingers and toes after a while. But it was worth every minute to show our support for the Town of Avon and its decision to put a moratorium on fracking. We are awaiting the judge's decision.  Stay tuned.

Yoko Ono and Artists Against Fracking

Artists Against Fracking is a coalition dedicated to banning hydraulic fracking everywhere. Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon took a tour of Northeast PA in January. This is their story and their plea.

Don't frack New York State!

Imagine there's no fracking...

Filming by Josh Fox

Max Chilson's Water Well Went Bad: French Azilum, PA

Max Chilson, eighty years old, living in French Azilum and surrounded by gas wells, cannot use his water any longer. It went bad in 2010- black solids turned up. The PA DEP and the gas company Chief Oil and Gas do not know what is in this black stuff. Public officials, including Gene Yaw, Tina Pickett, and the three Bradford County Commissioners, have been no help. Chilson has given up on them. He spends a lot of time trying to get good water to live. He's got a bad back and a bad knee. It's hard to get around. He doesn't trust his water to cook with or do laundry. Max Chilson lives just up the hill from my family farm we call "Hutchinson Camp." We use a spring for our water source. But Chilson's water and our water come from the same watershed, the same aquifer. I conclude that our water is also polluted. We only go there in the summer. I wonder if our water has been tested recently.

Drilling Gas Wells Affects Dairy Farmers in Bradford County, PA

French Azilum, Bradford County
Photo: Carol Manuel

"The dash for unconventional gas may have brought financial benefits to some, but for struggling dairy farmers in Bradford County, PA, the arrival of drilling wells could be the final nail in the coffin."

"Bradford County, a bucolic region in northern Pennsylvania full of woodlands, rolling hills, and pastures dotted by red barns and hay bales, with a population of just 63,000 people, has been undergoing a massive industrial transformation for the past few years, as both American and international companies have joined the rush for gas."

"...the gas rush threatens to undermine the venerable farming and dairy operations in the area, while creating a host of environmental and social problems."

Read the article from The Economist here.

Fracking Ground Zero Tour- Part 2

Rick Roles worked in the oil fields of Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado in the 1970's and 80's. He moved to his father's ranch in Garfield County (CO) in 1993 and developed serious health problems soon thereafter.

Yoko's Letter About Gas Drilling in PA

Read Yoko's poignant letter here.

"I was there.  I saw it.  It made me cry."

 

Yoko Ono and her son Sean Lennon visited Susquehanna County, PA, on January 17, 2013, accompanied by several others, including Susan Sarandon and Arun Gandhi.  Josh Fox was there with his camera as well.  The group spoke to several families  who have been severely affected by the gas wells surrounding their homes.



President Obama on Climate Change

Jessica Ernst: The Consequences of Fracking

Ms. Ernst talks about the dark side of nature. She tells of her findings: Gas companies have learned that, in order to get away with destroying communities, they have to make communities sick. So they capitalize on greed, money, things that people want, and go in to communities and plant seeds to encourage these negative emotions. For the most part, people in communities do the gas company's job for them by creating ill will, polarization, and false hopes that lead to fragmentation of community. Communities become sick and vulnerable to the promises of prosperity. Brilliant method of making people work for their own demise.

Jessica Ernst said: No healthy community will allow hydraulic fracturing so they have to make the community sick -- And they do so by feeding the dark side a human nature which is greed, sloth, selfishness they feed the ego they promise a little bit... ...and then whammo, the community is divided. The people with concerns are then abused by the people who want more money and Encana doesn't even have to do the dirty work! A lot of the other companies; the people in the communities do the dirty work for them. It's an incredibly brilliant technique which works very well. Everywhere they're fracking this is happening. And my conclusion as a scientist, and as an environmental biologist-- as an environmental specialist that has worked in this industry... My conclusion is that no healthy community on this planet would allow hydraulic fracturing because it is not safe,  It is impossible to do even with the best rules and regulations.

Voices Against Fracking in NY

Susan Sarandon, Arun Gandhi, Yoko Ono, and Sean Lennon speak to reporters about their deep concern about hydrofracking in New York State and the world. (January 2013)

Yoko and Friends Travel To PA

On January 17, 2013, Yoko Ono and her son Sean Lennon, accompanied by other celebrities, engaged a tour bus to take them to Susquehanna County, PA, where they met with several local families who have been severely impacted by natural gas drilling. Vera Scroggins, fearless and relentless warrior against fracking (and all it entails), took this video which has some special moments. If you are bothered by the barking dog, just go to 11:30 on the video. At that point Yoko and Sean, Susan Sarandon, Josh Fox, and Arun Gandhi, and others are sitting in the living room of a local family and viewing some video of methane gas billowing out of the family water well. At one point, I was so touched when Sean said to his mom," Mom, look! That's gas coming out of the well!" He is so kind to his mother, and to him she is just "Mom." One other moment that touched my heart was when Sean was heard saying, "I gotcha." He was holding on to his mom's arm to make sure she didn't slip on the ice. He was brought up right! Such a gentleman and so solicitous of his mom. At the end of Vera's video, Sean speaks poignantly to everyone on the bus, telling of his personal interest in protecting the environment and expressing his deep emotion about how people have been hurt. He has compassion and empathy, qualities I wish more people had.  I was really impressed with this group.  They were sincerely affected by what they saw.

Celebrities Against Fracking Tour NE Pennsylvania

Vera Scroggins wrote: "We're getting some great coverage about our Citizen Tour of Gasland, Pa. for the "Artists Against Fracking" ---showing the horrors of fracking." Celebrities Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Susan Sarandon, Arun Ghandi (Mahatma Ghandi's grandson), and others, hired a tour bus to drive from New York City to Northeast PA to see firsthand the effects of natural gas drilling and to talk to local people who have been adversely affected by the gas industry. Vera Scroggins: "Thanks, to Yoko, John and Susan for visiting us in Gasland, Pa. and witnessing what is happening after 650 gas wells have gone in the past five years and the industry is still in the early stages of inundating us with thousands of gas wells and hundreds of miles of high-pressure pipelines and toxic-emissions from dozens of compressor stations...."

Renewable Energy Experts: We're On the Titanic

Gas Rush Stories, part 13: Renewable Energy Experts from Kirsi Jansa on Vimeo.
Unconventional gas is being promoted as a bridge technology towards renewable energy future. This episode of Gas Rush Stories asks Harry Lehmann, General Director of the Division of Environmental Planning and Sustainable Strategies at the Federal Environmental Agency of Germany, Patricia DeMarco, Director of Rachel Carson Institute at Chatham University, and Professor Terry Collins from the Institute for Green Science at Carnegie Mellon University to share their views on this topic.
Gas Rush Stories also visits Feldheim, a small village in former East Germany. Feldheim is one of the first 100 percent renewable energy communities in Germany.
WWW.GASRUSHSTORIES.COM

The village of Feldheim, Germany, is now producing 100% of its energy from renewables.  The town is off the grid.  Unemployment is ZERO percent in Feldheim.  In surrounding communitiesm the unemployment rate is 15-20%. Part of this video tells the story of Feldheim.  It is heartening!  We can produce our energy with renewables.  Why are we not doing this more?

"Green energy is already a viable solution."

Fracking Is Dangerous For Women

 

Governor Cuomo has promised to stand up for women. To live up to... that promise, he must not allow a practice in our communities that leads to crimes against women.

