Citizens Fill the Capitol at Hydofracking Day of Action

Citizens rally against fracking on Monday, January 23, 2011, at the capitol in Albany. Photos courtesy Jessica Riehl
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On Monday, January 23, 2012, hundreds of citizens from all over New York State converged upon Albany to demand that our elected representatives safeguard our water resources, air quality, environment and public health from hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” The citizens, including Riverkeeper staff members, traveled to the capitol at their own expense to meet face-to-face with state Assembly Members and Senators and solicit support for legislation which would ban outright or postpone fracking until its health, environmental, and economic impacts are studied.

Citizens rally against fracking on Monday, January 23, 2011, at the capitol in Albany. Photos courtesy Jessica Riehl

The day of action began with people flooding the well of the Legislative Office Building for a rally in which both Republican and Democratic elected officials voiced their strong opposition to fracking in New York. The legislators included State Senators Tony Avella, Greg Ball, and Liz Krueger, as well as Assembly Members William Colton and Robert Sweeney, among others. They were joined by three-time Academy Award®-nominated actress Debra Winger; Josh Fox, director of the Academy Award®-nominated documentary Gasland, along with a number of leaders from environmental non-profit organizations.

After the rally, volunteers headed upstairs to discuss the detrimental impacts of fracking with Senators and Assembly Members. Some elected officials pledged to oppose fracking and support alternative energy initiatives. NY Water Rangers, a coalition of environmental groups including Riverkeeper, issued a press release, including a summary of the bills, available here.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation is currently reviewing and responding to over 40,000 comments (an unprecedented number) on its most recent proposal to allow fracking in New York. This is a crucial time period to ensure the DEC will not move forward with fracking unless and until we can be sure that it can be done safely. Help us keep the pressure on Governor Cuomo! Contact him now and tell him to champion clean renewable energy sources instead of toxic fracking.