Environmental Activism Press Coverage

As the second 12-hour EPA meeting session began on Wednesday, some pro-drilling demonstrators said they are starting become somewhat tired of making their case.

“People are getting burnt out on it,” said Marchie Diffendorf of the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York. “It just keeps going on and on, and nobody trusts what the state’s going to do next — let alone the EPA.”

Diffendorf said the meeting was just one more event amid the three-year process of lobbing to bring natural gas drilling to New York State, and defend the use of high-volume hydraulic fracturing nationwide.

Ithacans learned a lot about their attorney general and potential future governor, Andrew Cuomo, on Thursday. He loves to drive. He's a loser when it comes to pingpong. And he also wants to reform Albany.

Many of the fun facts came from Michaela, one of Cuomo's three daughters and the first of the family to address the capacity crowd of around 300 who gathered at the Women's Community Building.

"I've lived with this man for my whole life," the 12-year-old quipped. "In those years, I've come to this conclusion: he loves New York and he'll fight for it."

The Democrat and former federal secretary for Housing and Urban Development pulled into the parking lot behind the wheel of an RV. It was the first stop of the day and one of many in Cuomo's "Drive for a New NY" tour, which he explained is part vacation, part campaign tour.

Cuomo said he spent the trip down from Geneva trying to explain to his daughters the history and ethics of Ithaca, where "people like to question authority."

"And then we pulled into town and it was all said for me," Cuomo said, referring to the mass of hydraulic fracturing protesters who lined the streets and surrounded the building.

ITHACA -- They stood on different sides of the podium on Thursday, but their message was the same: if the people lead, politicians will follow.

You might not expect the favorite in the polls to be the next governor of New York to be greeted by many protesters.

But that was the scene in Ithaca Thursday as Andrew Cuomo stopped through town on the campaign trail.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the building where Cuomo was scheduled to speak.

They insist that the draft general environmental impact statement, or DGEIS, would not fully protect the Southern Tier if and when hydro fracking is allowed in New York.

"Reject that draft, get rid of it, eat it, send it back to the drawing board," said Walter Hang.

"It's woefully inadequate," said Ellen Harrison of Caroline, NY.

Anti-drilling protesters greet gubernatorial candidate in Binghamton