Friday, June 28, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Fracking -- No Complaints, No Problems -- Right? Wrong!
Drillers Silence Fracking Claims With Sealed Settlements
By Jim Efstathiou Jr. and Mark Drajem
The companies insisted hydraulic
fracturing -- the technique they used to free underground gas -- wasn’t
the cause. Nevertheless, in 2011, a year after the family sued, Range
Resources Corp (RRC). and two other companies agreed to a $750,000
settlement. In order to collect, the Hallowiches promised not to tell
anyone, according to court filings.
The Hallowiches aren’t alone.
In cases from Wyoming to Arkansas, Pennsylvania to Texas, drillers have agreed to cash settlements or property buyouts with people who say
hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, ruined their water,
according to a review by Bloomberg News of hundreds of regulatory and
legal filings. In most cases homeowners must agree to keep quiet.
The strategy keeps data from regulators, policymakers, the news media and health researchers, and makes it difficult to challenge the industry’s claim that fracking has never tainted anyone’s water.
“At this point they feel they can get out of this litigation relatively cheaply,” Marc Bern, an attorney with Napoli Bern Ripka Sholnik LLP in New York who has negotiated about 30 settlements on behalf of homeowners, said in an interview. “Virtually on all of our settlements where they paid money they have requested and demanded that there be confidentiality.”
“We are transforming our energy infrastructure in this country from burning coal for electricity to potentially burning a lot of natural gas,” Aaron Bernstein, associate director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard School of Public Health, said in an interview. Non-disclosure agreements “have interfered with the ability of scientists and public health experts to understand what is at stake here.”
By Jim Efstathiou Jr. and Mark Drajem
Chris and Stephanie
Hallowich were sure drilling for natural gas near their Pennsylvania
home was to blame for the headaches, burning eyes and sore throats they
suffered after the work began.
The Hallowiches aren’t alone.
In cases from Wyoming to Arkansas, Pennsylvania to Texas, drillers have agreed to cash settlements or property buyouts with people who say
hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, ruined their water,
according to a review by Bloomberg News of hundreds of regulatory and
legal filings. In most cases homeowners must agree to keep quiet. The strategy keeps data from regulators, policymakers, the news media and health researchers, and makes it difficult to challenge the industry’s claim that fracking has never tainted anyone’s water.
“At this point they feel they can get out of this litigation relatively cheaply,” Marc Bern, an attorney with Napoli Bern Ripka Sholnik LLP in New York who has negotiated about 30 settlements on behalf of homeowners, said in an interview. “Virtually on all of our settlements where they paid money they have requested and demanded that there be confidentiality.”
Energy Transformation
Because the agreements are almost always shrouded by non-disclosure pacts -- a judge ordered the Hallowich case unsealed after media requests -- no one can say for sure how many there are. Some stem from lawsuits, while others result from complaints against the drillers or with regulators that never end up in court.“We are transforming our energy infrastructure in this country from burning coal for electricity to potentially burning a lot of natural gas,” Aaron Bernstein, associate director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard School of Public Health, said in an interview. Non-disclosure agreements “have interfered with the ability of scientists and public health experts to understand what is at stake here.”
Global Warming - Editorial Cartoons and Grim Reality
[Click Image to Enlarge]
And then there's this...
And then there's this...
Bloomberg to discuss preparing NYC for warming world, as projections show growing effects
By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, June 11
NEW YORK — The projections paint an unsettling picture of New York’s future: a city where by the 2050s, 800,000 people could be living in a flood zone that would cover a quarter of the land, and there could be as many 90-degree days as is now normal for Birmingham, Ala.
Facing those new projections of the effects of global warming on the nation’s biggest city, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was scheduled to talk Tuesday about what to do about risks that Superstorm Sandy brought into stark relief.
“We have to look ahead and anticipate any and all future threats, not only from hurricanes and other coastal storms but also from droughts, heavy downpours and heat waves — many of which are likely to be longer and more intense in the years to come,” an excerpt from the mayor’s planned speech says.
Read more online at The Washington Post
Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions From Energy Rose To Record High In 2012, IEA Reports
AP | By By KARL RITTER Posted: 06/10/2013
NEW YORK — The projections paint an unsettling picture of New York’s future: a city where by the 2050s, 800,000 people could be living in a flood zone that would cover a quarter of the land, and there could be as many 90-degree days as is now normal for Birmingham, Ala.
Facing those new projections of the effects of global warming on the nation’s biggest city, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was scheduled to talk Tuesday about what to do about risks that Superstorm Sandy brought into stark relief.
“We have to look ahead and anticipate any and all future threats, not only from hurricanes and other coastal storms but also from droughts, heavy downpours and heat waves — many of which are likely to be longer and more intense in the years to come,” an excerpt from the mayor’s planned speech says.
Read more online at The Washington Post
Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions From Energy Rose To Record High In 2012, IEA Reports
AP | By By KARL RITTER Posted: 06/10/2013
Rally for Clean Energy not Fracking -- Featured Speakers
Get On the Bus to Albany!
Buffalo/Rochester Bus: Reserve Seat Now: Click Here.
For more information, Click Here.
