VIDEO OF THE WEEK
PERILS AND PROMISE OF FRACKING
A discussion held at NYC"S Tenement Museum hosted by ProPublica.
Other Videos of Interest:
UPCOMING EVENTS
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STOP THE FRACK ATTACK
A Rally to End Oil and Gas Drilling.
Saturday, July 28, 10:00-2:00 PM
US Capitol West Lawn, Washington DC
For more information and to register, go to stopthefrackattack.org.
A Million Fracking Letters
Tell Governor Cuomo to say "No!" to fracking.
Use this link to send a prepared letter, or better yet, write one of your own.
Governor Andrew Cuomo
State Capitol Building
Albany, New York 12224
And don’t forget to call too!
(518) 474- 8390
 A Million Fracking Letters
NEW ITEMS IN LEARN MORE
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The Economic Impact of Shale Gas Development: Can New York Learn from Texas?
Economist Jannette Barth looks at the economic impact of shale gas extraction on Texas. May 5, 2012.
Ron Biship response to USEPA Region 3 Press Release
Our Right to Water: A People's Guide to Implementing the United Nations' Recognition of the Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation in the United States
Food & Water Watch, May, 2012
The No Frack Almanac
Spring, 2012; 12 page issue
In Fracking's Wake: New Rules are Needed to Protect Our Health and Environment from Contaminated Waste
NRDC Reporty by Rebecca Hammer, NRDC, and Jeanne VanBriesen, Ph.D., PE Carnegie Mellon May 2012, 113 pages
Marcellus Shale Gas Development: What Does It Mean for Pennsylvania Schools?
Penn State Extension Study Posted May, 2012
Out of Sight, Out of Mind: New York’s Failure to Track or Treat Fracking Waste Endangers Public Health & the Environment
Environmental Advocates of NY, May, 2012
The Health Impact Assessment of New Energy Sources: Shale Gas Extraction
Environmental Health Meeting Apr 30-May 1, 2012 through Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. 23 presentations.
EPA: TITLE: Permitting Guidance for Oil and Gas Hydraulic Fracturing Activities Using Diesel Fuels – Draft: Underground Injection Control Program Guidance #84
Unearthed: The Fracking Facade
A 24 minute video by Unearthed exposing a flawed claim often abused in the sales pitch for promoting shale gas development across the world:
"With a history of 60 years, after nearly a million wells drilled, there are no documented cases that hydraulic fracturing ('fracking') has lead to the contamination of groundwater."
Potential Contaminant Pathways from Hydraulically Fractured Shale to Aquifers by Tom Myers
Abstract--Link to Article published April 17, 2012
Gas Leases in Sullivan & Delaware Counties, NY
Map prepared by Open Space Institute, January 2012
Commentary: Aubrey's World by Peter Mantius
Opinion column in The Leader (Corning, NY) May 2, 2012. Peter Mantius is a freelance writer who has followed Marcellus Shale gas drilling and related issues.
Hydrogeologic Justification for Banning Hydraulic Fracturing throughout NYS and Delaware River Basin
Testimony provided at the Senate Democratic Conference Public Hearing on Fracking Legislation in Albany on Apr 25, 2012 by Hydrogeolgic, Geologic & Hydrologic Consulting, Paul A. Rubin
Oral Testimony of Paul Rubin provided at the Senate Democratic Conference Public Hearing on Fracking Legislation in Albany, New York on April 25, 2012
Hydrogeologic Justification for Banning Hydraulic Fracturing throughout New York State and the Delaware River Basin
Fracking Carrots and Sticks
22 slide power point with audio by Chip Northrup on why towns do "nothing" about fracking.
Fracking -The Rest of the Story
Video: One hour and twenty two minutes. Bill Belitskus, Board President of the Allegheny Defense Project gave this presentation in Canastota, NY on April 17, 2012. He spoke from the unique perspective of a Pennsylvanian "whose state has jumped into shale gas drilling and fracking, feet first with eyes closed."
