50.0°,
Overcast Local residents attend hydro-fracking forum
National organization Food and Water Watch, along with Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Reach Out America and Grassroots Environmental Education, held a public forum on April 23, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Shelter Rock in Manhasset, to rally support for a ban on hydraulic fracturing — a process that involves the injection of millions of gallons of water, chemicals and sand into shale rock formations at high pressure to break apart the rock and release trapped natural gas.
According to organizers of the event, fracking poses too-great risks to water, food and air supplies. FWW has long advocated for a statewide ban on the process.
Speakers included Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment; Karen Miller, executive director of Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition; and Sam Bernhardt, FWW’s Long Island organizer.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not thrown out the idea of allowing fracking to occur in the state, following approval by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation — a stance that has been disparaged by FWW and other environmental groups.
“With Governor Cuomo pushing forward to allow fracking in New York, Long Islanders need our elected officials to stand up in Albany to protect our state from the environmental and public health problems associated with this controversial process,” FWW wrote in a recent release. “Hydraulic fracturing is the most important environmental issue faced by New York.”
On April 24, Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola) announced that he has co-sponsored legislation to place a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing until June 2013. Martins is currently only the second Senate Republican to cosponsor the bill, S6261.
“Sen. Martins’s formal support for a moratorium on fracking is a good first step towards a ban on fracking in New York,” Bernhardt said, adding, “The move provides for more time to work towards a ban on this dangerous process, and illustrates bipartisan opposition to fracking.”
For more on S6261, click here.
