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New York stands at a crossroads; this is our moment to decide the course of history. Come to the New York Crossroads : Rally to Stop Fracking and Demand Renewable Energy in Albany. When : Monday, June 17th, 12pm-3pm Where : Rally and March in East Capitol Lawn, Albany, NY Transportation : Busses are leaving from Manhattan ( sign up here ) and Brooklyn ( sign up here ) at 8am. Car Pool : If you would like to set up a car pool please email Corinne Rosen at crosen@fwwatch.org Hope to see you there!

The risk to the clean water and produce we enjoy from upstate New York, not to mention the beautiful land itself is at risk from hydrofracking. The time to comment on the latest plans from the NYC DEC is now— the deadline is January 11, 2013 . Please don't put it off—every comment helps. The easy-to-use form at the New Yorkers Against Fracking site will help you quickly construct a few comments and send them. Otherwise, New York State may look like this: Learn more about how hydro-fracking affects the food and water supply , as well as air quality and global warming. Farms in upstate New York: Photo by Keturah Stickann/John Menier Fracking image by J. Henry Fair

The following is about protecting our air and water from hydrofracking—please read what Sandra Steingraber has to say and help out by sending your comments to the DEC now: A note from acclaimed ecologist and author  Sandra Steingraber: I’m writing to recruit you into a writing project I’m doing with Grassroots Environmental Education–and also ask if you will be an ambassador for it.  It’s called  Thirty Days of Fracking Regs , and it’s a fun-yet-deadly-serious approach to commenting on the newly released, and completely absurd, draft regulations for fracking in New York State . The story so far :  On Nov. 29, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation  issued draft regulations to allow fracking in New York. It was a cynical and reckless move—especially because the state’s own limited health review is not even finished, and Governor Cuomo has made no decision yet on whether to permit or prohibit fracking in our state.  The effect o...

Park Slope Food Coop member Elizabeth Royte has written a new article, " Fracking Our Food Supply " for the Nation. She discusses, among other things, the effects of hydrofrack oil drilling on nearby farms and how that alters the safety of our food supply. Elizabeth interviewed farmers and learned of the increasing and sometimes bizarre illnesses and deaths of farm animals since fracking began in the area. This article is a must read for all of us, especially our lawmakers who are allowing this to happen. There is just no replacement for the clean air and water in New York State

From the 8/28/12 New York Times : Destroying Precious Land for Gas By SEAN LENNON ON the northern tip of Delaware County, N.Y., where the Catskill Mountains curl up into little kitten hills, and Ouleout Creek slithers north into the Susquehanna River, there is a farm my parents bought before I was born. My earliest memories there are of skipping stones with my father and drinking unpasteurized milk. There are bald eagles and majestic pines, honeybees and raspberries. My mother even planted a ring of white birch trees around the property for protection. A few months ago I was asked by a neighbor near our farm to attend a town meeting at the local high school. Some gas companies at the meeting were trying very hard to sell us on a plan to tear through our wilderness and make room for a new pipeline: infrastructure for hydraulic fracturing. Most of the residents at the meeting, many of them organic farmers, were openly defiant. The gas companies didn’t seem to care. They gave us the feel...

As the battle to gain statewide legislation banning hydraulic fracture drilling from New York State continues, various municipalities are passing their own local legislation to protect their water supply. Of course, ground water flows from one area to the next, and we really need statewide legislation to protect our environment, but every bit of local legislation helps. Fractracker has a map showing current fracking moratoria and legislation throughout the state .

The Vermont House of Representatives voted 103-36 today to pass legislation that will make Vermont the first state in the nation to ban hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. Fracking is a method of extracting natural gas from deep in the ground by injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals under high pressure into dense rock formations such as shale, in order to crack the rock and release the gas. According to a minority staff report released last year by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, more than 650 commonly used fracking products contain chemicals that are "known or possible human carcinogens , regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, or listed as hazardous air pollutants." While New York State has not taken this step, many towns have acted to ban or delay any fracking in their area. On April 27, Bethel became the most recent town in upstate New York to ban fracking. This interactive map shows the locations of the 100 town...