Air Pollution Sickens Seniors
By Nancy Walsh, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: April 21, 2012
Human Health Risk Assessment of Air Emissions from Development of Unconventional Natural Gas Resources
March 19, 2012 by:
Lisa M. McKenziea, Roxana Z. Wittera, Lee S. Newmana, John L. Adgatea
aColorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado – Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA
Basttlement Mesa Health Impact Assessment--2nd Draft Document
Conducted by Colorado School of Public Health--Revision1 , Feb. 2011
Battlement Mesa Health Impact Assessment
March, 2011 2nd Draft of Assessment
Battlement Mesa Health Impact Assessment--Closing Letter
Board of County Commissioners Letter closing out HIA--June, 2011
Natural Gas: The Rest of the Story
Video 24 minutes: Dr. Theo Colborn speaking at Citizens for Healthy Community Meeting April, 2012
The Energy Billionaire's Shrouded Loans
Reuters 8 page article on Aubrey McClendon's $1.1 Billion loans against his stake in Cheasapeake wells. April 18, 2012
The Energy Sustainability Dilemma: Powering the Future in a Finite World
A Powerpoint by J. David Hughes, Cornell University. May 2, 2012.
Measuring the Impact of Coalbed Methan Wells on Property Values
BBC Reasearch and Consulting paper prepared for Greystone Environmental Consultants and LaPlata County, Colorado Nov 12, 2001
Frackonomics April 24, 2012
Deborah Rogers, Jannette Barth, and Al Appleton speak at the NY Ethical Society. The speakers debunk the financial myths of shale gas and embrace a green energy future. (Four Videos 30 minutes each.)
Economic Impact of Shale Gas Drilling
Read Selected Documents Authored by Jannette M. Barth, Ph.D.
Please donate to Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy by clicking on the button below.
EPA Tip Line: (877) 919 4372
Email: eyesondrilling@epa.gov
Report suspicious drilling activities such as illegal water withdrawals and wastewater dumping.
National Response Center: (800) 424-8802
(To report emergencies.)
NYS DEC Tip Line: (800) TIPP-DEC (800 847-7332)
http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/67751.html.
CCSE Updates and Press Releases
CCSE Update 05/09/2012
CCSE Update 03/14/2012
CCSE Update 02/22/2012
CCSE Press Release 02/10/2012
CCSE Update 01/17/2012
CCSE Update 01/06/2012
CCSE Update 12/30/2011
CCSE Update 11/02/2011
CCSE Update 10/10/2011
CCSE Update 9/29/2011
CCSE Update 9/13/2011
CCSE Update 8/30/2011
CCSE Update 7/21/2011
CCSE Update 7/6/2011
CCSE Update 7/1/2011
CCSE Update 6/28/2011
CCSE Update 5/12/2011
CCSE Update 5/05/2011
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Welcome to Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy
Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy is an all volunteer grassroots organization working to prohibit dangerous hydraulic fracturing (fracking) since 2008.
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FRACKING AND BLASTING AMERICA . . . AND SHIPPING ENERGY OVERSEAS
Demand An Energy Export Policy That Makes Sense. TAKE ACTION!
Energy companies love to wrap themselves in the flag of energy independence,
but in fact they have a history of exploiting American resources in a way that
benefits foreign nations, not the United States.
In recent decades, mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining has destroyed an area
the size of Rhode Island. Biologically diverse ecosystems have been wiped out.
Thousands of miles of streams have been poisoned, or have disappeared under mountains
of rubble. Contaminated air and water have created a health crisis for rural communities
that face epidemic rates of birth defects and childhood disease. Adding insult to
grievous injury, we’ve been shipping our Appalachian coal overseas.
And now, rather than rethinking the insanity of MTR, the U.S. is about to embark on yet
another ruinous venture, one that will create an even greater environmental and health
crisis here at home so energy corporations can make a killing abroad.
