May, 02 2011, 01:51pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Kate Fried, Food & Water Watch, (202) 683-4905; 

Eric Weltman, Food & Water Watch, (617) 304-5330;
Claire Sandberg, Frack Action, (646) 641-6431
Consumer Advocates, Businesses, Farmers, Doctors and Scientists Join Elected Officials to Call for a Ban on Fracking in New York
ALBANY, N.Y.
As the six-month moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in New York is soon set to expire, a diverse group of civic leaders and citizens are today calling upon Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature to issue a permanent ban on this dangerous, polluting practice. The "Rally and March for a Statewide Ban," which is expected to draw hundreds of participants from across the state, will unite elected officials, consumer advocates, farmers, members of the business community, organized labor, scientists, medical professionals, students, good government groups and others to illustrate why New York cannot afford to allow fracking given its threat to the well-being of the state's water and food resources, public health and economy.
"Fracking endangers vital food and water resources, taxes our nation's already overburdened water infrastructure systems, and sacrifices our rural communities to our seemingly insatiable thirst for energy resources," said Food & Water Watch executive director Wenonah Hauter. "As consumers around the U.S. reject this dangerous energy extraction process, legislators in New York have an opportunity to be real leaders on this issue. A ban on fracking in New York State would represent a watershed moment in the fight to defend our communities, while serving as model for other states who wish to protect their essential resources from the hazards of fracking."
Rally participants from the business community, including the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce and Brewery Ommegang, will decry the economic downsides of fracking for New York State's agriculture and tourism industries, and long-term economic viability. "The plans for drilling pose a direct and material threat to the interests of the Chamber membership," said Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Susan O'Handley. "Industrial-scale hydrofracking in the upstate region will irreparably damage the essential qualities that make the Cooperstown area an excellent place to live, raise families, farm and work. It puts at risk much of the local economy, ranging from hotel and tourism to restaurant and retail businesses, most of which are driven by the hundreds of thousands of tourists who choose to visit the region every year."
"Economic impact research NOT funded by the gas industry has reached vastly different conclusions than has research funded or sponsored by industry groups openly seeking to gain financially in the gas plays," said economist Jannette Barth, of J.M. Barth and Associates. "In reality, the economic health of the Marcellus Shale region may be worse off in the long run if gas drilling is allowed."
Farmers will speak to the potential impacts of fracking on agricultural communities, and highlight the recent Chesapeake Energy gas well blowout in Bradford County, Pa., where thousands of gallons of undiluted fracking chemicals spewed across farmland and forced residents to evacuate. "I don't want to farm in an industrial zone. I don't want to live in an industrial zone," said Mark Dunau, farmer from Delaware County and policy co-chair for the Northeast Organic Farming Association-New York. "And if the water's poisoned, that's a threat to me whether or not I'm farming. For humanity the most important fuel is food and water. The gas is for fifty years. The water is forever."
Cornell University biologist and acclaimed author Sandra Steingraber will address the long-term public health consequences of allowing this practice to move forward across the state: "Fracking relies on chemicals linked to cancer, preterm birth, and miscarriage. It fills our air with asthma-inducing air pollutants. It releases radioactive substances. It turns fresh water into poison and uses it as a club to smash the bedrock a mile below our feet. Is this what we want to do to the farmlands and cow pastures of upstate New York? To the watershed that serves as a source of drinking water for millions of people? Think again, New York. Don't fracture our children's future."
The event comes as the legislature considers S4220-A 57218, introduced by event participants Senator Tony Avella (D-11) and Assemblymember William Colton (D-47), which would ban fracking.
The process of extracting gas from shale rock, fracking uses toxic chemicals that have been shown to contaminate water resources. To date, there have been more than 1,000 documented cases of water contamination near drilling sites around the country. The process also endangers consumers who do not reside near drilling sites because fracking fluids, which often contain radioactive elements, cannot be effectively treated by municipal treatment plants, and are often released into waterways where they can pollute drinking water resources and the water used to irrigate food crops.
Late last year, outgoing Governor David Paterson imposed a temporary moratorium on fracking in New York that will expire on July 1, 2011. Last month, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced plans to sue the federal government if it does not produce an environmental impact assessment of proposed fracking projects in the Delaware River Basin before drilling again commences. The Delaware River provides drinking water for 15 million Americans.