Read NYT article here.

Dr. Sandra Steingraber: Albany News Conference on Fracking New York

Dr. Sandra Steingraber speaks at a news conference in Albany, New York, on January 11, 2013. She describes the process by which NY residents responded in writing to the impending possibility that Governor Cuomo will allow permitting of gas wells in New York State. The governor's decision may come as soon as February- just a few weeks away.

Pete Seeger: Dear Governor Cuomo

Folk music legend Pete Seeger is trying to form an unlikely musical alliance with Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "Dear Mr. Governor, I've got a song half written," Seeger, a longtime Fishkill resident, scrawled on a piece of blank sheet music paper, proposing the two make some sweet music together with a new song about banning hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a nonprofit group founded by Seeger in 1966, tweeted a photo of the note on Friday, the final day in the public comment period on fracking. Cuomo is weighing whether to allow shale gas drilling using high-volume fracking in the state, as state regulators near completion of a 4-and-a-half-year environmental review. Seeger is an outspoken fracking opponent. The note was not the long-time environmentalist's only attempt at making his stance known to the governor. He performed at an anti-fracking rally before the State of the State address in Albany on Wednesday. No word yet on whether Cuomo - or his speechwriters - are planning to help Seeger with his writer's block.

Cancer Survivor Addresses Health Effects of Fracking

From The Ithaca Times  Aneta Glover   December 5, 2012

Dr. Steingraber said at an Ovid meeting:

"I am a cancer survivor myself. I was diagnosed at the age of 20 because someone put dry cleaning fluid out back of a machine shop 80 years before and contaminated my town's drinking water. I have been in and out of the hospital for 33 years. I have an exam scheduled for two weeks from now because of an abnormality they saw last time. You don't know how high my medical bills are. But, if you want to talk about costs, not just about kids having to drink contaminated water, kids with cancer at a young age - if you just want to do an analysis … every person with cancer costs tens of thousands of dollars, every child with asthma, every pre-term birth, heart attack, stroke, etc., we have never done those costs to price these out. Right now we don't know the numbers, so we couldn't possibly know what all the costs to fracking would be.”


Read the article here.

Note:  Ovid^® is a global information solutions provider that helps researchers, librarians, clinicians, and other healthcare professionals find important medical information so that they can make critical decisions to improve patient care, enhance ongoing research, and fuel new discoveries.

Dr. Sandra Steingraber's Testimony At Public Hearing on Fracking In New York State

Written Testimony for the Public Hearing on DEC’s High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Regulations

by Raising Elijah by Sandra Steingraber on Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 6:42pm ·

New York State Assembly
January 10, 2013

Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D.
Distinguished Scholar in Residence
Department of Environmental Studies
Ithaca College
Ithaca, New York 14850

My name is Sandra Steingraber. I am Distinguished Scholar in Residence in the Department of Environmental Studies at Ithaca College. My Ph.D. is in biology, and I have spent the last twenty years researching and writing in the field of environmental health. I have served as a science advisor at both the state and national level, working with the state of California on its research program to investigate the causes of breast cancer and with both the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer under the Clinton Administration and President’s Cancer Panel under George W. Bush.

I’m here to speak today as a founding member of Concerned Health Professionals of New York. This is a group of scientists, physicians, and nurses that came together last fall, in a spirit of shared alarm, when we learned that the DEC’s study of the health effects of fracking—which we had long asked for—was not going to be conducted using any normative protocols nor in an open manner, which is also normative for public health inquiries.

A normative protocol for a health study that attempts to forecast the public health risks of a polluting activity that has not yet been approved is called a comprehensive Health Impact Assessment. It was designed by our nation’s Centers for Disease Control and is endorsed by the World Health Organization. An HIA has, as one of its fundamental elements, democracy. It is scoped and carried out in a transparent manner and with the participation of the public at every stage. This participation takes the form of public hearings and periods of public commentary. It does so out of the recognition that when the public is being asked to endure possible risks to its health from a polluting industry, the public has the right to witness and participate in the study that will help determine the decision-making as to whether to permit or prohibit this industry.

In addition, when the lay public contributes its own local and historical knowledge to an environmental health study, the study design is better for it. Public participation makes for better science.

What is going on right now with the so-called health study underway at DEC and DOH is the very opposite of that public spiritedness. The DEC has, under the cover of secrecy, scoped and carried out a health review of some kind that no member of New York’s scientific community has seen. This review is itself being reviewed by DOH chief, Dr. Shah, and a team of three distinguished public health experts from out of state. We do not know what this team has been asked to review, but we do know that two of the three of them have signed contracts with non-disclosure agreements.

And we do know, from the introduction to the newly released regulations for hydraulic fracturing released by the DEC on November 29, that the decision whether or not to frack New York hangs on the results of these outside reviewers.

Thus does the health of 19.5 million New Yorkers depend on the results of a secret review of a secret review.

And thus, Concerned Health Professionals of New York came together. Not knowing what data the reviewers have been asked to comment on, we hastily created a website on which we uploaded all of the important reports and peer-review studies that we know of—from investigations of well casing failures to radioactivity in production brine (which is to be spread on our roadways). We also uploaded our many unanswered letters to DEC Commissioner Martens, DOC Commissioner Shah, and Governor Cuomo.

And I’d like to add here as an aside: My 11-year-old son receives answers to his letters to the Governor. I never have. We share the same mailing address.

Concerned Health Professionals of New York also took the unusual step of creating an eight-minute video message to the three outside panelists in which we—doctors, nurses, and scientists—describe our long-standing, unaddressed concerns about fracking in New York State. We uploaded this as an embedded video. And then we emailed each of the reviewers to let them know that we had created this website repository of data for them, out of our concern that the document that they are reviewing—whatever it is—does not address itself to all the animating issues.

Can I just say how crazy this feels to us? These three outside experts are our colleagues. Two of the three are personal friends of mine. We have spoken together on panels and at conferences. They share data with me. I cite their research in my writings. And now a gag order prevents them from speaking to me about data that I as a New York scientist am not allowed to see.

The leak last week to the press of what looks to be an old draft of this health review turns our alarm into full-blown cynicism. This eight-page document contains no data. It is a series of assertions that seems to say that the health effects of fracking are unknown and unknowable by any future research. Therefore, regulations can mitigate them. Therefore, fracking is safe.

This is not sound scientific reasoning. The premises on which its logic rests cannot be evaluated because there are no citations or footnotes or references. Emerging evidence in the scientific literature flies in the face of its conclusions.

The DEC and DOH needs to be asked, “What is this document? Who wrote it? For what purpose? What are your sources?”

I’m aware that this Assembly has invited the DEC Commissioner to his hearing to explain himself—an invitation that he refused. To justify the no-show, DEC spokesperson Emily DeSantis issued a statement pointing to the previous hearings attended by Commissioner Martens.

Concerned Health Professionals of New York condemns this statement. The refusal of the DEC to appear at this hearing and answer questions about the health review has not only broken Governor Cuomo’s promise of transparency, it has broken public trust itself.

Although New York citizens have been entirely cut out of the decision-making process on fracking, the public continues to have profound interest in participating in the inquiry and the decision-making process of fracking.

