Fracking

Walter sent out a letter today expressing concern that it's likely that Cuomo, Libous and the NRDC have struck a deal to treat the residents of the Southern Tier of New York at lab rats or guinea pigs (take your pick) by allowing the invasion and deployment of 300 wells (why that number? was it just snatched from the air?) as an initial experiment in the Southern Tier. Every well could be drilled through our drinking water aquifer just perfectly (which they won't) but that still does not address the unanswered and unacceptable issues of increased truck traffic spewing diesel exhaust, increasing noise, shortening response times for emergency vehicles, increase in ozone from said truck traffic, from increased numbers of compressor stations, the flaring of gas from each well, degradation of quality of life in terms of increase in crime, drug use, etc. that comes with an influx of an uncontrolled young male un-rooted population. There's still the unsolved problem of what to do with the frack waste. There's still the theft of millions of gallons of the animals' water, nature's water, the people's water from the hydrologic cycle. There's also the cultural change from an influx of men from the Southwest U.S. working 12 hrs. on/ 12 off in physically exhausting work handling toxic chemicals. There's already a shortage of low income rental housing in the area. As is the case in the NEPA counties being fracked, landlords have jacked up rental rates and residents now find themselves homeless and/or families split up and children put into foster care as a result. And that's just to start.