Buffalo/Rochester Bus: Reserve Seat Now: Click Here.
For more information, Click Here.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Job Opening at Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper
Application deadline is Monday, July 8, 2013.
The
ideal candidate for the position will be a self-motivated, high-energy
person with excellent interpersonal communication skills and direct
experience in shoreline restoration projects, including engineering and
construction methods using bioengineering techniques. The candidate
will be expected to coordinate multiple stakeholders to accomplish
project goals. The position will be located at the Buffalo Niagara
Riverkeeper Office in Buffalo, NY.
SALARY AND BENEFITS:
Salary range is $50,000-$53,000, commensurate with experience. Benefits include a health insurance option, three weeks paid time off, 10 paid holidays and flexibility in the work schedule.
Salary range is $50,000-$53,000, commensurate with experience. Benefits include a health insurance option, three weeks paid time off, 10 paid holidays and flexibility in the work schedule.
BUFFALO NIAGARA RIVERKEEPER SUMMARY:
Since 1989, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper leads the Buffalo Niagara’s efforts to safeguard our water for present and future generations. Our mission is to protect the quality and quantity of our water while connecting people to Great Lakes water.
Since 1989, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper leads the Buffalo Niagara’s efforts to safeguard our water for present and future generations. Our mission is to protect the quality and quantity of our water while connecting people to Great Lakes water.
JOB SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS:
Monday, May 27, 2013
Albany Rally -- No to Fracking, Yes to Renewable Energy
New York Crossroads
Rally
to Stop Fracking and Demand Renewable Energy!
On
Monday,
June 17, 2013, citizens from across New York—from Long Island to
Niagara Falls—will arrive in Albany to demand freedom from dirty energy,
calling on Governor Cuomo to reject fracking and lead the nation in building a renewable energy economy here
and now in New York.
At this march and rally, the anti-fracking movement will, for the first time, join with business leaders, faith leaders, health professionals, elected officials, farmers, and youth to demand the renewable energy jobs that our families and communities want and deserve.
At this march and rally, the anti-fracking movement will, for the first time, join with business leaders, faith leaders, health professionals, elected officials, farmers, and youth to demand the renewable energy jobs that our families and communities want and deserve.
- What: Stop Fracking and Demand Renewable Energy
- When: Monday, June 17th, 12pm-3pm
- Where: Rally and March on East Capitol Lawn, Albany
- Buffalo/Rochester Bus: Reserve Seat Now: Click Here
Sponsored
by New Yorkers Against Fracking,
Food & Water Watch, Frack Action, Catskill Mountainkeeper, United for Action, NYPIRG, Citizens Environmental Coalition,
Western NY Drilling Defense, Alliance for a Green Economy and many more to be announced.
League of Women Voters Luncheon, Speaker and Awards
The League of Women Voters Buffalo/Niagara invites you to join us at our
2013 Annual Meeting Luncheon
Ripples of Hope*
Protocol Restaurant, 6766 Transit Road,
Williamsville, 14221
Saturday, June 15
Luncheon will be served at noon
Guest
Speaker
Katherine
Bodde
Katharine, New York Civil
Liberties Union Policy Council and member of the State Wide Steering Committee
for the Women’s Equality Agenda, will speak about Governor Cuomo’s ten item Agenda
that is scheduled to be presented as a bill in the state legislature on June
17.
The League will also recognize Erin Heaney, Director of the Clean Air Coalition with the Making Democracy Work Award and Anne Huberman with the Joan K. Bozer Leadership Award. Both of these fine women will be out of town on June 15.
Luncheon
cost is $25 for League members and $30 for guests
Mail reservations payable to LWVBN to LWVBN, 1272 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14209 by June 10, 2013.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Bill McKibben Addresses Climate Crisis at UB Commencement
 |
| Bill McKibben speaking to UB graduates - D.Kowalski photo |
McKibben wrote The End of Nature (1989), the first book on global warming for a general audience, and more recently, Eaarth - Making a Life on a Tough New Planet (20
10).
McKibben founded the global climate action campaign, 350.org, and has been steadfast in demanding that political leaders take steps to address the climate crisis.
In his address to the graduates, McKibben cited Superstorm Sandy, which he said "drove the Atlantic Ocean into the New York subway system." He added, "If you had any doubts about the vulnerability of our technological civilization to the new and souped-up Nature we are creating, that should have ended."
McKibben urged the graduates to call for change, referring to the climate crisis as "one of the central tests of your life, a test of both your skill and your character." He said "your training is now not just an end to a profitable rewarding career, but something that our society badly, badly needs."
VIDEO: It opens with Robert G. Shibley, Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, followed by an introduction of Bill McKibben by Subhashni Raj (3:54), Masters Degree recipient and a Pacific-350 organizer from Fiji. Subsequently, Shibley presented McKibben with the Dean's Medal (8:00), and then Bill McKibben delivered his address to the graduates, faculty and guests (11:22 to 29:00).
Watch the video on YouTube: Click here.
UPDATE May 21, 2013: A TRANSCRIPT of Bill McKibben's speech and transcripts of the introductions and the medal presentation were kindly provided by Alan Oberst. To view the transcripts, Click Here.
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