Hundreds Rally in NY: 'Not One Fracking Well'
Groups to Gov. Cuomo: 'Protect us and the generations to come from such a true health and human rights disaster'

"New Yorkers don't want the gas industry to poison them and ruin New York. We know that once the gas industry ruins our water, food and environment, we will be left with an enormous mess after the fracking industry is gone," said Alex Beauchamp of Food & Water Watch. "We hope Governor Cuomo will listen to the loud opposition voices and protect us and the generations to come from such a true health and human rights disaster."
Anti-fracking group, Frack Action, wrote on their Facebook page: "As [Department of Environmental Conservation] (DEC) Commissioner Martens testifies this morning in Albany, the hearing room is packed with a long line out the door of New Yorkers opposed to fracking. We're in Albany today to say NOT ONE WELL!"
After the hearing, protestors--including actor Mark Ruffalo and Gasland director Josh Fox-- gathered on the Capitol steps to ask the Cuomo Administration to open the secret health review being conducted by the Department of Health for public comment and participation.
Frack Action reports, "Rather than undertake a comprehensive health impact assessment of fracking that would involve transparency and public participation, the Administration instead hired outside experts to review its own controlled internal health review that was written by the administration."
Earlier in the day, the Siena Research Institute released new poll data showing New York voters are split (40-40 percent) on the issue of fracking, with opponents significantly more passionate in their position than supporters. Associated Press reports, "in the Southern Tier region where drilling would most likely start, the poll showed 48 percent opposed."
In a letter to the editor of the Times Union, Albany resident Judith Brinks writes:
I've attended Albany City Council and Albany County Legislature meetings and listened to gas company representatives say how safe fracking is and how there is nothing harmful in the chemicals they are using. I've experienced the opposite.
Very good friends lived just below the New York state line in Pennsylvania, and I watched the land and the health of my friends deteriorate as the fracking machinery invaded the territory until my friends felt they had to leave. My friends were lucky to sell their homestead and move to Ithaca where they are counting on New York to be smarter and more responsive to its citizens than Pennsylvania. I certainly hope their trust is well-placed.
_____________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |

"New Yorkers don't want the gas industry to poison them and ruin New York. We know that once the gas industry ruins our water, food and environment, we will be left with an enormous mess after the fracking industry is gone," said Alex Beauchamp of Food & Water Watch. "We hope Governor Cuomo will listen to the loud opposition voices and protect us and the generations to come from such a true health and human rights disaster."
Anti-fracking group, Frack Action, wrote on their Facebook page: "As [Department of Environmental Conservation] (DEC) Commissioner Martens testifies this morning in Albany, the hearing room is packed with a long line out the door of New Yorkers opposed to fracking. We're in Albany today to say NOT ONE WELL!"
After the hearing, protestors--including actor Mark Ruffalo and Gasland director Josh Fox-- gathered on the Capitol steps to ask the Cuomo Administration to open the secret health review being conducted by the Department of Health for public comment and participation.
Frack Action reports, "Rather than undertake a comprehensive health impact assessment of fracking that would involve transparency and public participation, the Administration instead hired outside experts to review its own controlled internal health review that was written by the administration."
Earlier in the day, the Siena Research Institute released new poll data showing New York voters are split (40-40 percent) on the issue of fracking, with opponents significantly more passionate in their position than supporters. Associated Press reports, "in the Southern Tier region where drilling would most likely start, the poll showed 48 percent opposed."
In a letter to the editor of the Times Union, Albany resident Judith Brinks writes:
I've attended Albany City Council and Albany County Legislature meetings and listened to gas company representatives say how safe fracking is and how there is nothing harmful in the chemicals they are using. I've experienced the opposite.
Very good friends lived just below the New York state line in Pennsylvania, and I watched the land and the health of my friends deteriorate as the fracking machinery invaded the territory until my friends felt they had to leave. My friends were lucky to sell their homestead and move to Ithaca where they are counting on New York to be smarter and more responsive to its citizens than Pennsylvania. I certainly hope their trust is well-placed.
_____________________

"New Yorkers don't want the gas industry to poison them and ruin New York. We know that once the gas industry ruins our water, food and environment, we will be left with an enormous mess after the fracking industry is gone," said Alex Beauchamp of Food & Water Watch. "We hope Governor Cuomo will listen to the loud opposition voices and protect us and the generations to come from such a true health and human rights disaster."
Anti-fracking group, Frack Action, wrote on their Facebook page: "As [Department of Environmental Conservation] (DEC) Commissioner Martens testifies this morning in Albany, the hearing room is packed with a long line out the door of New Yorkers opposed to fracking. We're in Albany today to say NOT ONE WELL!"
After the hearing, protestors--including actor Mark Ruffalo and Gasland director Josh Fox-- gathered on the Capitol steps to ask the Cuomo Administration to open the secret health review being conducted by the Department of Health for public comment and participation.
Frack Action reports, "Rather than undertake a comprehensive health impact assessment of fracking that would involve transparency and public participation, the Administration instead hired outside experts to review its own controlled internal health review that was written by the administration."
Earlier in the day, the Siena Research Institute released new poll data showing New York voters are split (40-40 percent) on the issue of fracking, with opponents significantly more passionate in their position than supporters. Associated Press reports, "in the Southern Tier region where drilling would most likely start, the poll showed 48 percent opposed."
In a letter to the editor of the Times Union, Albany resident Judith Brinks writes:
I've attended Albany City Council and Albany County Legislature meetings and listened to gas company representatives say how safe fracking is and how there is nothing harmful in the chemicals they are using. I've experienced the opposite.
Very good friends lived just below the New York state line in Pennsylvania, and I watched the land and the health of my friends deteriorate as the fracking machinery invaded the territory until my friends felt they had to leave. My friends were lucky to sell their homestead and move to Ithaca where they are counting on New York to be smarter and more responsive to its citizens than Pennsylvania. I certainly hope their trust is well-placed.
_____________________

