The Blog

OPINION / COMMENTARY

Author's Note: This is a bit of a long article in its original form (click here to see this article in it's entirety), referencing an even longer paper, so here's a compressed version of it.

The Indian Point (IP) nuclear reactor complex in Buchanan, New York, (38 miles north of Times Square in Manhattan) now consists of a pair of nuclear reactors that have been operating a bit more than 35 years.  Their operating licenses expire in 2013 and 2015, and supposedly they need these renewed to keep operating.  Combined, these produce on average close to 2 Gigawatts (GW) or 2,000 Megawatts (MW) of power, and they were both designed to help power up New York City, complete with a pair of 345,000 volts (and other lower voltage lines) to carry this electricity to New York City and surrounding suburbs.  The Blenheim-Gilboa pumped water storage unit was also built to provide instant back-up to them in case one of them suddenly "scrams" (the emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor, which does happen on occasion).  Their location is an inherent safety problem, because at least 15 million people live within a 50 mile radius of this facility.  Remember Fukushima?  "What if" is a question with no good answers with regard to the "IP Twins".

Originally published in July of 2011, we are republishing this introductory article to offer information for Western New Yorkers wishing to get involved with hydro-fracking issues.  To find out more about what is going on today, read this article by Sierra Club member Art Klein and visit the webpages for Western New York environmental organizations that are involved with this issue.

An introduction to hydro-fracking, a debated drilling process used to harvest natural gas deep within the earth.

Hydro-what?

Hydraulic Fracturing (known in the media as “fracking” and in the drilling business as “frac’ing”) is the process used to extract natural gas and oil that are contained within certain rock formations under the earth’s surface.  Marcellus Shale is one of these rock formations that lies underneath the southern tier of New York State, much of Pennsylvania, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia.  The Marcellus Shale is commonly targeted for hydraulic fracturing.

Here is a grossly over-simplified description of the process of hydraulic fracturing without getting into all of the confusing details:

OPINION / COMMENTARY

A letter to Governor Cuomo from 59 scientists said, "We urge the state to reconsider its position that existing water filtration systems provide adequate protection against the risk of hydraulic fracturing."

A coalition of community members and public interest groups held a press conference Monday, December 19, in front of New York State Senator Mark Grisanti's (Republican - 60th District) 65 Court Street office in Buffalo to tell him they don’t want hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to take place in New York State.  Senator Grisanti is head of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee whose mission involves protecting lands in New York.  Many gathered outside of the office chanting “hey, hey, ho, ho, fracking has got to go.”

The coalition, which includes the Massachusetts Avenue Project, Western New York Peace Center, The Interfaith Peace Network, Alpha Kappa Chi of the University at Buffalo, PUSH Buffalo, and The Buffalo Board of Block Clubs, among others, presented Senator Grisanti with 35 letters from groups and businesses, and also presented 430 signatures from residents urging him to reject the controversial process.

One cannot help but feel that the New York State (NYS) Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens and Governor Cuomo have thrown Western New York under the bus, and though we can claim to have the head of the Environmental Conservation Committee representing us in the senate, we have yet to see results.  Western New York could be hit the hardest if fracking moves forward in the state.