Environmental Activism Alerts

Greetings,

I want to thank everyone who helped make yesterday's Binghamton rally a tremendous success. I guarantee Andrew Cuomo will be looking out for no-fracking-way activists the rest of his gubernatorial campaign. We totally hijacked his press coverage.

About 50 people showed up with less than four hours notice. They came from miles around and brought friends, spouses, a model gas drilling derrick, a water roulette wheel, their children and a terrific array of signs. That is what I call fast grassroots organizing.

Greetings,

Toxics Targeting just wrote President Obama to document massive historic oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico involving BP, Shell, Texaco, Chevron, Conoco and other firms. Prior to 2009, more than 550,000 barrels (approximately 23,000,000 gallons) of crude oil and other materials were reportedly spilled according to federal records.

Critical aspects of the Deepwater Horizon disaster had been experienced earlier at other major spill sites. As a result, the unfolding Gulf catastrophe was foreseeable and should have been prevented.

Greetings,

As you know, DEC proposed Friday to exclude New York City and Syracuse reservoir watersheds from any Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement regulations that might be adopted. Instead, individual Environmental Impact Statements would be required for gas wells proposed in those areas.

DEC's plan fails to specify how gas drilling in the watersheds could be done safely. DEC also did not ban horizontal hydrofracking in those watersheds.

Dear Commissioner Grannis/Governor Paterson/Region 2 Administrator Enck:

I am utterly shocked to learn that DEC just proposed to exempt New York City and Syracuse drinking water reservoirs from proposed Marcellus Shale horizontal hydrofracking regulations while failing to provide equal protection for other communities threatened by that practice.

DEC's proposal is a tacit admission that its draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (draft SGEIS) cannot provide adequate protection of public health.

4/19/2010

Greetings,

I write to urge you to watch a short interview with a family in Andover/Independence, NY reportedly impacted by hydrofracking of oil/gas wells directly across the road from where they live. Their home in Allegany County is surrounded by more than 500 oil and gas wells. See: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/videos/andover_independenc...

4/9/2010

Greetings,

I am getting feedback that calls to Commissioner Grannis are being pushed off to the Division of Mineral Resources. That is the oldest trick in the book.

Tell them you want to speak directly with Commissioner Grannis. Be firm, respectful and polite. Ask for a call back.

If that doesn't work, ask to speak with Executive Deputy Commissioner Stuart Gruskin.

Finally, ask to speak with Deputy Commissioner Val Washington. She is in charge of the Division of Mineral Resources.

1/11/2010

Greetings,

I am passing along four news items for your review. We continue to shine a very bright light on DEC's regulatory shortcomings, but have yet to persuade the Governor to withdraw the draft SGEIS.

Nevertheless, at least one giant gas firm is reportedly "shifting its focus to Pennsylvania because uncertainties in New York threatened to undermine its investments there."

Anyone who believed it would be easy to kill the draft SGEIS now knows what a long haul we are in for. Keep slugging. We are making progress each and every day.