I know this because I designed a website to help people create comments on the revised draft regulations over the holidays. It’s called Thirty Days of Fracking Regs, and it takes an Advent calendar approach to public commentary. Each day, for the last 30 days, I have posted on this website one regulation, which I then translate into plainspoken English. I then provide some science relevant to that regulation. Because there is no final SGEIS to serve as the scientific basis for the regs, I did that research myself. I then invited the public to create a handcrafted comment about that regulation.

Tomorrow, I will be hand delivering all the comments that my readers and I created together. There are more than 20,000 of them. All are original and unique. As a metric of public commitment and concern, I would like to point out that 500 of them were written on Christmas Day. On New Year’s Day, more than 1000 comments came in. In addition, college students home on break devoted their free time to crafting comments as part of a group project called Homework Against Fracking.

These and other initiatives that have guided citizens through the comment-writing process means that we will hand-deliver to the DEC more than 200,000 comments tomorrow, January 11, which is the final day of comment delivery. We require a U-Haul to do so. And I understand that such a truck has already been rented.

I am asking you now to help ensure that each one of these comments is logged by the DEC, read, and considered.

Finally: outside of Governor Cuomo’s State of the State address yesterday, more than 1,500 people protested against fracking. That event included a recitation of the Pledge to Resist Fracking in New York. The Pledge is a solemn commitment to engage in actions of non-violent protest and demonstration up to and including civil disobedience should the Governor greenlight fracking for New York under the undemocratic, fatally flawed decision-making process now underway. Prior to yesterday, more than 6,000 people had already signed this solemn pledge. I am one of them.

I dearly hope that we do not have to activate this pledge, that the signatures of thousands of New York citizens alone will have the power to move the Governor to the exit door. But the very existence of the Pledge to Resist Fracking in New York is clear sign not only of loss of faith in the DEC but of loss of faith in government itself.

Americans Who Tell the Truth: Sandra Steingraber

"We are all musicians in a great human orchestra, and it is now time to play the Save the World Symphony. You are not required to play a solo, but you are required to know what instrument you hold and play it as well as you can. You are required to find your place in the score."

Let the music begin!

Marcellus Shale: Citizen Craig Stevens Speaks To Local Government Officials

Listen to Craig Stevens of Susquehanna County, PA, as he speaks truth to power at a Planning Commissioner's meeting January 9th. He cites possible illegal votes in connection with a compressor station. Look at the officials as they "listen." They show no emotion except boredom and concern for time. It is as if Mr. Stevens is hardly there or as if they cannot hear what he is saying. Very infuriating in my opinion. This is what is happening all over the country it seems. Local people, who stand to lose everything that makes their life liveable, are treated as if they don't matter. This was a civil encounter, that is, no fur flying, no disrespectful or insulting exchanges, but the lack of concern and the disinterest which these officials display here is really unacceptable.

The videographer Vera Scroggins explains what is happening in the video:

"Craig Stevens speaks powerfully about what happened at the previous night's Planning Commission Special Meeting in Montrose, Pa.. See how our Commissioners act and listen and are not protecting us. Who are they representing?"

Craig Stevens came to Albany January 9th and spoke to the anti-fracking crowd who were there for an action in connection with Governor Cuomo's State of the State address in which he did not even mention gas drilling.  Thank you, Craig Stevens, for taking the time to come to New York to try to let people know what we have in store if the Governor gives the go-ahead on gas drilling permits next month.  Please let us listen to Craig and ban fracking in New York state at least until the reports are completed on health impacts.

Thank you, Yoko

 

 

 

Yoko Ono was one of many today who delivered more than 200,000 comments to the NY DEC about fracking and other concerns about the whole drilling process.  The day before, upwards of 2,000 gathered at the NY Capitol Building in Albany, the same day as Governor Cuomo's State of the State Address.  He never mentioned fracking.  The crowd which filled the entire concourse chanted for hours.  Ban fracking now!  Hey, hey, Cuomo!  Gas drilling has got to go!  It was a wonderful day of action.  Pete Seeger, Debra Winger, Sandra Steingraber, and other notables were there, too!

Natural Gas: Your Daughter's Health or $13,000?

Carol French, dairy farmer from Bradford County, and her husband signed a gas lease in 2006. They had no idea what was to happen to their family, their property, their water, their health, and their business. We must ask ourselves, when confronted with "pro-gassers" and their haughty, greedy ideas, is it really worth giving up your way of life- your home, your health, your means of income, your water and clean air, your child's well-being, just about everything that makes life worth living- for a few thousand dollars? As Carol French says, this doesn't become real until it happens to you.  It doesn't happen to every single family, but who would take a chance? 

I just saw Dickens' "Christmas Carol."  Jacob Marley came back from the dead to try to warn his business partner Ebenezer Scrooge of the error of his greedy, selfish ways.  Do we need to be visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future once again to have the fear of God put back in us?  What is it going to take?  What is it that some people are not getting?  "Christmas Carol" is just a story, but it is based on Dickens' concern for people who lived in his time and were suffering.  It is as timely today as it was when he wrote it.

Fracked: Dish, TX, Family Suffers From Gas Industry, Moves Away

Former Mayor Calvin Tillman of Dish, Texas, and his wife Tiffany and two sons had to make the hard decision to leave their home, much of which Calvin had worked on and built himself, because their boys were suffering nosebleeds and they feared that their health would suffer, especially after the air was tested and found to be bad.

We should not have to leave our homes due to poisoning of our air, soil, and water by the gas industry.  This should not be allowed.  It must stop.

Theo Colborn: Letter to the President About Chemicals Disrupting Our Bodies

Theo Colborn of The Endocrine Exchange reads a letter to the President and First Lady. Dr. Colborn is 85 years old- energetic, determined, and knowledgable on the subject of the effects of chemicals on the human body.

Rusting Gas Well Sites in Dimock, PA

Published on Dec 11, 2012

Taped 12-11-12. This is the gas pads/sites on Ken Ely's property in Dimock, Pa., Susquehanna County. These sites are producing gas and were installed in 2008 by Cabot Gas Co., and the brine tanks are rusting out and possibly leaking into the ground. They need to be examined by the DEP. The puddles alongside these brine tanks need to be tested. I have permission of the owner to visit these sites. You can hear the sounds of the heaters/production units and see some of the emissions from them and we could smell them. This is all the components you will find on every gas site.

Thank you, Vera Scroggins, for making this video.  You go where many cannot often go because we are too far away.

New York, take note.  This could be us in five years.  Let's not let it happen.

Why Are Cows Tails Dropping Off?

"In Pennsylvania, the oil and gas industry is already on a tear—drilling thousands of feet into ancient seabeds, then repeatedly fracturing (or “fracking”) these wells with millions of gallons of highly pressurized, chemically laced water, which shatters the surrounding shale and releases fossil fuels. New York, meanwhile, is on its own natural-resource tear, with hundreds of newly opened breweries, wineries, organic dairies and pastured livestock operations—all of them capitalizing on the metropolitan area’s hunger to localize its diet."

But there’s growing evidence that these two impulses, toward energy and food independence, may be at odds with each other.

[Read the entire article from The Nation here.]

"Jacki Schilke and her sixty cattle live in the top left corner of North Dakota, a windswept, golden-hued landscape in the heart of the Bakken Shale. Schilke’s neighbors love her black Angus beef, but she’s no longer sharing or eating it—not since fracking began on thirty-two oil and gas wells within three miles of her 160-acre ranch and five of her cows dropped dead. Schilke herself is in poor health. A handsome 53-year-old with a faded blond ponytail and direct blue eyes, she often feels lightheaded when she ventures outside. She limps and has chronic pain in her lungs, as well as rashes that have lingered for a year. Once, a visit to the barn ended with respiratory distress and a trip to the emergency room. Schilke also has back pain linked with overworked kidneys, and on some mornings she urinates a stream of blood."

