Who do we believe Kennedy who is clearly an anti activist or the governor who should be interested in the people and economy of NY State. The results so far, no matter who is misrepresenting the facts, have been bad for landowners, upstate unemployed and tax payers.??? JLCpulse

March 2, 2013 at 5:28 pm by Associated Press in Fuel Fix

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo came as close as he ever has to approving fracking last month, laying out a limited drilling plan for as many as 40 gas wells before changing course to await the findings of a new study after discussions with environmentalist and former brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy Jr., several people familiar with his thinking told The Associated Press.

The turning point, which could delay a decision for up to a year or longer, came in a series of phone calls with Kennedy. The two discussed a new health study on the hydraulic fracturing drilling method that could be thorough enough to trump all others in a debate that has split New York for five years.

“I think the issue suddenly got simple for him,” Kennedy told the AP, then went on to paraphrase Cuomo in their discussions: “‘If it’s causing health problems, I really don’t want it in New York state. And if it’s not causing health problems, we should figure out a way we can do it.’”

Kennedy and two other people close to Cuomo, who spoke to the AP only on condition of anonymity because Cuomo is carefully...

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Anyone who truly understands how science goes about verifying information and doing a study of specific affects knows that it takes time and lots of information.( And Money) There must be a checks and balances that assure that the data is not skewed one way or another for reasons other than the study objectives. The backgrounds of the study samples whether they are animals or humans must be well understood. The wells and equipment should be the latest and best equipment which is required in the current regulatory regime. Data must be gathered and tested statistically and the science MUST be clean and precise. This is not or should not be a poll of opinionated individuals with an axe to grind; it should be a group of dedicated scientist and statisticians clear of bias with open minds and a huge budget to assure accuracy of the data and unqualified reporting. If you read a bit more on the subject which has obviously not been done by the governor, you will discover that the study will begin with mapping the data, however not isolating the test subjects if they are using existing data and  then determining the nature and scope. This study if done right should be just beginning to get organized; the results could not/would not be possible in a year or less. If they are, I assure you there has not been a study, rather a joke. This should be the very tip of the iceberg, not the panacea that seems to be anticipated. We should all be sick and tired of the lies and misrepresentations spread by the anti-crowd, the tainted polls and hyperbole represented as fact. If there is going to be a study, it ought to be done...

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Posted on March 2, 2013 at 5:28 pm by Associated Press in Fuel Fix

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo came as close as he ever has to approving fracking last month, laying out a limited drilling plan for as many as 40 gas wells before changing course to await the findings of a new study after discussions with environmentalist and former brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy Jr., several people familiar with his thinking told The Associated Press.

The turning point, which could delay a decision for up to a year or longer, came in a series of phone calls with Kennedy. The two discussed a new health study on the hydraulic fracturing drilling method that could be thorough enough to trump all others in a debate that has split New York for five years.

“I think the issue suddenly got simple for him,” Kennedy told the AP, then went on to paraphrase Cuomo in their discussions: “‘If it’s causing health problems, I really don’t want it in New York state. And if it’s not causing health problems, we should figure out a way we can do it.’”

Kennedy and two other people close to Cuomo, who spoke to the AP only on condition of anonymity because Cuomo is carefully guarding his discussions on the issue, confirmed the outlines of the plan the governor was considering to allow 10 to 40 test wells in economically depressed southern New York towns that want drilling and the jobs it promises. The plan would allow the wells to operate under intense monitoring...

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Written by  David Jackson in USA TODAY 3/4/2013

Filed WASHINGTON — President Obama will nominate new leaders for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Department on Monday, officials said.

The president has picked current EPA official Gina McCarthy to be EPA administrator and MIT professor Ernest Moniz as the new Energy secretary. Obama will make the announcements Monday morning at the same time he nominates Sylvia Mathews Burwell to be the new director of the Office of Management and Budget.

White House officials confirmed the nominations on the condition they not be named so as not to pre-empt the president’s announcement.

McCarthy is currently the EPA’s assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation. If confirmed by the Senate, she would replace EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

Moniz was under secretary for energy 1997-2001, during the Bill Clinton administration; he also also served on Obama’s Science and Technology Advisory Council. Moniz would replace outgoing Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

The Washington Post reports that Moniz has come out in favor of nuclear power, research into carbon capture and storage for coal, renewable energy and shale gas produced by hydraulic fracturing.

The Post reports:

“Over the past couple of weeks, many environmentalists and some prominent renewable energy experts have tried to block the nomination of Moniz because of an MIT report supporting “fracking” — as hydraulic fracturing is commonly known — and because major oil and gas companies, including BP, Shell, ENI...

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February 26, 2013 8:23 PM CBS Denver

DENVER (CBS4) – Gov. John Hickenlooper says he won’t tolerate cities and towns that ban oil and gas drilling within their borders and he promises to take them to court.