A New York State judge ruled on Tuesday, February 21, that the town of Dryden in Tompkins County can ban natural gas drilling within its boundaries. Read more about this in the 2/22/12 New York Times. What does this mean? In the absence (so far) of statewide or nationwide legislation that would ban hydrofracking, the town of Dryden in upstate New York has established a precedent, creating it's own legislative protection. Expect to see other towns following suit. In the meantime, activists are still working to get Governor Cuomo to pass statewide legislation to protect all New Yorkers from the dangers of hydrofracking. Those of us in NYC, while not likely to be next door to a hydrofracking site, will have our water supply and food supply from upstate New York affected by the many toxins associated with this drilling process .

NY City Council Hearing: Fracking-induced Earthquakes Open to the Public When: February 17, 2012 at 1:00 PM Where: 16th Floor Committee Room, 250 Broadway, New York, NY New York City Councils Hearing Committee on Environmental Protection public hearing re: "Geophysical Evaluation of Infrastructure Risks of Natural Gas Production on New York City". In other words, this is about how underground faults and fracking-induced earthquakes pose catastrophic risk to New York City residents.

We are holding three last workshops to create effective letters commenting on the problems in the DEC's proposed hydrofracking regulations under which hydrofracking could occur in New York State, as early as next year. The workshops are: Friday, December 16 from 5-7 pm Saturday, December 17 , from 3-5 pm Tuesday, January 3 from 3-5 pm Please help publicize these last workshops by forwarding this information to others on your squad, friends, neighbors, etc. The workshops are open to everyone: coop members and non-members alike. You don't have to stay for the whole time—just stop by for awhile and write an effective letter to the DEC. It will be mailed for you (no procrastination!) Governor Cuomo and the DEC seem unmoved by the facts about hydrofracking. See the recent news articles " EPA Sounds Alarm on Fracking in Wyoming " and E.P.A. Links Tainted Water in Wyoming to Hydraulic Fracturing for Natural Gas and Some Blame Hydraulic Fracturing for EarthQuake Epidem...

If you are concerned about the potential health and environmental threats of hydraulic fracture gas drilling want to tell Governor Cuomo not to allow hydrofracking in New York State, here is a chance to speak up. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will be a public hearing in New York City on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center , 199 Chambers St., New York, NY. There will be two sessions of the hearing: 1pm and 6 p.m. You can attend just to listen and support others, or write out a statement of your own to read. If you want to read your own statement, there will be a sign up list when you get to the hearing. You can also submit your comments about the latest proposed regulations (SGEIS) by mail or email to the DEC until December 12. For some tips on writing an effective letter about these regulations, see this valuable resource suggesting the different topics you might want to comment on. If you can, please write to the DEC now and/or ...

There's still time, though not much, to write a letter to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) about the proposed hydrofracking regulations. The deadline is December 12. If you're at the coop this weekend, why not stop at the workshop to help you write an effective letter to the DEC commenting on their proposed fracking regulations: Saturday, November 26: 1-3 pm Individual letters make a difference--the DEC is required to read every one, whereas form letters are merely counted. You can stop by any part of the workshop. Handouts will be available if you want to do your writing at home or share the information with others. Bring friends—coop members and non-members are all welcome!

If you're at the coop this weekend, why not stop at the workshop to help you write an effective letter to the DEC commenting on their proposed fracking regulations: Saturday, November 19: 2-4 pm Individual letters make a difference--the DEC is required to read every one, whereas form letters are merely counted. The deadline for submitting comments is December 12--fracking may start in early 2012 if we don't speak up. We will help you complete a letter at the workshop and mail it for you. Stop by at any point during the workshop sessions. One more session will be held right after Thanksgiving: Saturday, Nov. 26: 1–3 pm Bring friends—coop members and non-members are welcome! We are very, very lucky to have access to clean, drinkable tap water in New York. Let's not take it for granted and assume that this problem will go away or that someone else will take care of it. Everyone's help is needed.

