Protestors at the anti-fracking event in Long Beach
LIR Photo Credit: Amber Qalagari Ugi
More than 100 Long Island residents gathered on the Long Beach boardwalk Oct. 19 to participate in the second annual Global Frackdown, a day dedicated to rallying against hydraulic fracturing more popularly known as fracking.
The event was organized by Food and Water Watch in opposition to a planned offshore Liberty Natural Gas terminal at Port Ambrose.
Background
Fracking, or the extraction of natural gas from rock layers deep within the earth, has been banned in New York State since 2008 amid concerns that the technique leads to contaminated groundwater.
The LNG terminal facilitates fracking by storing liquefied natural gas, and “regasifying” the LNG as needed. This process ensures that there is always gas to extract through fracking. (Note: I am not sure this explanation is 100% accurate, but I can’t find the exact connection explained anywhere/in nonconfusing terms-Esme).
The Global Frackdown mission was to educate citizens from all over the world about the dangers of fracking.
For local Frackdown participants, the event was aimed to inform fellow Long Islanders about the projected construction of the Port Ambrose Offshore LNG Terminal. Protesters pushed for signatures petitioning Governor Cuomo to terminate the proposal of a natural gas terminal that would be located 19 miles off shore.
Nassau County Legislator and environmental lawyer Dave Denenberg began the rally with a speech on climate change and fracking.
“Fracking is a menace to our local environment and all of us, while the benefit is huge profit for only a select few,” said Dedenberg. “Fracking is not our answer.”
Working for a greener Long Island
Dedenberg is currently in his seventh term representing the 19th district of Nassau County. He and other local government members have been working together to halt this type of energy production and transition to “greener” technologies such as wind and solar power.
“I think Dave Denenberg got it exactly right,” said Adrienne Esposito the Executive Director for Citizens Campaign for the Environment who also spoke at the rally. “He said we can no longer rely on foreign fossil fuels, and we have to rely more on renewable energies. And that is in fact what Long Islanders are asking for.”
Denenberg was not the only New York politician to speak at the Frackdown. Harvey Weisenberg, New York State Assemblyman for the past 25 years, described his opposition to fracking.
“We are not going to take a chance to diminish the health and safety of our people by having people making dollars on a practice that might be detrimental,” he said.
Weisenberg said it would take a significant amount of evidence to make him change his mind on fracking when he it comes to his action on the Legislative floor.
Volunteers and representatives from Food & Water Watch had a strong presence at the event and voiced their concerns about fracking and the environment.
Fighting fracking in the Northeast
Other volunteers from Food & Water Watch went to Dimock, Pa., a state where fracking is a major issue in August to gain research on the effects. A bus of 40 anti-fracking activists spent nine hours in the town.
“We toured farms that were no longer farms, people had no homes, or clean water.” said Neil Leiberman, a Health and Physical Education Teacher in Brooklyn New York for the past 18 years. “We all observed a dead cow laying on its side. This was the result of fracking.”
No scientific reports have been made from this excursion, but many activists used their observations as talking points for anti-fracking conversations at the rally.
Eric Weltman, Senior Organizer for Food and Water Watch, who organized the protests, said the Global Frackdown was a success.
“It was a powerful expression of Long Islander’s opposition to fracking and to the proposed LNG facility,” said Weltman. “It sent a loud and clear message to Governor Cuomo to stand up to the oil and gas industry and protect New York’s health, communities, and environment.”
NY Governor Andrew Cuomo is set to make his decision about the construction of the Port Ambrose Offshore LNG Terminal before the 2014 election. Until then, anti-fracking activists will continue to voice their opposition.