CBS4 Political Specialist Shaun Boyd sat down with the governor, who was blunt. He told Boyd the state will sue any local government that bans hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the drilling technique that uses high-pressure water and chemicals to extract natural gas.

“Nothing makes me less happy then to have to be in a lawsuit with a municipality,” Hickenlooper said.

If that’s true, the governor is an unhappy man these days. Four months after suing the city of Longmont for banning fracking, the state now plans to go after Fort Collins after its city council gave initial approval of a ban on fracking this week.

“The bottom line is, the way we have a split estate in this part of the world – pretty much all of the western United States — someone paid money to buy mineral rights under that land,” Hickenlooper said. “You can’t harvest the mineral rights without doing hydraulic fracturing, which I think we’ve demonstrated again and again can be done safely.”

But anti-fracking activists point to a spill near Windsor where 84,000 gallons of fracking fluid spewed out this...

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By David Blackmon in Forbes, 2/28/2013

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Stars’ anti-science fracking ban keeps NYers unemployed By GREG LANCETTE in NY Post February 28, 2013

In the last year, New Yorkers have heard a lot about what celebrities think of fracking. Matt Damon isn’t a fan. Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Mark Ruffalo and Natalie Merchant think it could be hazardous to our health.

It’s more hazardous, though, to outsource our thinking on scientific and economic issues to people whose expertise is as artists, however much we might enjoy their movies and music.

Listening to the celebs, you get the impression that it’s a bad idea for the state to lift its four-year-old ban on fracking. Listen to the scientists and economists, though, and you’ll come away with a much different picture.

The consensus among people who study fracking is that it is environmentally safe and an economic boon. By opening up access to its copious deposits of natural gas, New York can create jobs and pull in tax dollars without posing a danger to people or wildlife.

“Fracking” is short for hydraulic fracturing, a technique that lets us reach the gas in shale, a type of rock. In short, a crew drills deep into the earth, then drills horizontally through gas deposits, and finally uses a pressurized liquid (water mixed with sand and some trace chemicals) to fracture the rock and release the gas.

Fracking has been used for more than half a century, but recent refinements to the technique have made it much more effective. In the rest of the country, the method’s now being used to extract billions of cubic feet of natural gas every day.

The

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BY GERALD B. SILVERMAN in Bloomberg

ALBANY, N.Y.—New York state’s proposed rules regulating hydraulic fracturing expired as expected  Feb. 27, causing continued uncertainty over the future of the natural gas drilling process.

The next step for the state is the completion of a public health review of fracking by Nirav Shah, the state health commissioner. Shah is expected to complete the review shortly.

Joseph Martens, the environmental conservation commissioner, has said he would not approve a final environmental impact statement for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, until Shah’s public health review is completed.Moreover, he said proposed fracking regulations cannot be finalized until a final environmental impact statement is complete (30 DEN A-11, 2/13/13).

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) could not be reached for comment on the expiration  of the regulations.

Legislation Would Create Moratorium.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the state Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D) introduced legislation (A. 5424) on Feb. 26 to create a statutory moratorium on fracking until May 15, 2014. ‘‘The purpose of such suspension shall be to afford the state and its residents the opportunity to continue the review and analysis of any potential effects on water and air quality, environmental safety, and public health,’’ the bill says. The state has been undertaking a dual track approach to regulating fracking, with a rulemaking procedure and an environmental impact statement known as a Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement...

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Dear Friends and Natural Gas Supporters,

On February 8, 2013, the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York announced that it has been laying the ground work for a lawsuit against New York State for a taking of our property rights under the United States and New York Constitutions. The JLCNY is now seeking landowner candidates to serve as plaintiffs in the action.

The JLCNY believes that New York has no intention of ever completing the SGEIS or the regulations for high volume hydraulic fracturing. After 4 ½ years, today marks another deadline missed by NY - the date to complete the HVHF regulations.

NY is clearly acting in bad faith.  Ohio completed its HVHF regulations in 8 months.  This week Illinois introduced House Bill 2615 — the Illinois Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act—after a 14-month bi-partisan effort that involved the Attorney General’s Office, environmental groups (NRDC and the Sierra Club), industry leaders and state legislators. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn praised the bill saying it will help his state’s economy. Ironically, the “New Albany” Shale is Illinois’ target formation but it’s business as usual in Albany, NY where our leaders continue to make a mockery of the regulatory process.

President Obama said in his state of the Union address: “After years of talking about it, we are finally poised to control our own energy future. We produce more oil at home than we have in 15 years. We have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas, and the amount of renewable energy we generate from sources like wind and solar – with tens of thousands of good, American jobs to...

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Associated Press/AP Online By TAMMY WEBBER  2/22/2013

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