I just got back from Dimock, PA. I got a ride to go down for the press conference where the families who first went to Cabot Oil and Gas because of horrendous contamination of their water and got shrugged off, then went to the DEP and got shrugged off, and then went to their legislators and then got shrugged off (one legislator even telling a landholder to just go buy some bottled water), have now resorted to filing a lawsuit. Lots of TV and print media were there, including Josh Fox. I carried around a "Frack No!" sign from shaleshock, looking like the GrimReaper, the photographer told me.
Tell everyone you know to check Reuters, to check the PA TV stations (Ch. 16 etc) for this. We did NOT see Tom Wilber from Binghamton Press and Sun there. The Reuters reporter was borderline hostile to the Carters. The Carters have a son in Binghamton. This is an issue that crosses artificial state lines. NIABY, yes. Tell everyone you know who has leased to watch for this in print and TV media. The statements from these families have to break your hearts. The size of the drilling pad the edge of which is no more than 100 feet from the Carters' double-wide is at least 10 times the size of their home. Two weeks of 24/7 sounds like a jet plane, non-stop. The noise stopped last evening or this morning, in time for the press conference. It will most likely start again after we leave. The families have been drinking, bathing in, cooking with the stinking water when they run out of bottled water or water they haul in from Montrose. It has to break your heart. Crossing the narrow winding roads are what look like very long orange extension cords going off into the brush on either side. These cords are for seismic testing. Every few feet or so. According to a family member Cabot workers kept spreading frack fluid over the road back and forth even when it had just rained or was about to rain. Everyone of us driving into this press conference most likely got dried frack fluid into the wheel wells of our cars. Tell everyone you know who's part of a landowners' coalition for leasing to watch for this in the media, especially Josh Fox. I was already convinced of the need for a ban, even though I've also signed Walter's petition (took me less than 1 minute to do so), but now I am thoroughly convinced of the need for massive media attention towards a total ban, starting in New York State. One person there noted the absence of Abrahm Lustgarten and the International Media. Why was Agence France Press not there? etc., etc. They were in Binghamton for the trial of the St. Patrick's Four. We have to do better and fast. Cecile On Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 12:00 PM, < [email protected]> wrote: > Send SustainableTompkins mailing list submissions to > [email protected] > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > [email protected] > > You can reach the person managing the list at > [email protected] > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of SustainableTompkins digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Marcellus shale drilling NIMBYism (Joel and Sarah Gagnon) > 2. Re: Marcellus NIABYism ([email protected]) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:14:32 -0500 > From: Joel and Sarah Gagnon <[email protected]> > To: Sustainable Tompkins County listserv > <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] Marcellus shale drilling NIMBYism > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed > > I agree with the "not in anybody's back yard" sentiment. I'm not opposed to > tapping the gas in the Marcellus if it can be done safely, but I am not > satisfied that the risks will be adequately mitigated. Too many "shoulds" > and not enough "shalls" in the regs; too much uncertainty about the > potential for connection to aquifers through vertical faults; too few > safeguards against surface spills; too few personnel to assure compliance > with the inadequate regulations. Natural gas prices are depressed by a > excess of supply, so what's the rush to develop new sources? We should be > conserving for future use and keeping prices up to discourage consumption > and promote investment in alternatives. > > Joel > > At 11:44 PM 11/19/09 -0500, you wrote: > >One danger with cross posting (which I did when I posted a portion of > >this Shaleshock thread on Sustainable Tompkins) is that the context of > >the full thread of the list-serves in general is lacking. And I think > >this may have contributed to george's reactions. > > > >The reason I made the cross-post is because I felt the Shaleshock > >thread underscored the need for the work ST does on energy > >conservation and efficiency, which I wanted to reinforce. > > > >The lost context did not show the lack of NIMBYism among > >Shaleshockers: I have heard only increased sympathy for people living > >in other extraction "sacrifice zones," such as mountaintop removal > >and long wall mining, not to mention the folks who have been fracked > >in other states. There is no good acronym for this sort of compassion > >and cooperation: but it would look like NIABY (not in anybody's back > >yard). > > > >Which gets us back to where we each should be: buttoning up our > >houses, cutting our own use of gas and coal, while calling for > >appropriate state and national public policies which support safe > >energy production (safe enough to have in anyone's back yard!) > > > > > >Margaret > > > > > >On Nov 19, 2009, at 9:56 PM, George Frantz wrote: > > > >> > >> > >>Thank you, Margaret and Autumn. > >>I'm not in agreement with all the points you've made. I think > >>however that you've raise a critical issue in that much of the > >>debate over Marcellus shale drilling is sounding more and more like > >>simple NIMBYism. > >>I see nothing progressive or enlightened about the vehement > >>opposition to any and all frack-based natural gas