July 26, 2010

Welcome to Environmental Advocates of New York’s online newsletter from the State Capital, your source for environmental news. We update you every other week with insider news and observations carefully gleaned from the halls of the Capitol.

Seeing Stars

Last week, two of New York’s greenest celebrities, folk singer and environmental hero Pete Seeger and award-winning actor Mark Ruffalo, traveled to Albany to call on state lawmakers to pass legislation that would put a temporary kibosh on a natural gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” The legislation, which is supported by a broad swath of environmental groups, including Environmental Advocates of New York, would set a one-year moratorium on the risky drilling practice.  

The natural gas industry is eager to drill in New York State. Drilling companies propose to use hydraulic fracturing to extract the natural gas underlying the Marcellus and Utica shale formations. But we believe fracking endangers our drinking water and will turn parts of New York State into industrial drilling zones.

Each time a new well is drilled, two to eight million gallons of water laced with toxic chemicals are required. With thousands of wells proposed, that means billions of gallons of water will be used every year!  Withdrawing this volume of water from local waterways and aquifers could devastate sensitive habitats and drinking water. 

And the Gulf oil spill is just another reminder that it’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to extracting our natural resources.  

The one-year moratorium bill touted by the celebrities is sponsored by Senator Antoine Thompson (D-Buffalo) and Assemblyman Bob Sweeney (D-Lindenhurst). Senate Majority Leader John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) put his weight behind the bill in a statement released to coincide with Seeger and Ruffalo’s visit. In it he said, “We don’t need to look any further than the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico to recognize the importance of fully understanding the impact of drilling before breaking ground.” 

However, it’s unclear if Senator Sampson intends to bring this bill to the floor for a vote. The legislation is currently in the all-powerful Rules Committee, just one step away from consideration in both houses.  

Lawmakers should take up this legislation when they return to Albany to finish up their budget business. But we don’t know when that might happen.  

We’ll keep you posted. 

Read more here, and here. 

Get Ready to Rumble

The New York State Legislature must return to Albany to finish the state budget. And while they’re in town, there’s another issue lawmakers need to tackle—protecting our environment from a natural gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” But we need your help to get fracking on lawmakers’ radar.    

To get the jump on the Legislature as soon as they get to town, sign up for Environmental Advocates of New York’s cell phone alert service to receive updates on natural gas drilling wherever you are. Text FRACNO to 69866 to receive action alerts on your cell phone.  

By signing up, you’ll get the news that the Legislature is back before anyone else. And you’ll be ready to call lawmakers and tell them to protect New York from the dangers of fracking! In other parts of the country, natural gas drilling has poisoned water and scarred landscapes.

Join the fight! Text FRACNO to 69886 or sign up here.

Finally, New Yorkers Breathe Easier

Despite some last-minute agita regarding a tax technicality, last week Governor David Paterson signed into law legislation that will clean up home heating oil and dramatically improve New York’s air quality.

Starting next year, the state will limit the sulfur content of No. 2 heating oil to no more than 15 parts per million, down from the current range of 500 parts per million. And because No. 2 oil is the most commonly used by New York households, the requirement will significantly reduce the air pollution that causes health problems like asthma.

As far as Environmental Advocates of New York is concerned, signing this bill into law was a no-brainer. The legislation had broad-based support from environmental and public health advocates, as well as home heating oil dealers and local governments. Currently, dozens of New York counties fail to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s minimum air quality standards, and that’s just unacceptable. Millions of New Yorkers will breathe easier when the law goes into effect. But before it does, the New York State Legislature must pass a quick fix to address concerns regarding how the fuel is taxed.

There's more good news for New York's air. The Attorney General's office, leading a 13-state coalition, filed papers last week to defend new U.S. EPA regulations that limit the emissions of global warming pollution from large stationary sources, including power plants, cement kilns and oil refineries. These polluters account for about 70 percent of all the global warming pollution emitted from stationary sources in the U.S.  To learn more, click here.

Read the Governor’s statement about the low-sulfur diesel requirements here.  

More details here.  

Click here to learn more about the law and what it will do.  

Capped.  

The story of the Gulf oil spill is far from over, but there was good news to report last week. BP finally managed to put a cap in place to prevent oil from billowing into the sea, at least temporarily.  

What happens now? BP and federal officials continue to work on a more permanent solution and news that relief wells are ready to go.    

But there are still millions of barrels of oil in the Gulf, fishermen and shrimpers without income, and incalculable harm on wildlife.  

More to come.  

Click here and here to read about the cap.  

Click here to read about possible next steps.

Save the date: November 8, 2010

Join Environmental Advocates of New York at the 2010 Advocate Awards on Monday, November 8^th. This year’s honorees are Frances Beinecke, Natural Resources Defense Council; Alex Matthiessen, Riverkeeper; and Kevin Parker, Global Head of Deutsche Asset Management. For more information, contact Aileen Ruddy at aruddy@eany.org or 212-717-9423.  

ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES OF NEW YORK IS A MEMBER OF EARTH SHARE OF NEW YORK  

Environmental Advocates is a member of EarthShare, a federation of the nation’s most respected environmental charities. To find out more about how and your workplace can support Environmental Advocates through an EarthShare campaign, please call us at 518.462.5526, or visit www.earthshare.org. To donate through EarthShare, designate your donation to Environmental Advocates of New York, CFC #97425.

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