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Citizens' Community Forum on Hydro-Fracking

Citizens’ Community Forum on Hydro-Fracking (Media Release)

Wednesday        February 10, 2010     7:00 – 9:00pm

Nottingham High School

3100 East Genesee St.

Syracuse, New York

Over 12,000 citizens and organizations wrote comments on the dSGEIS to NYS DEC.

Untallied thousands wrote letters, made phone calls and signed petitions to NYS DEC, Governor David Paterson and government representatives opposing hydro-fracking.

There were no formal DEC Public Hearings on the dSGEIS in Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo and Utica.

Hundreds of farmers and other land owners have leased their land to gas companies without being informed of the use of hydro-fracking technology and its severe consequences.

There is a growing grassroots movement across NYS and the nation to ban hydro-fracking.

Within this context, citizens are creating a Citizens Community Forum on Hydro-Fracking.

We have invited a variety of local through federal representatives.

Confirmed Participants (as of January 27th) are:

· Lee Macbeth, Syracuse Watershed Control Coordinator

· Ken Lynch, Region 7 DEC Director

· Dave Valesky, State Senator

· Mark Dunnau, Northeast Organic Farmers Association and Delaware County Farm Bureau

· Local landowners who have signed leases

We are awaiting confirmation from Region 2 EPA, Governor Paterson, State Senator Antoine Thompson and Congressman Dan Maffei.

Representatives will open the event with brief comments.  Then there will be time for citizens to voice their concerns.

Concerns will go under the following categories:

· Environmental concerns

· Human Health concerns

· Fossil Fuel versus green, sustainable energy concerns

· Climate Change concerns

· Economic concerns

· Rural, agricultural concerns

Contacts:

Stacey Smith   315-470-0778

Leyana Dessauer 315-470-0778

HEALTH RISKS FORUM – Feb 23rd

NATURAL GAS WITH UN-NATURAL CONSEQUENCES:

THE HEALTH RISKS OF SHALE GAS DRILLING

Tuesday, February 23, 6:30-8:30 at The Forum room, Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3), 170 North St, Dryden, NY.
The presenters will be Ron Bishop, lecturer in Chemistry at SUNY Oneonta; Thomas Shelly, chemical safety and hazardous materials specialist; Adam Law, a physician who specializes in endocrinology. Dr. William Klepack, a family practice physician in Dryden, will be introducing the speakers.

Doors will open at 6:00 and talks start at 6:30. The evening will be divided into three half hour presentations, with a question and answer period following the presentations.
The presentations:

Ron Bishop, lecturer in chemistry at SUNY Oneonta, will offer a powerpoint presentation addressing the why and how of the unconventional gas drilling technique known as high-volume, slick-water, hydrofracturing. Bishop holds a B.A. in Chemistry from Youngstown State University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from The West Virgina University School of Medicine. In his 17 years of full-time research, his projects were related to cancer and biosafety. For the last 11 years, Bishop has taught a variety of courses (biology, genetics, general and organic chemistry, biochemistry and environmental sciences) in high schools and colleges. He currently teaches in the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department at SUNY Oneonta, and is nationally certified in chemical hazards management.
Thomas Shelley, chemical safety and hazardous materials specialist and chemist by profession!,will follow Ron Bishop s presentation with a discussion of how the chemicals used at the drilling site are handled, what chemicals come back out of the ground with the drilling waste fluids and the categories of different chemical mixtures. He will also talk about the established links between chemicals and health, and address some of the issues of radioactivity in the waste fluid. Shelley worked in Cornell Environmental Health and Safety for 18 years as a chemical and laboratory safety specialist. For much of that time he was the Chemical Hygiene Officer for Cornell University.
Adam Law is a physician who specializes in endocrinology. He will present a brief overview of the disruptions chemicals can bring to the human body s endocrine system. Adam Law was raised in London, UK where he received his medical degree and his doctorate in molecular medicine. He has 8 years of basic science research experience in molecular biology and biochemistry. He has been an attending physician at the Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca since 1994 and was President of the medical staff 2009. He became aware of gas drilling in the Finger Lakes portion of the Marcellus shale after questions from his concerned patients. As an endocrinologist he has been inspired by the work of Dr. Theo Colborn, founder of the Endocrine Disruptor Exchange.

