Want to lower your energy bills without spending thousands on replacement windows?
Learn how you and your home can be more energy-efficient.  Register now for this free Cornell Cooperative Extension program.

Save Energy, Save Dollars

When:  Thursday, March 18th at 2-4pm  OR  Tuesday,  March 23rd at 1-3pm
Location:      CCE Education Center, 615 Willow Ave.,  Ithaca, NY

Free EnergySavers Kit given to each participating household. Free and open to the public. Pre-registration required.  Call (607) 272-2292 to reserve a seat and Energy Kit.

What you will learn:

• What measures will save you the most on your energy bill;
• Low-cost and no-cost ways to make your home more comfortable AND more energy efficient;
• How to take advantage of financial incentive programs (free services, grants, low-interest loans, rebates, tax credits, etc.)
• How to use the items you will get in your free EnergySavers Kit.

Sandra Steingraber’s new documentary based on her book Living Downstream is being premiered during the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival 4/3 at 7 pm at Cinemopolis.

This work is about industrial pollution and health impacts, very relevant to our work. Sandra wrote about Marcellus drilling for her current column in the magazine “Orion”. Shaleshock has been offered the opportunity to table at this event and say a few words during the film discussion. The first 50 people in line for the film will get in free! Come early! Sandra will be talking about the film and selling and signing her book which is just coming out in a second edition with much new information. Press release with more information soon.

Sign a gas lease, but now have regrets?

Work with others and take back your voice!

Fleased is organizing in response to landowners who have leased their mineral rights but who now realize that unconventional gas development (horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing) threatens their land, air, water and communities.

Join us for an organizational brainstorming meeting for Fleased
March 16, 2010, 5:30-7 PM
At Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, 615 Willow Ave., Ithaca, NY

Interested? Contact: ellenzharrison@gmail.com

Dr. Anthony R. Ingraffea, Cornell University, and Dwight C. Baum Professor of Engineering at Cornell, will talk about the technology, development and impact of horizontal natural gas drilling and slick water hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale, followed by a Q&A session.

WHEN: Tuesday, March 16 @ 7:00 p.m. Free & open to the public.

WHERE: Watkins Glen High School Auditorium, 301 12th Street, Watkins Glen, NY. (Entrance off the parking lot on the west side of the school, near the Field House)

Click here for Mapquest directions.

The Geneva League of Women Voters and Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association will co-sponsor an educational forum on Hydrofracking the Marcellus Shale in the Finger Lakes on Monday, March 8th from 7 – 9 pm at the Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 601 South Main Street, Geneva.    The speakers are Dr. Tony Ingraffea, Dwight C. Baum Professor of Engineering, Cornell University; Marion Balyszak, director of Finger Lakes Institute; and  Philip Cianciotto, president of SLPWA.

Dr. Ingraffea will discuss the current state of technology and the environmental impact of horizontal natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing or “hydrofracking” in the Marcellus Shale.  Ms. Balyszak and Mr. Cianciotto will each present a summary of their respective organization’s concerns and recommendations for fiscally and environmentally responsible hydrofracking for natural gas in the Finger Lakes region of Marcellus Shale.  Both FLI and SLPWA have submitted comments on the draft supplemental generic environmental impact statement now being considered by DEC in order to adopt regulations to permit the hydraulic drilling process.

Gas drilling in the Finger Lakes has existed for many years, but hydrofracking technology makes it possible for areas to be drilled in a more heightened concentration not previously
undertaken in New York State.   Significant hydrofracking is currently underway in Pennsylvania as well as in several other states, including Texas.  The issues associated with the drilling are complex and controversial, and while the potential economic benefits may be great, many question whether the benefits outweigh the risks to our watershed, lakes, and natural environment.

The public is invited to attend to learn more and ask questions.  Refreshments will be served.

Contact:  Kim
Reisch  (315) 789-7104

Please click on link for full Media Alert

Forum on the Future of Gas Drilling in New York Slated March 8 at SUNY New Paltz

KINGSTON–ScheinMedia and the SUNY New Paltz Environmental Task Force are pleased to present a public forum, “The Future of Gas Drilling in New York State,” on Monday, March 8 from 5:45 to 8 pm at SUNY New Paltz. The event features a closing keynote by U.S. Congressman Maurice Hinchey, representatives from New York City, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the gas industry. ScheinMedia founder and CEO Jonathan A. Schein will serve as a moderator of the panel section of the event.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Artists Respond to Drilling the Marcellus Shale at “EarthStewards Coalition” Show       Closing Reception First Friday March 5 at City Plaza Gallery

A closing reception for “EarthStewards Coalition: Artists Respond to Drilling the Marecellus Shale” will be held on First Friday, March 5, 2010, from 6 to 9 PM, in Binghamton’s City Plaza gallery.

Music, poetry, and dance will be featured. The evening’s highlight will be a performance of “Radical Fermentation” at 7:30 PM by Pictures Moved By Strings puppet theater from Scranton, Pennsylvania., accompanied by world class pianist Ron Stabinsky.

More than forty artists from across New York State and Pennsylvania, and several other states, are featured in the exhibit.  Included in the show are works in a wide variety of media, including paintings, pastels, sculpture, quilts, installation, and assemblage. The artwork encourages viewers to explore their thoughts and feelings about the potential of high volume hydrofracture drilling for natural gas being permitted in New York State.

City Plaza Gallery, located at 38 Hawley Street, 2nd floor, is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM.  “EarthStewards Coalition: Artists Respond to Drilling the Marcellus Shale” is organized by the Gaia Grrrls, an ad hoc group of activist women artists from Binghamton, New York. The show runs through Friday March 5, 2010.

CLOSING RECEPTION SCHEDULE

6:00 PM      Harper Mary Brophy O’Reilly

6:30 PM      Poetry Reading

7:30 PM      “Radical Fermentation,” Pictures Moved by Strings Puppet Theater

8:30 PM      Closing Ritual: Expressive River Walk with dancer Teresa Ann Joseph