Write to the DEC before the December 12 deadline . For pointers on composing an effective letter to the DEC, see this resource from the Sierra Club and/or this resource from Sourcewatch . It needn't be perfect; it needn't be long Use the linked resources to make your words strong We all tend to wait, but please don't delay If you care for clean water, please write today!

Slowing Down the DEC on the Fast Track to Frack New York State Governor Cuomo and the Department of Environmental Conservation are putting the Energy Industry on a fast track to frack New York State. Why the hurry ? The NYS DEC recently issued a Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) which, if accepted, will allow hydro-fracking to begin. We have until December 12 to send comments to the DEC. The Environmental Committee is organizing a series of workshops to provide guidance for writing an effective letter to The DEC commenting on their regulations. Individual letters make a difference--the DEC is required to read every one, whereas form letters are merely counted. We will help you complete a letter at the workshop and mail it for you. Stop by at any point during one of the workshop sessions: Sunday, 11/06: 12-2 pm Saturday, 11/19: 2-4 pm Bring friends—coop members and non-members are welcome!

Stop by the Park Slope United Methodist Church at Sixth Ave. and 8th St. on Thursday, November 3 for a screening of Gasland, followed by a Panel Discussion w/ fracking experts from the Park Slope Food Coop, NY H2O, United for Action, the Brooklyn Food Coalition and Assemblyman Jim Brennan, plus refreshments Film starts at 6:30pm; panel discussion begins at 8:30pm Find out what you can do to protect our water and our food from fracking.

Please take a moment to sign the petition to ban hydrofracking in New York State and pass it on to others. The situation is pretty serious. Leases to hydrofrack land in upstate New York could be given out in early 2012 if we don't stop it, and we haven't so far. The good news is that many environmental groups and concerned citizens are working together on this--but we need everyone's help. Send the petition link to your Facebook and other friends, if you can. And stop by one of the Environmental Committee's letter writing workshops to generate effective comments to the current SGEIS. The next workshop is next Saturday, October 22, from 10 to 12pm. at the Park Slope Food Coop , 792 Union St., between 6th and 7th Avenues in Brooklyn. All are welcome--members and non-members alike. Please join us!

We have until December 12 to comment on the Supplementary Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS)--after that hydrofrack drilling can begin in New York State, unless our comments make it clear that the proposed regulations are not sufficient. Hydrofrack drilling will endanger our water supply, the organic farms we work with upstate, the land of property owners as well as the general environment in New York State. The SGEIS is a large, technical document (several hundred pages). If you can come to one of our upcoming workshops at the Food Coop , we will assist you in writing a letter then and there. If you want to get started writing on your own, here is a valuable resource suggesting the different topics you might want to comment on. If you can, please write to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) now. If the SGEIS is accepted on December 12, gas drilling companies will start drilling. image courtesy of Julian Stark

Slowing Down the DEC on the Fast Track to Frack New York State Governor Cuomo and the Department of Environmental Conservation are putting the Energy Industry on a fast track to frack New York State. Why the hurry ? The NYS DEC recently issued a Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) which, if accepted, will allow hydro-fracking to begin. We have until December 12 to send comments to the DEC. The Environmental Committee is organizing a series of workshops to provide guidance for writing an effective letter to The DEC commenting on their regulations. Individual letters make a difference--the DEC is required to read every one, whereas form letters are merely counted. We will help you complete a letter at the workshop and mail it for you. Stop by at any point during one of the workshop sessions: Saturday, 10/15: 1-3pm Saturday, 10/22: 10am-2pm Sunday, 11/06: 12-2 pm Saturday, 11/19: 2-4 pm Bring friends—coop members and non-members are welcome!

Sandra Steingraber is one of my heroes. A bladder cancer survivor at 20 years of age, she went on to get a PhD in biology and devote herself to environmental work. She writes poetry, too, and lives in upstate NY with her family. If you haven't read Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment , I highly recommend it. We just learned that Dr. Steingraber won the Heinz Award: an unrestricted $100,000 cash prize. She has announced that she will use her award to fight hydrofracking. Read her own words about this decision.