Hydrofracking as Seen through the Lens of Public Health

Posted by editor1 on May 9, 2013 None comments
When: View in Calendar » May 9, 2013 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Where: Panara Theatre on the RIT Campus
Cost: Free, handicap accessible, and ASL interpreted.
Categories: Monroe
Tags: antifracking David Kowalski David O. Carpenter Fracking gas drilling health hydrofracking Panara Theater public education R-CAUSE RIT SEAL Sierra Club St. Monica's Creation Stewards The Interfaith Alliance of Rochester

R-CAUSE invites you to attend this Public Educational Forum

PRESENTERS:
Dr. David O. Carpenter:
Public health physician and Director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany. He is also Professor of Environmental Health Sciences within the School of Public Health at the University at Albany. He previously served as Director of the Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research of the NYS Department of Health.
David Kowalski, Ph.D.:
Professor Emeritus at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Graduate Division of the University at Buffalo. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of UB CLEAR (Coalition for Leading Ethically in Academic Research).
*Panara Theatre is in LBJ Hall (Bldg 060) on the RIT campus. 
Closest parking lots are L and K.
Click here for general campus map

 

 

 

“Drill Baby Drill” Film Coming to Spencer, Endicott

Posted by editor1 on April 6, 2013 None comments
When: View in Calendar » April 10, 2013 @ 7:00 pm – April 12, 2013 @ 9:00 pm
Where: Spencer & Endicott
Cost: Suggested donations of $5 or more per person to cover transportation and lodging costs
Categories: Broome Tioga
Tags: community Drill Baby Drill Endicott energy film fracing gas drilling hydrofracking Lech Kowalski Pennsylvania Poland shale gas Spencer sustainability

The new documentary Drill Baby Drill will have its Southern Tier premiere in Spencer on Wednesday, April 10, and another showing in Endicott on Friday, April 12.

Filmmaker Lech Kowalski, a native of Utica who currently lives and works in Paris, France will be present for the screening and for the discussion following the 84-minute film.

The film, which was made in Poland and in Pennsylvania, tells the story of a group of Polish farmers who band together to protect their land when unconventional shale-gas drilling (fracking) threatens. It also looks at the effects of ongoing drilling on farmers and their communities in Pennsylvania.

The film’s power derives in part from its refusal to provide easy answers to the questions it raises about corporate power and its effect on democracy, and about the tensions between our demand for energy and the necessity of protecting our air, water, farmland, and food supply. The subject should be of strong, immediate interest to residents of New York, where energy companies are leasing land with plans to do similar drilling.

EVENTS LOCATIONS and INFORMATION

Wednesday, April 10, 7 p.m, Spencer Town Hall, 79 E. Tioga St., Spencer, sponsored by SaVE, RAFT – Residents Against Fracking Tioga, and Coalition to Protect New York.

Friday, April 12, 7 p.m., United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Ave., Endicott

The events are free and open, but sponsoring groups, which do not have the resources of the megabillion-dollar fossil-fuel corporations, suggest donations of $5 or more per person to cover transportation and lodging costs.


About filmmaker Lech Kowalki

Kowalski has won wide acclaim over 35+ years as an independent filmmaker. His large body of work has won awards and been the subject of retrospectives at international film festivals.  This film was shown recently in the French Senate, and on French and German television (with high ratings). It will be shown to European Parliament on April 23, prior to theatrical release.

Drill Baby Drill film description

One day the people who live in a small village located in eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border, an ecologically pristine agricultural area called the “lungs of Poland,” discover that Chevron, the world’s fourth largest energy corporation, plans to build a shale gas well in their village. At first the villagers are not against the construction of the gas well, but research reveals that having a shale gas well so near farms might not be such a good idea. The farmers mobilize. They appeal to politicians and government institutions to stop the construction, but their requests are met with silence. Suddenly Chevron sends bulldozers to start construction. Lech Kowalski was there to film the first-ever farmer rebellion against Chevron. But energy companies and the Polish government hope to hit a golden shale gas jackpot, and the odds are against the farmers winning. The story about their struggle weaves around realities that are taking place in Pennsylvania, which industry has called the “Saudi Arabia” of North America. It’s too late to stop the harms in Pennsylvania, but can the farmers win in Poland? What happens . . . is a surprise.