The broad outlines of the gas industry’s master plan are clear—frack the hell out of
America so U.S. energy companies can become leading exporters of natural gas. The industry
has already begun spending tens of billions of dollars to construct pipelines and export
terminals to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe and Asia. When these terminals
are complete, the industry will be able to sell U.S. gas in foreign markets at prices that
may be five or six or seven times the current rate here at home. Gas corporations will
make out like bandits, while the U.S. taxpayer will be left to cope with the environmental
damage and the inevitable public health crisis that will follow in the wake of contaminated
air and drinking water supplies.
ALBANY INACTION AND MISDIRECTION
Demand protective legislation. TAKE ACTION!
- In 2005, the gas industry wanted a state law that would force landowners to have gas known
to be under their land extracted against their will. No problem. A compulsory integration bill,
written by lobbyists, sailed through both houses of the legislature with unanimous support.
In 2008, the industry was back in Albany because it wanted a well-spacing law to facilitate
shale gas extraction. Once again, the legislature quickly gave the industry what it wanted.
- But although ordinary New Yorkers have been demanding basic protections from fracking for years,
the legislature still hasn’t managed to enact a single law in the public interest. Will this year
be any different? Will the legislature pass a bill requiring a much-needed health impact assessment
of fracking? Will it close the drilling waste loophole that lets the industry dump toxic waste
without adequate supervision? Will it accomplish anything at all before the current session winds down?
- The Cuomo Administration and the DEC continue to offer conflicting estimates of when fracking will
get underway in New York. We’ve been told it will be this spring, or in the summer, or in the fall,
or maybe sometime before the end of the year, or perhaps never. It’s hard to read these mixed signals
as anything more than a cynical ploy to keep the public confused and activists off guard.
- Recently DEC Commissioner Martens told the press that his department will “consider” local laws that
prohibit fracking when it issues drilling permits, but he failed to say whether the DEC will actually
respect the laws enacted by dozens of communities who don’t trust Governor Cuomo, or the DEC, or the
legislature to offer them the protections they deserve.
SUNGEVITY
Recently, Catskill Citizens partnered with Sungevity, a company that provides solar installations for
home and businesses. If someone purchases a solar installation through our website, the purchaser and
Catskill Citizens each get a check for $750.
We didn’t form this partnership because we’re desperate for money, or because we’ve sold out to corporate
interests. We did it because we think the company has a business model that deserves recognition. Sungevity
is one of several companies that will install photovoltaic (PV) systems on homes at no cost to the
homeowner—the company makes its money by collecting the available tax incentives and through monthly leasing
payments that are less than the homeowner’s savings on their utility bill. This not-a-penny-out-of- pocket-ever
business model is important because it undermines the argument that renewable energy systems are expensive
and beyond the reach of ordinary Americans. Solar is here now—and anyone can afford it.
Can New York Learn from Texas?. Economist Jannette Barth’s latest analysis of the economic impact of shale gas plays.
Read more about LNG exports by entering the word “exports in the “Search” feature of our website.
STOP THE FRACK ATTACK!
On July 28, citizens from all across the country will rally in Washington, D.C. for a national day of action.
Read more at stopthefrackattack.org.
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LATEST NEWS
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Search All News Items
May 17, 2012
Pennsylvania Game Commission accepting bids for leasing local game lands to gas companies
The Daily Review
Johnny Williams
The Pennsylvania Game Commission recently announced that it would be accepting bids from natural gas companies to lease State Game Lands 36, which is located across Monroe and Overton Townships and consists of over 3,177 acres, for the development of natural gas drilling.
"We've found that state ... [ Full Story]
May 17, 2012
Fracking's Methane Trail: A Detective Story
NPR
Elizabeth Shogren
There are a lot of cheerleaders for the nation's natural gas boom — in part because they believe it's a lot cleaner than dirty coal. It's pretty well-known that power plants that burn coal pump out far more greenhouse gases than power plants that run on natural gas.