New York State is now doing a study on the possible negative health effects of of fracking.  How many cases do we have to read about before we have to concede that, yes, fracking makes us sick along with our animals and environment?  In the words of an old song, "How many years will it take till we know that too many people have died?  In many cases, the answer is "blowin' in the wind," quite literally.

We all are subjected daily to the drug commercials, and at the end, of course, we hear all the side effects, including death in some cases.  Well, how about lingering rashes, nosebleeds, respiratory trauma, oh, and cows' tails falling off?  Still want to take the medicine?

Rush, NY, Citizens Against Hydrofracking Talk With Vera

Published on Nov 16, 2012 by Ted D Barnett Excerpts from a four-hour tour by Rush, NY residents of hydrofracking sites in Susquehanna County, PA., Saturday, October 20, 2012.

The Definitive Guide to the MYTH of Frack Water "Recycling"

This is a great blog post from Bill Huston of Binghamton, NY. He says:

Fact: You cannot make toxins "go away."  We can concentrate the waste; we can separate the waste. We can transform the waste from one state into another.  But we can't make it disappear from the Earth.

http://williamahuston.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-definitive-guide-to-myth-of-frack.html

See what you think.

The waste MUST GO SOMEWHERE!

Now The Real Work Begins

So, President Obama has been given a second term by the electorate.  Now we have our work cut out!  Oppose the Keystone XL pipeline!   Let's get wind and solar energy subsidized.  Just a few things to do I would say.  Obama won't go in this direction without enormous pressure from us.

If Romney wins, we lose, the planet loses

If Mitt Romney is elected president, expect drilling for fossil fuels to explode. The Republican challenger has promised to double the number of drilling permits issued for federal lands. And that boom would go unregulated: Romney has blasted the current administration's "effort to crimp natural gas by federal regulation of the very technology that produces it.   -Rolling Stone
                                                                                     
                                                                                                                              
Here are some beautiful, valuable areas of our country that will be destroyed during a Romney presidency:

Virginia's George Washington National Forest
Montana's Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier National Park
Monterey County, California

Delaware River Basin

Wyoming's Noble Basin

North Carolina's Sand Hill

Utah's Arches and Canyonlands National Parks

Ohio's Suburbs

North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Florida's Everglades

Read more here.

We cannot afford to lose our environment and our health.  We must vote Obama on Tuesday. Future generations are depending on us.

"The Story of Stuff" Weighs In

"A carcinogen-dependent, accident-prone industry has no business setting up shop next to schools and neighborhoods. It has no right to use our communities as its factory floor."

The Story of Stuff Project

A Flare Erupts Out of Control in Texas

Published on Oct 20, 2012 by GARDAPTX On October 2nd, 2012 on Berry Oil lease "Gardendale No10", a flare used for burning off gases into the atmosphere erupted in flames. Smoke and fire shot hundreds of feet into the air almost an hour before Berry Oil employees could shut off the flow of fuel. Apparently, no one was injured in the blaze, but it's notable that Berry Oil plans to drill over 300 wells within the 12 square miles of Gardendale, TX, population 2,200. Berry plans some wells as near as 130 feet from homes and families. Oil industry insiders have described Berry Oil as merely a "bad player". GARDAP would agree with that assessment. You see, we judge Berry, not by what their hired, apologist PR firm, KGB Texas, says about Berry, but rather, what Berry actually does to our community. There is a gathering storm in Gardendale, and the central question still remains: who will be the next Berry Oil casualty?

After the Boom in Natural Gas

The New York Times has published an article today (Clifford Krauss and Eric Lipton) which tells another sad story related to the gas industry. What happens after the drilling is finished and the roughnecks leave town? Here is what is happening in Louisiana where the Haynesville Shale is located: Click here.

"The bust has certainly hit the Haynesville hard. Some local landowners, having spent their initial lease bonuses, are now deeply in debt. Local restaurants and other businesses are suffering steep losses now that so many drillers have left town."

At its peak, Chesapeake Energy ran 38 rigs in the region.  It has drilled more than 1200 wells into the Haynesville (Louisiana and Texas). Now only 2 rigs are in use. The drillers drilled so many wells and extracted so much gas that they have driven the price of natural gas to near-record lows.  The NYT article explains who is making a lot of money and who is suffering financially now.

Where the Energy Jobs Are

For years, the dirty energy industry has warned of massive job losses if the nation switches to clean energy. It's dead wrong. Max Wei, Shanda Patada, and Daniel Kammen of the University of California at Berkeley reviewed fifteen recent studies on the job-creation potential of various energy sources and found that renewables generate more jobs per unit of energy delivered than do fossil fuels.  For a calculator showing how many jobs could be created under various assumptions, see rael.berkeley.edu/greenjobs. (See the links on this site.) Figures shown here represent jobs per megawatt and include jobs in construction, manufacturing, installation, and maintenance.

Anybody surprised- beside me?

Hay Fields Ruined By Nearby Gas Drilling in Western New York

In the small village of Arcade in western NY, a farmer learned the hard way just how serious the gas industry is in fixing things when disasters occur.  His hay fields were healthy and productive.  He depended on them to feed his animals.  But now his fields are ruined due to a drilling accident.  No one had to fix the problem, not the industry or any public entity. He has to buy his hay now.  His story is a sad one, but many people are being hurt by this industry in similar ways. 

Read more here.

Arden Landfill, Washington, PA

Click here to see a list of landfills in Pennsylvania that accept Marcellus drilling waste.  We just don't have adequate facilities to deal with the vast amount of fracking waste which will need to be disposed of.  Landfills leak, and they take up enormous amounts of land which could have been used for food production.  These landfills become superfund sites.  And what about air pollution?  Would anyone care to have one of these nextdoor to a home or school? This fracking waste is radioactive. We are dreaming if we think this will work out well.

The Beginning of the Constitution Pipeline (PA)

Even if you don't know a lot about gas pipelines, well pads, or compressor stations, you can appreciate what you are seeing here in this aerial video of the Williams Central Station.  Look at the contrast between the beauty of the fall foliage, the bright green fields, and the surrounding natural environment versus the well pads and compressor station which are destroying this beauty at so many levels, both above ground and underground.  The eye can only see a small portion of the destruction, but it is enough to fill me with dread.  All this industrialization- and for what?  A few years of fossil fuel extraction.  Before long, we will be forced to find sustainable alternatives.  Meanwhile we are still hellbent on destruction of the planet. Why?  We are ruled by corporations, and these corporations are filled with selfish, greedy people who care nothing about the planet.  Can this be refuted?  I think not.

Bradford County Farmer: What happened to our family and farm

Dairy Farmer in Bradford County tells her story of Contamination after gas drilling...

This is Carol French's Story-- part 1--

Status Update By Carol French

What have We Done Nearly 30% of the rural farm land located in Bradford County, Pennsylvania was already leased prior 2006. We and 50% of the county decided to lease our land for an average $5- $85/per acre. It would take two more years before the gas companies would convince another 10% to lease their land at $2,500 or more/per acre. During this leasing process, you could feel the excitement. It was the talk of the town. There were suggestions made that if a gas well was drilled on your property you would become the next “shaleionaires.” Everyone was to prosper, new roads, jobs, additional money from leasing and royalties.

