Greetings,
It is yet another great day in New York without Marcellus Shale fracking. Thank you for your assistance. Steady as she goes.
The fracking fight remains extraordinarily nip and tuck:
A. Governor Cuomo still has not rendered any final decision to permit shale gas extraction, even on a limited basis. New York's shale fracking moratorium remains in full effect, but every day is a political eternity.
We must make sure that: 1) the Governor does not greenlight shale fracking and 2) we generate ever-increasing, unrelenting fracking opposition as he draws closer to his re-election bid.
B. Dr. Nirav R. Shah still has not completed his bogus shale fracking DOH Review conducted in total secrecy without any public input. As a result, no Final SGEIS has been adopted.
Unfortunately, his DOH Review could be released any day even though it has not fulfilled the mandates specified for the proceeding by the Cuomo Administration. We must hold the Governor strictly accountable for those promises: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/sites/default/files/martens_rej_id_study_...
C. On a happy note, Matt Ryan's Mayor's Ball last Friday in Binghamton was a terrific event with many shale gas activists in attendance. See pics: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/node/40147
Shale fracking very likely could have begun in New York without Matt's leadership and unstinting efforts these long, hard three and a half years.
Please join me in giving most generously to the "Friends of Matt Ryan" to pay off his campaign debt: P. O. Box 2012, Binghamton, NY 13902.
D. Activists are being exhorted to support anti-fracking legislation that has virtually no chance of being enacted, including a bill that could actually help Governor Cuomo permit shale fracking. Bills can only be enacted into law with four-way agreement among the Albany powers-that-be. Given that the powerful Republic Majority of the State Senate vows to block anti-fracking bills, they are essentially dead.
E. The gas industry is pushing Governor Cuomo extremely hard to use the recent Home Rule Appellate Court decision to permit shale fracking. That double-edged policy could be disastrous for residents of the Southern Tier where not a single fracking ban has been adopted.
Matt Ryan recently underscored that gas corporations could spend heavily in local elections to jump-start fracking if Governor Cuomo permits the practice. Activists should be aware of an infamous scandal involving a Town Board which refused to authorize a giant mall project that violated local zoning restrictions. The mall was built after key Board members were knocked out by a clandestine $800,000.00 campaign masterminded by an attorney named Thomas J. Spargo.
Mr. Spargo later beat a raft of ethics charges, used his legal acumen to help win the Bush/Gore election court case, was elected a State Supreme Court Justice and recently was convicted and jailed for shaking down lawyers with matters before his court. The electoral reforms called for 25 years ago in the wake of the mall fiasco were never adopted despite national attention.
In short, Home Rule cuts both ways in the brutal world of hardball politics: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/news/2013-05-09/panel-investigates-poughk... and http://www.toxicstargeting.com/news/2013-05-09/its-federal-prison-spargo and http://www.toxicstargeting.com/node/40148
F. Activists often send me "brilliant" fracking speeches, articles and scientific studies that surely will make Governor Cuomo see the error of his ways. There is virtually no chance that he will be persuaded by these materials because his fracking decisions are purely based on political calculations. The Governor would have kicked the fracking can down the road years ago were this not the case.
Not Out of the Woods Yet
In conclusion, we are not out of the fracking woods by any means, but every day without shale gas extraction in New York is an historic achievement against the biggest corporate polluters on the planet. Keep working hard.
I invite you to gain inspiration from an illuminating clip of All the President's Men. We are similarly engaged in a battle that will shape the future of our nation for good or for ill. Check it out when Robert Redford rolls up his sleeves:
With that thought in mind, please write the Governor to request that he: a) put the DOH Review on-hold, b) conduct a shale gas "Public Health Impact Study" and c) send the SGEIS "back to the drawing board." If he grants any of those requests, New York's shale fracking moratorium would extend for years to come.
Use this handy email application to send your message: http://apps.toxicstargeting.com/ms_email_template.php
Governor Cuomo has now received nearly 1,200 eloquent and detailed requests to withhold permitting of shale fracking anywhere in New York until all public health concerns and documented SGEIS shortcomings have been fully resolved.
That super focused message has been hammered home by massive local, state and national media coverage as well as a powerful coalition of tens of thousands of local officials, Legislators, academic researchers, health professionals, civic, environmental and religious leaders as well as concerned citizens.
See: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale
So far, so good. Thanks so much.
Keep pushing. No Let-up. Go Hard.
Very best regards,
Walter
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