Sponsored by: Frack Action, Food & Water Watch, Onondaga Nation, WaterDefense.Org, Democracy for America, Citizen Action of New York, Josh Fox - Gasland, Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation, CDOG - Chenango Delaware Otsego Gas Group, Syracuse Peace Council, Shaleshock, Sustainable Otsego, Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, NYH2O, Ommegang Brewery, Gas Drilling Awareness of Cortland County (GDACC), Capital District Against Fracking, Coalition to Protect New York, Frack Free Catskills, New York Action Network, New York Residents Against Drilling, Syracuse Cultural Workers, Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce, Students Against Fracking, Cornell Sustainability Hub, Mountain View Movies, Ithaca College Frack Off!, Honest Weight Food Co-op, Dryden Resource Awareness Coalition, Gray Panthers, The Green Bus Tour, KyotoNOW!, Water Back Project, Davenport Concerned Citizens, The Ad Hoc Committee to Uphold Environmental Law, Allegany County Non-violent Action Group, Concerned Citizens of Allegany County, Delaware Action Group, Sullivan Area Citizens for Responsible Energy Development, Advocates for Cherry Valley, Inc, Schoharie Valley Watch, Binghamton Environmental, Mamalama, Brecht Forum, Delaware Action Group, NYC Friends of Clearwater, No Fracking Way Project, Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory, Peacemakers, The Lower Manhattan Public Health Project, Woodstock Hidden Kitchen, Up North Movement, Take Back the Tap, Fly Creek/Otsego Neighbors, Shaleshock Action Alliance, People for a Healthy Environment, Inc., PDAWNY, New Yorkers for Sustainable Energy Solutions Statewide, R*CAUSE-Rochesterians Concerned About Unsafe Shale-gas Extraction, Walk About Water
Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people's health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.
(202) 683-2500LATEST NEWS
Over Apple's Objections, Oregon Governor Signs Nation's Strongest Right to Repair Law
"Oregon becomes the first state to ban 'parts pairing,' which let companies like Apple decide when and how you replace parts."
Mar 27, 2024
In a move that advocates said will save Oregon residents money while supporting small businesses and reducing waste of electronic devices, Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek on Wednesday signed the Right to Repair Act, a law that passed earlier this month despite Apple's lobbying efforts.
The Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), applauded the signing of the bill, which requires manufacturers to provide Oregonians and small repair businesses with access to the parts, tools, and information needed to fix personal electronics and household appliances.
Manufacturers like Apple frequently require consumers to go to their stores or authorized service providers for repairs, making them expensive for customers and difficult to access for people who live far from the providers.
Charlie Fisher, state director of Oregon PIRG, said the law means Oregon is "moving forward on an innovation even more critical than a new gadget: the right to fix our electronic devices."
"By eliminating manufacturer restrictions, the right to repair will make it easier for Oregonians to keep their personal electronics running," said Fisher. "That will conserve precious natural resources and prevent waste. It's a refreshing alternative to a 'throwaway' system that treats everything as disposable."
The Right to Repair Act, which will go into effect on January 1, 2025, was supported by roughly 100 small businesses that provide repairs across the state, as well as recycling nonprofit organizations.
Apple testified against the bill, saying it opposed a provision against "parts pairing." The practice requires consumers or independent repair businesses to purchase parts from Apple and have them validated by the company.
John Perry, a senior security manager at Apple, told state senators that the provision would "undermine the security, safety, and privacy of Oregonians by forcing device manufacturers to allow the use of parts of unknown origin and consumer devices."
State Rep. Courtney Neron (D-26) cited a letter from the Federal Trade Commission when she told her colleagues that Apple's parts paring requirements "drive up the price that consumers must pay to fix a device and cause consumers to purchase a new device before the end of its useful life."
"Manufacturer repair restrictions also make it more challenging for small repair businesses to compete and contribute to unnecessary e-waste," she said.
Pro-labor media organization More Perfect Union called Kotek's signing of the bill "a major loss for Apple."
"Oregon has a proud history of passing forward thinking policies that help Oregonians steward and respect the resources that go into making the products we use everyday," said Celeste Meiffren-Swango, state director of Environment Oregon, "and we are building on that legacy with the Right to Repair Act."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Biden's Bid to Tax the Rich Could Be the 2024 Lift the President Needs
New polling finds a majority of Americans across party lines support raising taxes on billionaires.
Mar 27, 2024
During his State of the Union address, U.S. President Joe Biden declared that he wants to raise taxes on the rich, and polling results published Tuesday show that both Democratic and Republican voters in important swing states support doing so.
The polling firm Morning Consult reports that 69% of registered voters in seven swing states say they support raising taxes on billionaires. That includes states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
One of the most consistently popular policy proposals, across parties, is raising taxes on the rich. https://t.co/1fwJK5z0EN
— David Roberts (@drvolts) March 26, 2024
The poll found 58% of Republicans, 83% of Democrats, and 66% of independents support raising taxes on billionaires. The poll also found similar numbers of voters support raising taxes on people who make more than $400,000 per year.
Biden's 2025 budget plan includes a hike in taxes on the rich that would generate significant revenue for the federal government.
