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Sunday, June 20, 2010

Environment - "Smart Moves on Drilling in New York"

A June 16, 2010 column in the NYT, by Peter Applebome, begins:

It may be hard to believe, but New York’s dysfunctional state government has done one big thing right over the past three years.

While neighboring Pennsylvania and other states have rushed pell-mell into the Northeast’s version of an energy boom — making some people richer and some environments poorer — and while concern has steadily risen about the evolving industrial practices used to extract gas from shale, New York and Gov. David A. Paterson have held back. Instead of jumping in, the state has written fairly tough regulations that are still being tweaked and has added extra protections for the most sensitive areas, particularly the upstate watershed that provides drinking water to nine million people in New York City and its suburbs and exurbs to the north.

For background on the new approach to gas extraction, start with this ILB entry from Dec. 9, 2009.

For more on the Gasland, the documentary that won awards at the Sundance Film Festival, check here. If you scroll down the page, you can see the clip of theclip of the man lighting his tap water that has been on TV lately.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 20, 2010 12:57 PM
Posted to Environment