It was too good to be true!

By the spring of 2009 there was uneasiness among the farmers that had had a gas well drilled on their property. The local newspaper was reporting contamination found in water wells, death occurring on a gas pad and the farmer was facing the fact that he could lose his farm due to a lawsuit based on the gas companies operation. For myself, I was thinking that our lucky neighbor was going to become the next Millionaire, because they had the gas well drilled on them. Soon my mind changed.

Those farmers were facing penalties lodged against them, due to their land becoming industrial use instead of agricultural use.

Landowners found themselves seeking legal advice, only to find that the attorneys were not experienced in Oil & Gas law, and had a conflict of interest. Example: If the landowner could not afford the attorneys fee, the attorney would simply attach his name to the royalty interest for payment. My neighbor (Carolyn) and I attended a presentation by a professor from Penn State University. He made a statement, saying that we must sacrifice; it was our patriotic duty to assure our Country would be independent from foreign oil. I could not wrap my mind around what he was saying.

Was there legislation insuring that our natural resources would stay in this country? What did he mean we would have to sacrifice?

In December, 2010 – January 2011, three gas wells were drilled near our farm. Farm land was getting ripped up like old material for a patch work quilt. In the middle of 2011, five more gas wells were drilled, surrounding our farm. Two of the gas wells were less than 4,000 feet away. My water changed March 15, 2011. Our water appeared pearly white. Then it had a layer of green moss settling on top of a 1/4 inch of sand as the water would become gelatin like. By October 2011, my daughter became ill. She had a high fever, diarrhea, weight loss of 10 pounds in 7 days, and severe pains in her abdomen. At the hospital they found her liver, spleen and her right ovary was extremely enlarged. Our neighbor living north of us had the same health issues after her water changed in March of that year, except her spleen burst three days after she went to the hospital.

We knew our daughter would have to leave Pennsylvania in order to have a chance of a healthy, normal life.

She moved to Tennessee. We don’t drink the water or the milk from our cows. We still have to bathe in it. Our state agency (Department of Environmental Protection) refuses to test our water; therefore the gas company will not provide water for our cows and my family. I now believe I understand what he met by “we are to sacrifice”

It is October 3, 2012.  Many that quit their previous job to work for the gas related companies are now unemployed.

We have become “prudent partners” with the gas company, by signing a lease, now are finding ourselves responsible for their debts (Mechanics Leans).

There are for sale signs in the yard of a contaminated farm. The farm lost 80%-90% of its value, possibly losing his milk market, and who will buy his cows? Many living in Bradford County have “changed” water, depending on the gas companies to provide water for their families and farms. This has become a huge, expensive burden to the gas companies. Some of the gas companies operating in Bradford County have chosen not to pay for the water bill, resulting in no more water deliveries to the effected families. Other residents have been given water filtration systems, resulting in additional cost to the resident.

We were given a chance to dream, not knowing the true value of what lie so far beneath our land. Not aware of the type of operations that would be conducted on our land. We believed in the false promises made by the gas industry.

Now I wonder, will these private gas companies produce natural gas for this country or produce natural gas for sales overseas, selling to the highest bidder. This would crush the theory of “sacrifice for our country allowing independence from foreign oil”. I keep asking myself, what have we done?

New York Times Publishes Photos of Fracking

October 11th the New York Times published this photo essay of scenes of hydrofracking and other related operations such as flaring and pipelines. There are also photos of people who have been severely impacted by the natural gas industry: the collateral damage, the ones who have no say, the ones who don't matter to the Big Gas people. These photos are beautifully done, very professional, breathtaking if it weren't for the destruction they show. Aerial photos are so revealing! Wide shots give us all a glimpse of the devastation we can't always see otherwise.

Vera took this video last night on her way home. Can you imagine what it must be like to see this happening not far from your home? It is alarming. What is being emitted into the air here? This can't be healthy, can it? There are homes nearby. Vera wrote: Taped 10-9-12. Saw this tonight on my way home. Flaring on Valley View Rd., but seen from Laurel Lake Rd., and something I hadn't noticed before. Looks like Gas Fumes comes up off the two flares. Franklin Twp. , Susquehanna County, Pa. Why is this being allowed ?

Louis W. Allstadt On Gas Drilling In New York State and the SGEIS

Lou Allstadt discusses the enormous inadequacies of the New York State SGEIS. His talk can also be viewed here: www.otsego2000.org. For an excellent article on this topic, click HERE. Lou Allstadt is a former Mobil Oil Corp. executive. Initially a proponent of gas drilling, he now is "convinced the economic prospects are largely hype and that the state's environmental regulators are disturbingly unprepared to deal with the side effects of such an invasive industrial activity."

Tanker Spills Drilling Wastewater in PA Creek

Pine Creek

Jersey Shore, PA:  A tanker carrying 4,600 gallons of fracking wastewater has spilled its load near a storm drain that empties into Pine Creek, a popular fishing spot in Lycoming County.

Read the short article from The Republic here.

This incident gets very little attention, but things like this happen much too often.  Are people becoming de-sensitized?

Division of Mineral Resources (NY) Documented Oil and Gas Problems

Walter Hang speaks. When Walter speaks, people listen! Watch this!

Walter Hang Challenges the NY DEC Over Uncapped Wells

Walter Hang of Ithaca-based environmental database firm, Toxics Targeting, on Wednesday released a set of documents he says indicate shortcomings in the state DEC's regulation of conventional oil and gas drilling, and lead to questions about whether the agency is equipped to regulate hydrofracking.  The documents were taken from 25 years of annual reports from the DEC's Division of Mineral Resources and show that the DEC has been trying to deal with a slew of uncapped wells left over from decades when regulations weren't as strict. Hang and others, including Binghamton's Mayor Ryan, are calling for a complete scrapping of the SGEIS (Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Study) which has been ongoing for the last 4 years.  Hang says that this document is completely inadequate. 

Read the Ithaca Journal article here.

New York records show history of oil, gas well problems: Click here.

Protesters: Gas Industry Doen't Mix With Finger Lakes Tourism

Protest in Hector, NY, September 26th

The Corning Leader reported on a protest at Wednesday's dedication at the Hector fire hall of the Seneca Lake Scenic Byway .  A press conference was held by Gas Free Seneca and Hector Clean Waters just yards away at the Hazlitt 1852 Winery. As the ribbon was cut, opening Route 414 as a New York State scenic byway, the protestors stood in the background, unfurling banners.

The point they wanted to get across: Why designate the Seneca wine trail as a scenic byway to help bring more tourists, then allow heavy shale gas drilling and a large-scale LPG storage and distribution facility?

Read the article here.

Another Visit With Activist Susan Walker In Elmira Jail

Susan Walker of Dundee, NY, is in jail after participating in an action blocking the gates of an Inergy compression station in Watkins Glen September 6th:

Hi Doug,
I thought by sending this to you, it would reach the people who want to know how Susan is doing. I DID POST IT TO THE FACEBOOK PAGE FOR SUSAN!