"Biden proposes to raise $503 billion over the next decade by imposing a 25% tax on people who claim more than $100 million in assets—a source of wealth that has long been beyond the reach of the [Internal Revenue Service]," The Washington Postreports.
In a New York Times opinion piece that was published on Wednesday, Felicia Wong, president and chief executive of the progressive advocacy organization Roosevelt Forward, outlined how opinions have changed about how much wealth is too much and if it should be more heavily taxed.
"Should we have trillionaires? Should we even have billionaires? According to at least one recent analysis, the economy is on track to mint its first trillionaire—that is 1,000 billion—within a decade. Such staggering accumulations of wealth are made possible in large part by the fact that America's federal tax burden is so comparatively light," Wong wrote. "After a long period of seeming to venerate the 1 %, or the 1% of 1% of 1%, American sentiment is swinging hard against this imbalance."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Groups Warn Gang Crackdown in El Salvador Has Led to Human Rights Crisis
"Reducing gang violence by replacing it with state violence cannot be a success," said one Amnesty International official.
Mar 27, 2024
Two years after Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele declared a "state of exception" that was originally adopted for a 30-day period in response for a spate of apparent gang killings, the government is boasting that its policies have driven down the homicide rate by 70%—but international rights defenders on Wednesday warned the crackdown has plunged the country into a human rights crisis.
Amnesty International said that according to local victims' movements and human rights groups, El Salvador's former murder rate has been replaced by 327 cases of forced disappearances since March 2022, as well as 78,000 arbitrary detentions as police have raided neighborhoods, particularly in low-income areas.
"A total of approximately 102,000 people [are] now deprived of their freedom in the country—a situation of prison overcrowding of approximately 148% percent and at least 235 deaths in state custody," said Amnesty.
Bukele adopted the state of emergency after El Salvador reported its deadliest peak in apparent gang violence in recent history, with gangs blamed for 92 people's deaths over three days in March 2022.
Under the emergency order, authorities have suspended the right to privacy in communications, to be informed of the reason for one's arrest, and to be taken before a judge within 72 hours of an arrest. A report by Human Rights Watch in December 2022 also warned of "torture, or other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment against people accused of crimes." Officers told people during arrests only that they were following "orders from the president," and in some cases, told people they were being taken to a police station for "questioning" when they were actually under arrest.
"The insistence of Nayib Bukele's government on maintaining the state of emergency, the adoption of disproportionate measures, and the denial, minimization, and concealment of reported serious human rights violations reflect the government's unwillingness to fulfill its duty to respect and promote human rights in the country," Ana Piquer, Amnesty International's Americas director, said Wednesday. "It also demonstrates its inability to design comprehensive long-term measures to address the root causes of violence and criminality without forcing the population to choose between security and freedom."
Amnesty's statement came a day after Justice and Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro said Bukele's government plans to continue its strategy to "eradicate this endemic evil."
"This war against these terrorists will continue," said Villatoro in a televised address.
Despite outcry from domestic and international human rights groups, Bukele won his reelection campaign in a landslide last month. El Faro reported that Bukele's government had violated some election rules including airing ads within three days of the election and campaigning on Election Day. Some poll workers also wore clothes identifying them as supporters of Bukele's Nueva Ideas party, and police allegedly blocked journalists from working near polling locations, prompting accusations of intimidation and harassment by the Association of Journalists of El Salvador.
The Due Process of Law Foundation released a report Tuesday warning that Bukele's government could be guilty of crimes against humanity as it continues its crackdown.
"Well over 76,000 people, including minors, have been detained under the state of exception, accused of having ties to gangs," wrote the group. "Many or most of these detentions appear to be occurring without any reasonable grounds for suspecting that the person may have committed a crime. Mere physical appearance—including having tattoos—seems to be enough to put people at risk of arrest, with young men from poor districts a particular target. Arrests of this nature are in themselves discriminatory, and may well qualify as arbitrary. According to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, under customary
international law, 'The legal basis justifying... detention must be accessible, understandable, nonretroactive, and applied in a consistent and predictable way.'"
Amnesty noted on Wednesday that human rights defenders and dissidents also face "increased risk" under the state of emergency, "as they are criminalized." As Common Dreams reported this week, five water defenders are scheduled to stand trial on April 3 for allegedly killing a military informant, an accusation for which the government has produced no proof.
"In the absence of any kind of evaluation and checks and balances within the country, and with only a timid response from the international community, the false illusion has been created that President Bukele has found the magic formula to solve the very complex problems of violence and criminality in a seemingly simple way. But reducing gang violence by replacing it with state violence cannot be a success," said Piquer. "The authorities in El Salvador must focus the state response on comprehensive policies that respect human rights and seek long-term solutions."
"The international community," she added, "must respond in a robust, articulate and forceful manner, condemning any model of public security that is based on human rights violations."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular