On Mon, 8/31/09, Andy Goodell <[email protected]> wrote:
"I'm curious if there's any data on local gas resources versus those from far
away. Whenever I talk with someone about the gas drilling, I have to wonder if
it is more sustainable to drill for gas locally, or to get our resources from
places like the Middle East."
I think Andy has a very good point.
According to estimates available from the US Census Bureau just under 60% of
homes in Broome, Chemung, Cortland, Steuben, Tioga and Tompkins County are
heated with natural gas.
The county breakdowns are:
Broome: 66%
Chemung: 76%
Cortland: 48%
Steuben: 54%
Tioga: 28%
Tompkins: 54%
Within Tompkins County 75% of homesin the city of Ithaca proper are heated with
natural gas; 72% of homes within the town of Ithaca are heated with natural gas.
In addition to home heating regional economic engines such as Corning suck up
huge amounts of natural gas.
For far too long we've stood by as oil companies have raped the environment
throughout the world to supply our energy desires. Today more and more of the
offshore areas of the Gulf of Mexico are under siege from natural gas
expoitation, and pressure continues to open up the Artic National Wildlife
Refuge to exploitation. Most of the destruction of the wetland complexes of
the Mississippi River delta that once protected New Orleans from hurricane
tidal surges has been the result of natural gas production.
As for the tripe on anti-drilling websistes such as
"...one thing is sure: in the next few years residents will see a dramatic
transformation of the local area to a more industrial landscape."
There are some three dozen natural gas production wells within sight of Rte. 96
between Ovid and Geneva that tens of thousands of tourists and Ithaca-style
environmentalists have driven by over the past two decades or so, without even
noticing them.
Sixty miles to our south there are over 300 wells either drilled or in the
process of being drill in Bradford County, PA. The biggest challenge in
assessing their visual impact is finding the drilling pads due to terrain and
vegetation, particularly the cornfields.
George Frantz
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