drilling in this > >>region. As I've said before we are confronted with an industry that > >>would dig up its mothers' graves if there was a chance of finding > >>natural gas beneith them, but I also think that some of the > >>outrageous exaggerations and distortions by Shaleshock and its ilk > >>would even impress the great SpinMeister Karl Rove. > >>The current controversy is just another of a long string of examples > >>in Ithaca of what true progressives and true environmentalists refer > >>to as "leisure class environmentalism." It's probably not a term > >>you'll hear on NPR or read in the New York Times, but by definition > >>it is the constant action of more affluent cities and regions to > >>push off the significant adverse environmental impacts of their > >>middle class American lifestyle onto poorer regions and communities > >>of the world. > >>Some three-quarters of homes in the city and the town of Ithaca are > >>heated with natural gas, as are all of our centers of employment, > >>our stores, bars, restaurants and I suspect even the State Theatre. > >>Overall in Tompkins County almost 6 in ten homes are heated with > >>natural gas or propane from afar. Indeed the entire economy of > >>Upstate New York is dependent of natural gas and propane produced > >>and imported from thousands of miles away. > >>I've seen too much of the damage wreaked by energy companies first > >>hand in poor communities of Appalachia and Louisiana in their quest > >>to meet Ithaca's demands for coal, natural gas and gasoline. I > >>personally refuse to be a party to an effort by Ithaca-style > >>progressives to once again push off on other, poorer, regions of > >>America and the world the severe environmental costs of maintaining > >>our little paradise here in the Finger Lakes. > >>And, speaking of dairy farms, there are over 300 Marcellus Shale > >>wells either drilled, being drilled, or have been permitted across > >>the border in Bradford County, PA. Many of them are on dairy > >>farms. In many cases you can not even see the finished wells, > >>because the drilling sites have been restored and crops have been > >>planted. > >>Millions of gallons of fracking fluids are flowing right now. > >>Probably some 5-6 billion gallons or so of water have been pulled > >>from the Susquehanna River or its tributaries by now. Take a drive > >>down and check out the environmental havoc wreaked by the drilling > >>companies, if you can find it. > >>George Frantz > >> > >> > >> > >>_______________________________________________ > >>For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County > >>area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > >> > >>RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > >>[email protected] > >>http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > >>Questions about the list? ask > [email protected] > >>free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > >> > >> > >> > >> > >>_______________________________________________ > >>For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County > >>area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > >> > >>RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > >>[email protected] > >>http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > >>Questions about the list? ask > [email protected] > >>free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > > >_______________________________________________ > >For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, > >please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > > >RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > >[email protected] > >http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > >Questions about the list? ask > [email protected] > >free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:47:41 -0500 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] Marcellus NIABYism > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed > > I couldn't agree more. Opposition to Marcellus drilling is a NIABY > Issue. > > This massive, massive operation, as has been pointed out, has a huge > carbon footprint. At the hearing last night Martha Robertson stated > that the greenhouse gas emissions caused, I believe by the drilling of > one well alone exceeded Tompkins County's annual emissions. I intend to > write her and make sure I got that figure right and will report back. > > Barbara Lifton pointed out, as we have been hearing more now, that all > carbon emissions must be capped by 2015 and then start going down > rapidly in order to avoid runaway climate change. Natural gas is still > a fossil fuel. AND the "raw" methane that leak into ground and water > from these operations will eventually escape into the atmosphere. The > latest figures are that methane has 25 (not 21) times the GWP (global > warming potential) as carbon dioxide. > > In other words, as this will exacerbate global warming, it is a global > issue not a pristine community issue. Abd, as with the toxins in air > and water that these operations will cause as well as more warming, it > is exactly the most vulnerable who will suffer most as they are already > suffering now. In the U.S. people without > access to affordable health care will suffer most from respiratory and > other diseases. And the poor everywhere, including the U.S. are most > vulnerable to climate change. > > Opposition to hydrofracking, is a social justice issue of the first > order. It is not NIMBYism; it is community and regional resistance to > corporate predation, the long history of the few controlling the many. > It is, as David Korten would say, Earth community vs empire. > > What I do think of as NIMBYism is the unreasoning opposition to wind > generation in any form without even being willing to consider that the > issue is one of careful and proper siting. And to those who say it > ruins the view, let them see