To The Editor:
Re. “Gov may lift fracking ban” (July 6).
Hydrofracking should concern all New Yorkers who care about the health of our families and our environment.
The NY State Department of Environmental Conservation recognizes that hydrofracking is dangerous enough to ban from the New York City and Syracuse watersheds. If it is too dangerous there, it also poses an unacceptable risk to all of New York’s waterways, homes, and communities.
We do not know how the many chemicals used in fracking will impact our long-term heath and our environment. History is full of examples in which we never would have moved forward had we understood the entire picture — and we don’t want to look back and wish that we had not taken this risk.
Further, by pursuing fracking, the state could well be chasing fool’s gold. The industry’s potential profitability has been overblown. For example, estimates show that only ten percent of the natural gas in the Marcellus Shale is recoverable.
The benefits don’t come close to outweighing the costs and the risks. New York must implement a state-wide ban on hydrofracking now.
Daniel Squadron
NY State Senator
