Greetings,
I am exceedingly pleased to inform you that the Withdraw the Revised Draft SGEIS coalition letter now more than 4,100 signatories. It received tremendous press coverage all last week during the DEC hearing in Binghamton. I can assure you that our request is increasingly reverberating on the Second Floor. Thanks so much for your help.
It has now been two years since this campaign got underway. Against virtually impossible odds, there is still not a single horizontal hydrofractured gas well in New York's Marcellus Shale. We should all be deeply thankful for that accomplishment.
Most importantly, there will not be any shale fracturing in the Empire State until a Final SGEIS is adopted. With your continued help, that day will not be soon in coming. Keep pushing.
I write today to bring you up to date and to implore you to ask each and every one of your holiday celebrants to sign the coalition letter:http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/cuomo/coalition_letter/2011
First, check out some photos from the Binghamton Rally (thanks Elaine Perkus). We made the opposition's astroturf gathering embarrassingly pale by comparison. They all wore the same hats and t-shirts and did not have a single speaker. In contrast, our event was thrilling to behold as elected leaders and grassroots activists by the score made earnest political statements, chanted and generated impressive political mayhem. I wish to thank each and every person who answered the call yet again to show up in Binghamton in a show of political force.
Second, our efforts produced excellent, on-message press coverage:
Third, I urge you to submit written comments to DEC before the 12/12/11 deadline. Please feel free to use my testimony as a starting point. I will post a Word Doc that you can amend as you see fit. See: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/documents/2011/11/19/sgeis...
Fourth, please help with a couple of important housekeeping matters. Please include higher degrees and professional honorifics when you sign the coalition letter. If you did not do this when you originally signed, just email me your info and I will add it. Also please make official endorsements on behalf of any groups, organizations or entities you belong to. The more, the better.
Finally, I ask you to reach out to your elected representatives and any groups you might belong to. Ask them to become signatories to the coalition letter and to circulate an alert to their memberships.
Many major environmental groups might be reluctant to risk the ire of the powers-that-be. That is why I am providing a new search feature to allow you to check who might need persuading. See: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/cuomo/coalition_letter/201...
In conclusion, please beat the bushes for more signatories. Keep calling and emailing the Governor. Don't stop till you drop. This is it. Big Finish.
Stay tuned for more developments.
I wish you the happiest of Thanksgivings. Count your blessings.
Best,
Walter