that land laid waste by drilling and > mining, and the mountains with their tops blown off and rockslides > coming into communities. And far worse is the toxins people in those > areas must drink and breathe. Not to mention that birds, along with > virtually every other living thing, will suffer far more from climate > change. > > > I have long worked on the climate change issue. I have just recently > come to understand that taking an active part in opposing drilling in > Marcellus is one of the most important things I can do, in addition to > opposing it to stop the destruction of our region. Mu Congresperson, > Eric Massa, said recently that hydrofracking would make this area > unlivable in 10-15 years. And in contributing to climate change, it > could well play it's part > in making the planet unliveable within this century. > > > Jeanne > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Jan Quarles <[email protected]> > To: Sustainable Tompkins County listserv > <[email protected]> > Sent: Fri, Nov 20, 2009 10:48 am > Subject: [SustainableTompkins] Marcellus NIABYism > > Margaret makes an excellent point. Our position in protesting > hydrofracking > in the Marcellus Shale is NIABYism (Not In Anybody's Backyard), not > NIMBYism, and it's the most responsible position to take, from both an > environmental point of view, as well as a social justice one. > > In case you haven't already signed Walter Hang's coalition letter, here > it > is to sign and forward widely: > http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/coalition_letter . > > George Frantz is oversimplifying the anti-fracking position in his > recent > post. He lumps all protesters together under the label of "leisure > class > environmentalism," basing his argument on the false assumption that all > of > us who are against fracking -- and we were over 1,000-strong last night > at > the State Theatre! -- blithely plan to use fossil fuel forever; that we > are > doing absolutely nothing to reduce our CO2 output; that we are a bunch > of > hypocrites who could care less about the environmental devastation > caused by > fracking in other states and nations. Nothing could be farther from the > truth. > > It is the very people who are protesting, the very individuals who > spoke so > eloquently and knowledgably last night who are the most responsible > citizens > in our community. Each and every one is a leader in the sustainability > movement, in his or her own unique way. They are the ones who are > documenting and sharing the devastation from other states. They are the > ones > researching, educating and investing in renewable energy options and > energy > conservation measures. They are the ones working hard to improve our > present > and our future. They may not all be able to afford to transition > immediately > to renewable energy (and George criticizes them harshly for it), but > they > are doing their best to go in that direction. > > In the Ithaca area, there are hundreds of local organic farmers like us > who > not only refused to sign a drilling lease a few years ago, but at the > same > time took personal responsibility to lower our footprint. We invested > $5,000 > in insulating our farmhouse, and $6,000 in an energy-efficient wood > stove > that supplies 100% of our heat; we built 30 raised beds, grow much of > our > food, and share the rest with friends; we invested thousands to drain > our > fields and amend our soil to create an organic CSA for the community; > and > we're now saving for a geothermal system and solar panels. Our "leisure > time" is spent in activism, promoting citizen engagement in government, > liberation from corporate control, and sustainable living. (For more > info, > visit www.backtodemocracy.org .) Our personal details are only relevant > because they represent a huge portion of residents of Tompkins County > who > share our commitment to sustainable agriculture and renewable energy. > > For over 25 years, my husband and I have been a good land stewards. As > a > result, our organic fields have provided high-quality barley, spelt, > oats, > wheat, rye and soy to the community. We could have sold out to > developers. > We could have made quick cash by signing a drilling lease. But we chose > not > to because we considered those choices highly irresponsible. We chose > instead to take care of our land. Since our farm is on Cayuga Lake, we > pay > very high property taxes. Is it fair that we don't get any tax break or > cash > bonus for protecting the lake from chemical runoff? Is it fair that > those > who sign drilling leases get wealthier while they risk poisoning the > environment for the rest of us, as well as future generations? Why > should > they be allowed to plunder the Earth -- to risk dredging up > radioactivity > that will sicken every living thing around them -- just to make quick > money > for themselves? Why should we have to pay for the consequences of their > choices? And surely, we will. We'll pay for the cleanup of inevitable > spills. We'll pay with our health, and with our peace of mind. And so > will > our children, and our grandchildren, and all the living things around > us. > > Our property will surely devalue as this region becomes riddled with > industrial drilling sites, traffic becomes congested with heavy rigs, > and > water and air pollution skyrockets. There is already a radioactive well > in > Watkins Glen, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. > > It would be highly irresponsible NOT to protest hydrofracking. Stand up > to > the mulitnational corporations who want to plunder what belongs to us! > > Jan Quarles > Bluebird Farm > Ovid, NY > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Margaret McCasland" <[email protected]> > To: "Sustainable Tompkins County listserv" > <[email protected]> > Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:44 