N.Y. laughing gas: latest anti-drilling claims

Skip Dickstein/Albany Times Union

State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joseph Martens rightly rebuffed anti-fracking activists’ demands for endless studies.

In their desperation to block Gov. Cuomo from giving the okay for fracking in New York, die-hard opponents of the natural gas drilling technology are floating laugh-out-loud-funny health and environmental threats.

Most hilariously, the enviro-activists have demanded that state officials explore an alleged link between fracking and — we kid you not — syphilis.

They argue that a drilling boom would draw an influx of male workers from other states who would engage in activities of a kind that would spread sexually transmitted diseases.

They also contend that a boom would trigger a housing crunch, adding to homelessness and the health ailments that go along with it.

And that increased truck traffic would not only lead to more road fatalities, but would also — again, no kidding — discourage people from getting the outdoor exercise they need to stay fit.

This is absurd. If New York starts saying no to entire industries on the grounds they might trigger population changes, rising home prices and truck traffic, it might as well turn out the lights.

Have the people pushing these theories considered the health effects of unemployment and poverty — which are all too common in the parts of New York targeted for drilling?

Have they forgotten the public health upsides of harvesting natural gas — which burns far more cleanly than other fossil fuels?

What fracking opponents really want is not a study of imagined risks, but many more months of wheel-spinning in Albany — and additional fodder for litigation.

Hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, involves pumping millions of gallons of chemical-laced water deep into the earth at high pressure to release trapped natural gas. For four years, the state Department of Environmental Conservation has analyzed the extent of true health concerns, such as the potential for air and water pollution.

As a result, the DEC has proposed what everyone acknowledges are some of the tightest regulations in the nation — including an absolute ban on drilling in the entire region surrounding New York City’s reservoirs.

The opponents tried to push DEC Commissioner Joseph Martens into hiring a public health consultant to check out the danger of venereal diseases and all the rest.

Smartly, he went only so far as to ask Health Commissioner Nirav Shah to review whether DEC has appropriately considered health concerns. If faux seriousness is what it takes to head off lawsuits, so be it. Stifling laughter is a small price to pay for progress toward fracking approval.

6 Comments on "N.Y. laughing gas: latest anti-drilling claims"

SOS on Sun, 23rd Sep 2012 9:10 pm 



It’s this type of demagoguery that has us in the situation we now find ourselves. If Jimmy Carter, leftest, environmentalists, conservationists etc etc hadnt severely curtailed energy production in the 1970’s we would have never experienced a peak oil situation.

Those Democratic, left wing policies, forced America to be an importer of crude oil, gas and refined products. We simply could not produce enough with all the political and regulatory constraints in place. These policies, collectively, are called peak politics because they cause unecessary energy shortages and the notion of peak oil can “catch-on”.

Now, industry has found a way to work around a governement that wants to keep the energy in short supply and expensive. They are developing reserves on private lands and accessible federal lands under state stewardship. Dont believe propaganda to the contrary. If you are interested in keeping energy costs reasonable and supplies adequate dont support policies of peak oil.

SOS on Sun, 23rd Sep 2012 9:15 pm 



You also must understand that forcing America to become an importer of oil/gas/refined products we also created the need for a large military to protect these off-shore “interests”. That is why we have had wars in Iraq and now Afghanistan. That is why our Navy is patrolling the straights. That is why our air force is in position. That is why our men and women are ready to go.

Follow a correct policy of orderly development of conventional energy resources here at home. Develop in conjuction with our neighbors Canada and Mexico you will have real peace and prosperity. I hope the current situation will get some of you thinking correctly, dont support peak politics and peak oil. The current situation is what you get if you do. Most of you dont like the current situation.

Norm on Sun, 23rd Sep 2012 10:02 pm 



That was rather right-wing wacko, Mr. SOS. ‘dont support the policies of peak oil’.

Did you know that peak oil is NOT a ‘policy’ ?? Its about how quick you can get oil to flow thru sand & gravel.

I thought the right wing was opposed to people that smoke hash pipes, maybe you should put yours out, and hit the books instead.

BillT on Sun, 23rd Sep 2012 11:14 pm 



SOS is so deep into pimping for dirty oil that he cannot think straight. Just ignore his rants.

Beery on Mon, 24th Sep 2012 2:43 am 



I like his rants. It reminds me that the folks who talk about peak oil being a government conspiracy are the real life equivalent of the father in ‘So I Married an Axe Murderer’ who keeps going on about the ‘Pentavirate’ and the addictive qualities of Colonel Sanders’ chicken.

jack reylan on Tue, 25th Sep 2012 2:04 pm 



In Manhattan, thanks to histrionic preservation, we have neighborly fecal matter back flowing making drinking water unpotable unless extensively purified and these idiot hypocrites complain about fracking? They should be made to pay for the ridiculous environmental mandates they impose on others by finally building their own Manhattan Bruce Gilchrist Chappaqua water purification system instead of keeping Westchester under environmental occupation so that they and not upstate has the right to police their drinking water. Think of all the green jobs building a New York filter? Why is that bad and all the solar panels good? What good are all the new engineering schools if they can’t purify the water. Look how Poland is overpowering Russia with fracking.