By Mark Scott
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-913897.mp3
Albany, NY – Iconic folk singer Pete Seeger appeared at the State Capitol Tuesday to push for a moratorium on plans to extract natural gas from underground shale formations in upstate New York. WBFO's Mark Scott reports Seeger and other activists rallied outside the vacant State Senate chambers, voicing their concerns about so-called "hydro-fracking."
The 91-year-old Seeger led a group of environmental activists inside the Capitol in a chorus of "This Land Is Your Land." They're opposed to plans by the gas and oil industry to pump a chemical mixture deep underground to extract methane from what's known as the Marcellus Shale. Actor Mark Ruffalo joined Seeger, bringing with him a jar of what he said was contaminated well water that was ruined by hyrdo-fracking. After the news conference, Seeger headed to the Capitol Pressroom for an interview with Susan Arbetter.
"The air, the water and soil are being destroyed," Seeger said.
Indeed, Seeger and two other activists who joined him on the Capitol Pressroom pointed to what's happening now in the Gulf of Mexico. Allan Shope is president of Clearwater, the sloop Seeger launched in 1969 to clean-up the Hudson River. He said residents of the Gulf had received assurances that oil drilling was safe. But just they're doing now in New York, Shope said there were activists who were sounding a warning long before the BP spill.
"Hundreds of thousands of (Gulf) residents said you're moving too quickly. This is not a good idea. Now, five years later, they're facing a far greater disaster," Shope said.
The moratorium proposal being pushed in the State Legislature would put off any extracting of natural gas from the shale formations until next June. The Independent Oil and Gas Association's Brad Gill released a statement saying a moratorium isn't really necessary because it will take the State Department of Environmental Conservation at least until next spring to complete its review.
Gill describes the anti-fracking activists as "ill informed and dishonest." When he talks to struggling landowners, Gill says they understand the natural gas can be extracted safely and efficiently. But Roger Downs of the Sierra Club says he's hearing a different message.
"It's amazing the coalition that has been built around this issue," Downs said. "They're desperately concerned about their land and water."
State Senator Antoine Thompson of Buffalo is sponsor of one of the moratorium bills under consideration. Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson released a statement Tuesday saying the Gulf oil spill provides clear evidence of the importance of fully understanding the impact of drilling before breaking ground. He says Thompson's bill is sound policy that will keep New York's water supply safe.