Thursday, September 22, 2011

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.

2 comments:

Carmi said...

Thank you for this lovely framing of Sandra's recent talk! Join us on our Facebook page "Raising Elijah by Sandra Steingraber" to keep current on her writings, speaking engagements, and actions to fight fracking.

Peacegirl said...

Thanks for your response, Carmi. I met Sandra in Ithaca last spring at the Big Frack Day (forget the actual name). Even got Elijah's autograph in my "Raising Elijah" book. How cool is that!!! Sandra is my favorite author writing about the environment, especially natural gas drilling. She's brilliant!