But there's a hitch: We don't ... [ Full Story]
May 16, 2012
Mark Ruffalo on the Fracking Fight
Rolling Stone
Jeff Goodell
Mark Ruffalo, aka the Incredible Hulk, is the natural gas industry’s worst nightmare: a serious, committed activist who is determined to use his star power as a superhero in the hottest movie of the moment to draw attention the environmental and public health risks of fracking.
Last night, Ruffa... [ Full Story]
May 16, 2012
Medical Records Could Yield Answers On Fracking
NPR
Jon Hamilton
A proposed study of people in northern Pennsylvania could help resolve a national debate about whether the natural gas boom is making people sick.
The study would look at detailed health histories on hundreds of thousands of people who live near the Marcellus Shale, a rock formation in which ener... [ Full Story]
May 16, 2012
UPDATE 1-Two workers hurt in Texas fracking tank site blast
Reuters
May 16 (Reuters) - Two workers were hurt in an explosion at a hydraulic fracturing tank site in south Texas early on Wednesday, a sheriff's dispatcher said.
U.S. workplace safety regulators cited the company that owns the site, Vann Energy Services LLC, three months ago for what inspectors called... [ Full Story]
May 16, 2012
Assembly Legislation Clarifies Local Governments' Authority to Restrict the Location of Oil and Gas Drilling
Saugerties Post Star
Speaker Sheldon Silver, Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Robert Sweeney, and Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton today announced the passage of legislation reinforcing the ability of local governments to regulate where oil and natural gas drilling may take place through the use of local zoning or... [ Full Story]
May 16, 2012
Vt. becomes 1st state to ban hydraulic fracturing
The Wall Street Journal
Associated Press
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Gov. Peter Shumlin on Wednesday signed into law the nation's first ban on a hotly debated natural gas drilling technique that involves blasting chemical-laced water deep into the ground.
The Democrat, surrounded at a Statehouse ceremony by environmentalists and Twinfield Union S... [ Full Story]
May 16, 2012
JS man charged with illegally dumping well production water in BC Twp.
The Express
EECH CREEK - A Jersey Shore man has been charged by agents from the Attorney General's Environmental Crimes Protection Section with illegally dumping well production water - commonly known as brine - along a rural road in Beech Creek Township, said Attorney General Linda Kelly.
John Elwood Marsh,... [ Full Story]
May 16, 2012
When Polluted Water Is Safe to Drink: Inside the Dimock Fracking Fight
Truthout
Mike Ludwig
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has spent the past four months testing water wells used by families in the rural community of Dimock, Pennsylvania, where residents and environmental activists have accused a gas drilling company of contaminating water supplies while drilling for natural ... [ Full Story]
May 16, 2012
Concerns about the health risks of fracking continue to grow
NRDC Switchboard
Amy Mall
# According to a recent article in Inside EPA (subscription only), the National Research Council (NRC) is preparing to undertake a preliminary review of the potential human and environmental risks of shale gas development, in particular hydraulic fracturing. The article quotes an NRC senior scholar ... [ Full Story]
May 16, 2012
MAJOR PUSH TO CLEAN UP SHALE GAS FRACKING AS
55 TOP INVESTORS WITH $1 TRILLION IN ASSETS WEIGH IN
Boston Common Asset Management
Press Release
BOSTON,May 16, 2012 - Major investors are no longer willing to sit by idly as energy companies engaged in shale gas fracking face concerns about industry drilling problems, growing regulatory uncertainty, and increasing opposition from concerned shareholders.
Today, Boston Common Asset Management... [ Full Story]
May 16, 2012
Vermont governor signs bill banning hydraulic fracturing
Burlington Free Press
Terri Hallenbeck
MONTPELIER — An anti-fracking crowd gathered Tuesday night in Albany, N.Y., for a benefit concert that included actors Mark Ruffalo and Melissa Leo and musician Natalie Merchant.
Somebody mentioned that Vermont was about to become the first state in the nation to ban the practice of extracting na... [ Full Story]
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