Tag: hydrofracking

Nov 30 2010

Fracking A! New York

This has got to be the best political news I’ve read in a long time. A little before 1:00 a.m. last night, by a vote of 94-44, the New York State Assembly passed the moratorium on hydraulic fracture drilling.

Well it may only be state legislature and the governor still need to sign but apparently this moratorium to protect our drinking water is a first. It’s not top down and the Working Families Party humbly takes some of the credit for more than 52,000 New Yorkers signing the petition urging the Assembly to act.

Go ahead: get up from your chair. Do a little dance, pump your fist, or do whatever you do to celebrate a victory of grassroots action over corporate power.

I just received a letter form the WFP and I was doing just that.  

Nov 17 2010

Pittsburgh Bans Natural Gas Drilling

In the ongoing Propublica investigation Buried Secrets, Gas Drilling’s Environmental Threat today’s headline is Pittsburgh Bans Natural Gas Drilling. Citing health and environmental concerns, the city council received a standing ovation after voting 9-0 to approve the ban within city limits on Tuesday.

City Council President Darlene Harris said her biggest concern was people’s health. She said she had heard stories about people being sickened by water contaminated by Marcellus drilling. She said claims by the industry of the thousands of jobs being created wasn’t worth the risk.

“They’re bringing jobs all right,” Harris said. “There’s going to be a lot of jobs for funeral homes and hospitals. That’s where the jobs are. Is it worth it?”

Pennsylvania is the center of the Marcellus Shale activity, with more than 2,000 wells drilled in the past three years and many thousands more planned, as multinational exploration companies invest billions in the pursuit.

The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group, takes credit for drafting the ordinance and claims this is a “first-in-the-nation ordinance” that “elevates the right of the community to decide, not corporations.”

Very good news for Americans and that’s on top of the recent bad news for Halliburton. Dick Cheney must be having a bad day!