This forum is sponsored by Shaleshock Citizen s Action Alliance and co-sponsored by the
Center for Transformative Action, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, Gas Drilling Awareness of Cortland County, TC3 Sustainability Council, Dryden R
esource Awareness Coalition, Sustainable Otsego, Sustainable Tompkins, and Marcellus Accountability Project.

For more information contact Shaleshock08@yahoo.com or call Sharon Anderson, Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County at 607-272-2292

PLEASE HELP DISTRIBUTE AND DISPLAY POSTERS!

TC3 health 2-23 risks flyer

Seminar: Marcellus Shale Gas Geology - What in earth is down there?

The Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District is hosting a seminar on Natural Gas Exploration and the Geology of Cortland County. William M. Kappel, Hydrologist and Section Chief with the U.S. Geological Survey, will be on hand giving a presentation entitled “Marcellus Shale Gas 101”.

Topics to be addressed include:

  • Where black shales are found in New York (their formation and properties) and the mechanics of drilling in the Marcellus and Utica formations.
  • An in-depth look at the controversial technique of “slickwater” hydrofracking including the quantities of water needed and the possible
    means of treatment, and quality of flowback and formation waters.

  • A look into the potential impacts of gas exploration and extraction activities in relation to our regions water resources. Recognizing the concerns of habitat fragmentation and pipeline construction throughout the region.

Monday, February 1st, 2010 – 6pm to 8pm

Seminar will be held in the auditorium of the New York State Grange Headquarters building located at 100 Grange Place off of Clinton Avenue in Cortland, New York (Map)

Marcellus Challenge Pledge-In

Join Sustainable Tompkins for an evening to learn from local energy experts how you can reduce your energy footprint through conservation, efficiency measures, and investments in renewable energy. Then, learn about and take the Marcellus Challenge.

March 3, 2010 from 6pm to 8pm
Women’s Community Building, Seneca St., Ithaca, NY

New Studies: Natural Gas Development Releases Amazing & Very High Levels of Toxins into Air (Daily Kos)

We are on a course for certain disaster if we don’t slow down and make sure our “bridge fuel” is built with solid federal regulations! A recent study of Barnett Shale ambient air was evaluated by Wilma Subra, MacArthur (Genius) Award winning chemist. The study found amazing and very high levels of toxic chemicals including known and suspected human carcinogens and neurotoxins.

Read the rest

The dirty truth about "clean" natural gas

An enhanced video showing invisible fumes released when natural gas is burned. They may be invisible, but as this video shows, they are definitely there. Natural gas doesn’t look quite so clean anymore…

Made with footage from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Comment on the 2009 draft State Energy Plan

The 2009 draft State Energy Plan that was just released seems to be getting little public attention. The interim plan (March 2009) was developed after a number of hearings last winter and was focused on renewable sources. The interim plan was replaced on the website by the draft plan this week and has expanded coverage to all energy sources including development of the Marcellus Shale.

Pages 49-51 address natural gas development and quote the potential recoverable production that are prevalent in the industry publications but are now being questioned based on experience in the fully developed Barnett Shale. There are a lot of assumptions about the economic benefits of increased landowner wealth and tax collection although property taxes on gas production are extremely modest and NY presently has no severance tax on natural gas production. It does acknowledge concerns about the local impacts to communities, including increased truck traffic, noise, aesthetics, and impact on quality of life. Assumptions are made that environmental protection is fully satisfied by the DEC during the GEIS process.

The Ithaca Journal had an article on the Plan this week based on the Governor’s executive order and a press release. It also quotes environmental advocates.

There is a series of public meetings through Aug and Sept. (PDF) and a mid Oct. deadline for written comments with the final report due in November.

It seems to me that this deserves a high priority for all government officials and environmental advocates.