PM > Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] Marcellus shale drilling NIMBYism > > > > One danger with cross posting (which I did when I posted a portion of > > this Shaleshock thread on Sustainable Tompkins) is that the context > of > > the full thread of the list-serves in general is lacking. And I > think > > this may have contributed to george's reactions. > > > > The reason I made the cross-post is because I felt the Shaleshock > thread > > underscored the need for the work ST does on energy conservation and > > efficiency, which I wanted to reinforce. > > > > The lost context did not show the lack of NIMBYism among > Shaleshockers: I > > have heard only increased sympathy for people living in other > extraction > > "sacrifice zones," such as mountaintop removal and long wall mining, > not > > to mention the folks who have been fracked in other states. There > is no > > good acronym for this sort of compassion and cooperation: but it > would > > look like NIABY (not in anybody's back yard). > > > > Which gets us back to where we each should be: buttoning up our > houses, > > cutting our own use of gas and coal, while calling for appropriate > state > > and national public policies which support safe energy production > (safe > > enough to have in anyone's back yard!) > > > > > > Margaret > > > > > > On Nov 19, 2009, at 9:56 PM, George Frantz wrote: > > > >> > >> > >> Thank you, Margaret and Autumn. > >> I'm not in agreement with all the points you've made. I think > however > >> that you've raise a critical issue in that much of the debate over > >> Marcellus shale drilling is sounding more and more like simple > NIMBYism. > >> I see nothing progressive or enlightened about the vehement > opposition > >> to any and all frack-based natural gas drilling in this region. As > I've > >> said before we are confronted with an industry that would dig up > its > >> mothers' graves if there was a chance of finding natural gas > beneith > >> them, but I also think that some of the outrageous exaggerations > and > >> distortions by Shaleshock and its ilk would even impress the great > >> SpinMeister Karl Rove. > >> The current controversy is just another of a long string of examples > in > >> Ithaca of what true progressives and true environmentalists refer > to as > >> "leisure class environmentalism." It's probably not a term you'll > hear > >> on NPR or read in the New York Times, but by definition it is the > >> constant action of more affluent cities and regions to push off the > >> significant adverse environmental impacts of their middle class > American > >> lifestyle onto poorer regions and communities of the world. > >> Some three-quarters of homes in the city and the town of Ithaca are > >> heated with natural gas, as are all of our centers of employment, > our > >> stores, bars, restaurants and I suspect even the State Theatre. > Overall > >> in Tompkins County almost 6 in ten homes are heated with natural > gas or > >> propane from afar. Indeed the entire economy of Upstate New York > is > >> dependent of natural gas and propane produced and imported from > >> thousands of miles away. > >> I've seen too much of the damage wreaked by energy companies first > hand > >> in poor communities of Appalachia and Louisiana in their quest to > meet > >> Ithaca's demands for coal, natural gas and gasoline. I personally > >> refuse to be a party to an effort by Ithaca-style progressives to > once > >> again push off on other, poorer, regions of America and the world > the > >> severe environmental costs of maintaining our little paradise here > in > >> the Finger Lakes. > >> And, speaking of dairy farms, there are over 300 Marcellus Shale > wells > >> either drilled, being drilled, or have been permitted across the > border > >> in Bradford County, PA. Many of them are on dairy farms. In many > cases > >> you can not even see the finished wells, because the drilling sites > have > >> been restored and crops have been planted. > >> Millions of gallons of fracking fluids are flowing right now. > Probably > >> some 5-6 billion gallons or so of water have been pulled from the > >> Susquehanna River or its tributaries by now. Take a drive down and > >> check out the environmental havoc wreaked by the drilling > companies, if > >> you can find it. > >> George Frantz > >> > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County > area, > >> please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > >> > >> RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > >> [email protected] > >> http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > >> Questions about the list? ask > >> [email protected] > >> free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County > area, > >> please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > >> > >> RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > >> [email protected] > >> http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > >> Questions about the list? ask > >> [email protected] > >> free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County > area, > > please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > > [email protected] > > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > > Questions about the list? ask > > [email protected] > > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, > please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > Questions about the list? ask > [email protected] > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, > please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > SustainableTompkins mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > > Questions about the list? ask > [email protected] > > End of SustainableTompkins Digest, Vol 24, Issue 160 > **************************************************** > -- Cecile _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
