Credit: emerille/Flickr
Fracking is such a great name for natural gas extraction. It sounds mean, unsavory, and harsh. And that’s exactly what it is.
And they want to do it in Upstate NYC.
Now, normally we New York City residents do a lot of ignoring when it comes to Upstate New York. It seems to exist solely for trips to see fall foliage and farmers market apples. But in this case, what happen in upstate will show up in your tap. If we aren’t careful, instead of drinking the water from your tap, you could be using it to light your oven.
Let’s back up for a moment and explain what fracking is. Fracking is a method used to get natural gas out of the ground. It involved pumping a proprietary (read: secret) mix of chemicals into the ground to force natural gas out.
While proponents make the usual rallying cry of, “It creates jobs!” many are pointing to disturbing instances of poisoned groundwater and lax regulations across the United States. The movie Gasland, from what I hear since I haven’t seen it my self, does an excellent job of driving home the substantial risks inherent in pumping chemicals into the ground, no matter how safe the disposal is reported to be. And honestly, if the New York Times cries foul, I’m inclined to agree.
Why does this concern you? Well, New York City gets it delicious clean tap water from upstate. And if fracking is allowed to happen up there, you might see the result right in your own apartment. Even putting that aside, if you like apples and milk from upstate, you would still oppose fracking, since it’s usually the farmers who have the land to lease to natural gas companies, who then poisons their cows and grounds.
New York Governor Cuomo is all for letting fracking happen. Why wouldn’t he be? Energy companies are outspending environmental organizations four to one.
But you can participate in this process. Today from 1:00 to 4:00pm and 6:00 to 9:00pm, there will be a public hearing on the subject. Go, show up, register your displeasure! It’s at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center at 199 Chambers Street.