Her son, Zach and I went to visit tonight. Zach was very nervous about seeing his mom in jail, but as we waited and talked, he relaxed and sang songs for the others waiting to see their loved ones (one man waiting worked for the gas company). He is a great guy with a wonderful sense of humor and a GREAT singing voice.
Just as Jack reported, there is a series of doors and metal detectors and looks in our mouths and under our tongues. We waited for about 10 minutes or so for the next group of inmates to come into the visiting area. Susan had a lovely look of surprise and love on her face when she saw her son, and so did he. They hugged hello (which can only be done at the beginning and end of a visit). Having never met Susan, I must say that she looked great and was calm and even looked good in orange (the color of jail jumpsuits-this was Zach's comment).
Susan stated that she is well, feels good and is deeply moved by all of the cards and letters that she is getting. She said that she reads them to all the girls in the unit and they all feel so uplifted by the words of encouragement. So, the cards are a huge help in many ways... She stated that it is really noisy in there, and the lights are on most of the time. Susan stated that she hasn't been able to take her meds but she is doing OK about it. When I asked her if she needs anything, she said no, she has pencil and paper and two stamps. She is writing one letter to Jack and wondered who she should write to thank for all of the support.

She said the guards were telling her about the rally on Thursday and they had never seen anything like that before.

(Many of them didn't know what fracking was, so she continues her work while on the inside!) I told her that there are nightly vigils and she was stunned. We had 25 people tonight.

As a matter of fact, during the visit, some of the visitors were saying "There's a protest out there!" and the inmates were pointing to Susan saying it was for her. "She's a nice lady!" one of the female inmates said.
Susan was very touched to know that Sandra Steingraber encouraged us to wear pearls after watching Susan hand over her string ot pears to her friend while being escorted out of the courtroom last week.

Zach and his mom talked a lot, giggled and laughed and caught up on things. Zach sang to his mom and Susan, as any mother would, displayed tons of love for her son with adoring looks. You can tell they really like each other.
Susan said that she will be "released" Friday. Here is how it goes: she will be taken to Schuyler Jail at 10PM to be processed. Then, she will be let out at midnight Friday morning.
I gave lots of room for the two to visit but all three of us had a good chat. When it was time to go, Zach and Susan hugged. When outside the jail, Zach said that he felt so much better seeing his mom and knowing she was not in distress. "I'll have a relaxed ride home now! I feel so much better!".
By the way, Zach will NOT be down on Wednesday to see his mother, so that means that if two people would like to visit Susan, it can be done. I'm not sure how to determine who that would be so I'll let you decide amongst yourselves. I could call Zach to see if any family wants to visit to be on the safe side.
It was a wonderful visit. Susan is kind and soft spoken. When asked if she has any regrets, she said, without pausing "NO!".
What a fine person Susan Walker is.

Margie

Visiting With Susan Walker In Elmira Jail

Protesters chained themselves to the fence September 6th.

Susan Walker, a resident of Dundee, N.Y. and one of the Seneca Three, was arrested September 6th near Watkins Glen at a protest against Inergy.  She now sits in the Chemung County Jail.  Read more here.

A friend visited her and files this report:

Hi Folks:

I just returned from Elmira's Chemung Co. jail and visited Susan Walker of the Seneca Three from 5:30-6:30PM.
To convey a sense of the visit you wait outside with several people until you are allowed in by a guard. The guard asks you to pay a quarter and store everything on your person (except your clothes) in a storage locker. You remove the key and give it to him along with your ID (driver's license). I removed my belt and put it on a table.You go through a metal detector, my shoes triggered it, removed and then OK. The guard fully inspected my shoes. You re-belt yourself.

You are issued a piece of paper with the information to hand to a guard inside the visiting area that will identify who you are visiting. You then move into a small room, it's locked and then you wait until the door to the visiting area is opened. Then you are directed to a circular metal seat by a guard where you wait for about 20-25 minutes. Finally, before the buttocks expire, Susan arrives. Please, I'm not in any way comparing my pain to what she is enduring.

She's in good spirits and seems committed to spending her time in jail with the option that a pre-paid arranged amount of phone time would give her a way of contacting us if she changes her position. I 'm arranging that through some phone numbers for phone access that were provided by a CO at the jail. Another option is a pre-paid phone card.

I also contacted her son to update him.

She is in an individual holding cell that measures 7'x7' and the bed has a thin mattress and blanket. She gets her exercise by running in place. The visiting hours are on Monday Weds and Fri from 2:15-8:30PM. There can only be 2 one hour visits with a maximum of two people/visit/week. I'll be returning on Monday with some information she's requested and she's open to receiving other visitors. If someone else would like to accompany me on Monday please let me know by phone 607-243-7262 or 315-521-4458

Over $120 was donated by folks at the vigil this afternoon, $50 of which was spent for her in jail account to buy toiletries and other items (only fictional paperbacks are available for purchase.She is hoping to get some reading materials on health related topics from a nurse she's seen.

It looks as if she will be released early; perhaps on Thurs., which squares with what Joe Heath has stated. She's concerned that her time be beneficial to the struggle. We discussed her keeping a journal, seeing that she had gotten a pencil to keep some notes. The question is whether she will be able to leave with them. I was not allowed to keep any notes of my visit.

I was struck by the really high percentages of people of color in the visiting area; I'd guess 80% plus. The visiting area accommodated around two dozen inmates and up to twice that many visitors if everyone had two visitors. Generally there were two guards with strict rules for asking permission to stand up or reach across the middle of the face to face visiting table, which had a raised section in the middle. One by one folks were informed that their time was up and additional guards came to retrieve the inmates. Visitors left through a small locked room from which an outside guard released the visitors by actuating a release mechanism on the lock.

I haven't been in a jail in quite a few years so this was a re-education and a prompt reminder of how sweet our freedom of movement can be.

One of the folks visiting at the same time I was said her boyfriend had been fined $33 and didn't attend his hearing which prompted his bench warrent arrest and a sentence of 120 days (90 with good behavior) and a bail set at $750. I don't think this case could be defined as justice either.

The last thing I'd like to purpose is that we attempt to get folks there every day that Susan is in jail to have a hour or so vigil. She mentioned that she was aware through employees in the jail that the vigils was happening. A candlelight one around 7 each night might be nice. What are your thoughts? I'm intending to get a meeting wizard out to the lists to see what kind of response evolves.

Best,
Jack
Fracking is criminal. See draft Public Law 1 to criminalize fracking:
http://www.frackbustersny.org/criminalization-law.html

It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled. -- Mark Twain

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."

-Frederick Douglass

Gov. Christie (NJ) Vetoes Frack Wastewater Bill

N. J. Gov. Chris Christie

Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill Friday that would have banned wastewater generated by gas drilling from being treated or disposed of in New Jersey.  Read the article here.

Bradford County (PA) Farmers Tell Their Tragic Story: The Sacrifice

Published on Aug 25, 2012 by veraduerga

Two women dairy farmers from Bradford County, Pa., tell their stories about life with gas drilling and fracking and all the problems they have encountered the past four years. Sponsored by Sharon Springs Against Fracking, with Bob Nied introducing them.

Sandra Steingraber Speaks in Support of Susan Walker

Biologist Sandra Steingraber speaks at a press conference outside Chemung County Jail (Elmira, NY) where one of the "Seneca Three", Susan Walker, is being held for blocking the gate at Inergy's Seneca Lake gas storage facility project on September 6th of this year. Walker refused to pay a fine and was therefore incarcerated. She will remain in jail for 2 weeks.

Is Chesapeake Energy Abandoning the Marcellus Shale Region?

This is huge news! 
The Marcellus Shale releases dry gas (no oil mixed in).  But dry gas is so cheap that it is not economically feasible to extract and sell.  Wet gas which contains some oil is much more profitable.  The oil separated from it can be sold for $90 a barrel.  Even T. Boone Pickens has dumped his investments in Chesapeake Energy.  Wet gas is found in the Utica Shale, a formation below the Marcellus and prevalent in SW PA and Ohio. 

The June shareholders meeting of Chesapeake Energy was tense as shareholders became aware of the difference between dry gas and wet gas.  Might they have been told of this from the beginning, they asked.  They are understandably very upset and confused.  Leaseholders are wondering if they will ever get the royalties they were promised. 

The Marcellus Shale Play is still at the speculative stage.  Now the actual figures are looking quite bad in comparison to the wildly optimistic predictions that landmen made to convince landowners to sign leases.

Read the article here.

Aubrey McClendon was stripped of his chairmanship of Chesapeake.  Now some are calling for his resignation from the Board of Directors.  Chesapeake may be headed for disaster as its cash flow dwindles by the day.

Dr.Sandra Steingraber narrates this slide show which tells the story of high-volume, slickwater, horizontal hydrofracking, a method of extracting tiny bubbles of natural gas from tight shale, in this case, the Marcellus Shale. In her quiet, sweet voice she describes what is happening under the ground, under our feet, and how this process is destroying our planet. Don't let her quiet voice deceive you. She is telling a devastating story that everyone should hear. This is a crisis of monumental proportions.

Summary: Author Sandra Steingraber, who is at the forefront of efforts to halt fracking across the Marcellus Shale deposits, reads excerpts from her essay about the fiftieth anniversary of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, accompanied by a full portfolio of fracking photos by Nina Berman.

A few comments from viewers: 1 Marc Mullinax on Aug 24, 2012 Last two minutes, with the author’s questions, are very powerful. They should be the same questions we pose to ourselves 2 Ellen Newton Duell on Aug 24, 2012 I am passionately devoted to preventing fracking and use of injection wells for fracking wastewater. Thank you for this excellent article. And deep gratitude to Rachel Carson. 3 joan meierotto on Aug 24, 2012 Very well done. Thank you Sandra and Rachel. 5 Angela Monti Fox, The Mothers Project on Aug 24, 2012 Thanks you Sandra for this wonderful piece that will help us all in providing another voice for this hydrofracking tragedy. An excellent teaching tool to help inform those who are still without real knowledge and truth. Angela Monti Fox 6 John Trallo on Aug 25, 2012 I mourn for my home state, Pennsylvania, the largest continuous stretch of forest land in North America, and for the future generations who will never know the asthetic beauty, pure water, clean air, and way of life that was once Pennsylvania. 7 cyril robinson on Aug 25, 2012 fracking is the pollution that Rachel Carson fought against and the way to remember her is to carry on her fight. We must think of her as ever-present urging us on as a figure likeJoan of Arc with her standard flying as she marches in front of this sacred environmental army. 8 Pauline Matt on Aug 25, 2012 Oh my, Nothing to say…just a deep hurtful cry.

Just a deep hurtful cry....

Loyalsock Creek Ruined by Pipeline Installation

Drilling "Accident" on Loyalsock Creek east of Worlds End State Park in Central Pa. Thank you Gov. Corbett, DEP, DCNR and the inept and Criminally Negligent Williams Co. and it's Contractors for fouling this pristine stream on Labor Day Weekend 2012!

Aerial Photos of Pennsylvania Gas Development

Aerial photographs of the natural gas exploration being done in and around the Pine Creek Valley in Central PA. Photos by Bill Crowell.

Citizen Journalist Vera Talks With a Gas Worker (PA)

Published on Aug 27, 2012 by veraduerga

Taped 8-27-12. Young Gas Worker tells me that gas drilling is safe and not to worry.

My comment:  This young man is typical of the sheep that work in the gas industry, sheep because they question nothing and trust that the PA DEP will protect everyone.  These people are blustery, rude, and naive without realizing it.  They seem to want to intimidate others.  His biggest concern is that the gas industry brings jobs.  Good point, however most of these jobs are low-paying and many are temporary with no benefits and are extremely dangerous to workers.  Furthermore, this guy, when asked if jobs are worth destroying the future for our kids and grandkids, seemed to poo-poo the thought and wanted Vera to think this was a ridiculous notion.  He did not know to whom he was speaking- obviously.  As usual, great reporting, Vera.

My heart goes out to people who need good jobs.  I can understand why they would take jobs in the gas industry, but it is a doomed situation.  With no good air or water there will be no way to live in these areas and therefore no jobs or people around to take them. 

Orion Magazine: The Fracking of Rachel Carson

The latest issue of Orion Magazine is an excellent one. I highly recommend Sandra Steingraber's article, "The Fracking of Rachel Carson."  You will see poignant photographs and be treated to Dr. Steingraber's compelling style of expression.  She always draws me in from the first sentence.

To go to her article, click here.

Rachel Louise Carson
1907-1964

PA Resident Speaks To New Yorkers About the Natural Gas Industry

Vera Scroggins of Susquehanna County, PA, tells her personal story about how she got involved in the fight for public health and saving the beautiful land where she and her family settled years ago.  She speaks from the heart and knows her stuff.  She knows what she is talking about because she is living it every day.  She wants New York to be saved from the hell PA is experiencing. In this video, she is speaking to New Yorkers who live in Schoharie County.

 

Listen to Vera!  She speaks the truth!

 

 

DEP= Don't Expect Protection

Check Out This Blog: The Marcellus Effect

Sue Heavenrich is an excellent journalist-blogger.  Bookmark her page and read her often!

Click here.

Today's piece is about selling US natural gas overseas (which is economically advantageous).  The next time you hear someone say we can bring our soldiers home by drilling our country into oblivion, think again. It is a BIG LIE. 

A Letter About Fracking in Ohio: Read by Melissa Leo

Published on Aug 14, 2012 by NYAgainstFracking Jamie Frederick's letter regarding her experiences with fracking in Ohio, as read by Melissa Leo at the New Yorkers Against Fracking Rally & Concert at The Egg in Albany NY on May 15, 2012. Read more about this here.

Inergy Protested in Watkins Glen, NY, August 17th

More than 200 people protested loudly against the proposed Inergy propane and natural gas storage facility Friday, April 17. The people oppose putting millions of gallons propane (and eventually natural gas) in salt caverns below the glacier-built Seneca Lake. Already the company has been spilling salty brine water into the lake without even telling regulators of the violations.

NO NATURAL GAS STORAGE IN THE SALT CAVERNS BELOW SENECA LAKE!   OUR HEALTH AND THE HEALTH OF OUR CHILDREN MUST COME FIRST.

Constitution Pipeline: Rebecca Roter Speaks Up (PA)

Are people protected from harm when a pipeline goes in? Not if the area is Class One. No oversight for public safety. Hear from Rebecca Roter how a gas pipeline will impact this resident of Susquehanna County. She tells a lot about the facts of the situation, but then when the interviewer asks her about the emotional impacts of what is happening, you can see the human toll the gas industry is taking. The industry is ruining her property and her life. The worst thing is that Cabot and Williams Midstream really don't care about the people that live in the areas they are destroying.

Flaring in PA

Flaring: wasting natural gas while polluting the atmosphere.  This is part of the dirty natural gas industry.  How much natural gas is wasted this way?

Read more here and here.

And from Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project:  Click here.

People Flee As Chemical Cloud Hovers Near New Columbia (PA)

Last Thursday, August 9th, a horrifying emergency unfolded during the late hours of the night, causing panic among residents and emergency workers alike.  A Halliburton truck carrying hydrochloric acid had a leak.  The driver pulled in to a convenience store and got out to try to deal with the situation. Read more..........

Click here.

Having to flee in the middle of the night with your young children and drive away from your home in fear- is this what it has come to?  The natural gas industry is an extremely dangerous industry.  They are invading our highways, our neighborhoods, our schools, our homes.  And for what?  A few years of fossil fuel energy?   We must quit this insanity and develop sustainable energy programs.  It is completely possible.  Other countries are way ahead of us.

Montrose (PA) Truck Traffic From Gas Industry

Published on Aug 10, 2012 by veraduerga

In Montrose, Pa. , on route 29 , around 6 pm. , through business district. Longest procession yet. I stopped taping at five minutes and it was still going on for another couple of minutes. Frack trucks, sand trucks, water trucks, etc..

New Yorkers do not want this-  I hope.

Fracking Waste Messes With Texas: Rachel Maddow Show

Terrence Henry, energy and environment reporter for StateImpact Texas, talks with Rachel Maddow about the sudden rash of earthquakes in Texas, apparently the result of the disposal of waste fluid resulting from natural gas fracking. From the August 7th, 2012 edition of The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC.

Marcellus Shale Reality Tour #9

http://www.gdacoalition.org
 A video by Scott Cannon

Thousands of Americans from across the country united in Washington, D.C. July 28th to rally in front of the U.S. Capitol and march through the streets to express their outrage about environmental harms from oil and gas development. People traveled to Washington from North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Ohio, North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vermont, Indiana, Illinois, New Jersey, California, and probably more. Some even biked 400 miles to get to Washington. Citizens came from different political views, energy perspectives, generations, and backgrounds. Some were mineral owners, former oil and gas industry workers, farmers, and nurses. They voiced their concerns about clean water, clean air, global warming, toxic waste, and worker safety. People joined together to show that this is an issue that crosses party lines and state borders.

All Americans agree on the importance of clean air, clean water, healthy children, and safe communities. Everyone who rallied and marched today shares these desires and agrees on the need for drastic change in the direction of our energy policy–starting with a change in the rules for oil and gas development, including fracking. It was an amazing gathering of Americans who share a vision of a clean energy future.

 “The opinions expressed in this video do not necessarily reflect the views of Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition.”

The Gasman (16 Tons Parody)

In the New York area? Please go to: http://www.catskillcitizens.org/

Check out Gasland! Nominated "Best Documentary" by the 2011 Academy Awards!!! http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/

Lyrics:
Some people say that jobs will come with the drills but they outsource their workers cause they've got the skills they've got the skills and you're unemployed they've got a life that's rich while your's is destroyed

You let the gas man in what did ya get a little bit of money, lifetime of regret you signed on all the leases and gave 'em control you sold your soul for a poisonous hole

The tourists won't come when the drills all arrive it's no fun to see a drill everywhere that you drive they want 80,000 drills in upstate NY alone you can't blame the sighteers for just stayin home

You let the gas man in what did ya get a little bit of money, lifetime of regret you signed on all the leases and gave 'em control you sold your soul for a poisonous hole

When the drills get to going then the fun will begin they fracture through the bedrock and pump the chemicals in chemicals in then the gas rises up then you toast your fortunes with a poisonous cup

You let the gas man in what did ya get a little bit of money, lifetime of regret you signed on all the leases and gave 'em control you sold your soul for a poisonous hole

When the gasman comes you better not let him in You're bettin' on a game that you're not gonna win you're not gonna win when the dealer's corrupt and it's much too late when your water erupts

you let the drills come in and what did ya get a poisoned environment and mountain of debt you signed on all the leases and gave 'em control you sold your soul for a poisonous hole

New York, we're next.  Gov. Cuomo is for it.  He wants gas drilling in New York State.

A Huge Sinkhole In Louisiana Near Gas Well and Pipeline

Breaking news with updates from Assumption Parish, LA  (from Texas Sharon).......yesterday a huge sinkhole covering several acres appeared, swallowing trees and causing the area to be evacuated.  You won't hear this on network news.

Read more here. Photos included.

Visit Marcellus Effect blog for the story there.  Thanks to Sue Heavenrich for her great reporting.

Ten Reasons Why Fracking Is Doomed

"Proponents of natural gas fracturing and oil drilling are delirious with joy over the ability to recover shale gas, which has brought down world gas prices and made the US a major player again. Likewise, North Dakota wells are set to produce up to 800,000 barrels of oil a day soon. (Although, since the world uses roughly 89 million barrels a day, and the US uses a fifth of that, and demand in Asia will likely spike in coming years, the ND addition is just not that much).

Fracking is dangerous to ground water purity, and both oil and gas, as hydrocarbons, contribute to global climate change, which is a dire threat to human well-being in coming decades and centuries.
But oil and gas triumphalists have another think coming. It is that the cost of generating electricity by wind and solar is falling rapidly. However hard they try to suppress government funding and tax breaks for renewables, Big Oil and Big Gas are doomed to lose, and in only about 4 years."

Click here to read the article by Juan Cole.

PA Earth First Group Shuts Down Fracking Site With Peaceful Civil Disobedience

David Letterman on Fracking: We're Screwed

My grandson on the shore of the Susquehanna River, Bradford County, PA
He can't go there anymore.  It's not safe.

To get to Letterman's comments,  go to about 12:45-14:45.

 http://www.cbs.com/late_night/late_show/video/?pid=3gL2O99nNHw6wJIelsmE_VSvi3YaGP5h

Worth taking a look.

Whistleblower Truck Driver

The gas industry is lying to us. Hear what this former truck driver has to say about what he was asked to do.

Homer Simpson on Fracking

Kids Stop the Frack Attack

Pete Seeger Speaks To Gov. Cuomo About Fracking In NY

Gas Drilling Brings Great Jobs?

From a PA online forum- an eye witness writes:

"The yellow school bus with Texas plates full of migrant day laborers just went up my hill to work at the 54-acre Williams site, the Williams Midstream Central Station, the beginning of the 30-inch transmission line the Constitution."

Are these the great jobs that we hear the industry talking about?

For more on the Williams Midstream Central Station and maps, click HERE.

Nationwide Is On Our Side: No Coverage For Drilling Damage

US insurance company, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Ompany, is the first to say it won't cover damage by gas drilling.  Nationwide said risks "are too great to ignore."   It's about time.

After months of research and discussion, we have determined that the exposures presented by hydraulic fracturing are too great to ignore. Risks involved with hydraulic fracturing are now prohibited for General Liability, Commercial Auto, Motor Truck Cargo, Auto Physical Damage and Public Auto (insurance) coverage.

It said "prohibited risks" apply to landowners who lease land for shale gas drilling and contractors involved in fracking operations, including those who haul water to and from drill sites, pipe and lumber haulers, and operators of bulldozers, dump trucks and other vehicles used in drill site preparation.

Read more here.