Seneca Lake Gas Free Flotilla Planning Meeting

Posted by editor1 on April 6, 2013 None comments
When: View in Calendar » April 14, 2013 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Where: Watkins Glen State Park South Entrance stone pavilion
Contact: peteangie5342@yahoo.com
Categories: Schuyler
Tags: action Flotilla Fracking hydrofracking Seneca Lake Gas Free Watkins Glen State Park
What is the Flotilla? A waterborne march on Seneca Lake this summer to protest the planned LPG facility and fracking. Take a stand in the seat of your boat! Want to learn more, or be a part of the action? Come to the Initial Planning Meeting on April 14th at 4pm, Watkins Glen State Park South Entrance stone pavilion, followed by a trip to the Rooster Fish for those interested.
RSVP appreciated but not necessary to peteangie5342@yahoo.com

 

A Free Educational Forum: Impacts of Gas Drilling On Human and Animal Health

Posted by editor1 on April 6, 2013 None comments
When: View in Calendar » April 16, 2013 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Where: Unitarian Church, 306 North Aurora Street, Ithaca,NY 14850, USA
Categories: Tompkins
Tags: Adam Law animal children Educational Forum First Unitarian Social Justice Council Fracking gas drilling health hydrofracking Michelle Bamberger Robert Oswald Tompkins County Council of Governments
Why animals and children make good sentinels for human health
·      Michelle Bamberger, DVM
·      Robert Oswald, Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University
Summary of the 3 health studies cited by the NYS Commissioner of Health
·      Adam Law, MD, Physicians, Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy

 

Sponsored by: TCCOG (Tompkins County Council of Governments)
Co-sponsored by the First Unitarian Social Justice Council

To Frack or Not to Frack: That is the Question

Posted by editor1 on April 6, 2013 None comments
When: View in Calendar » April 9, 2013 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Where: Grace Episcopal Church, Back Entrance, 375 West Church Street, Elmira,NY 14905, USA
Contact: ctb13@cornell.edu
Categories: Chemung
Tags: Elmira frack Fracking gas drilling hydrofracking

Decisions related to fracking should be considered with the safety and well-being of Elmira and surrounding area residents in mind. We encourage you to attend this key presentation to hear leading experts discuss the economic, health, environment, and socio-cultural effects that the gas industry has on communities. Those who attend will have an opportunity to address questions and concerns directly to the presenters. The forum offers a rare opportunity for Elmira and area residents, elected officials, and spiritual leaders to become more informed so that they can better answer the question for themselves: To frack or not to frack. 

RSVP to ctb13@cornell.edu

 

 

PAUSE (People Advocating the Use of Sustainable Energy) to screen documentary Triple Divide

Posted by editor1 on March 11, 2013 None comments
When: View in Calendar » March 18, 2013 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Where: Newfield Firehall, 77 Main Street, Newfield,NY 14867, USA
Cost: Free & Open to the public
Categories: Tompkins
Tags: documentary environmental destruction Fracking hydrofracking Newfield PAUSE Public Herald shale gas Triple Divide
Triple Divide is a documentary film on shale gas development via fracking
As always, this latest Newfield Community Conversation is free and open to the public.
Following the screening, there will be a discussion with the filmmakers (via Skype) and with several residents of Bradford County, PA who have experienced living with shale gas drilling. As always, this latest Newfield Community Conversation is free and open to the public.
Triple Divide is the work of Public Herald, a Pennsylvania-based non-profit dedicated to investigative journalism in the public interest. The film is the outcome of an 18-month investigation into a range of recurring impacts of shale gas development, including contaminated water, air, and land; intimidation and harassment; loss of property, investments, and standard of living; community disruption; destruction of the public trust; illness; fragmentation of Pennsylvania’s last stands of core forest; and lack of protection over basic human rights.
Through personal stories, experts, and case files of public documents, Triple Divide tells a cautionary tale about the consequences of shale gas development by way of fracking. The film calls into question the effectiveness of regulation of the gas industry, as it reveals the failure of Pennsylvania’s regulations to protect the public and the environment, and the failure of natural gas companies to prevent real and immediate dangers, whether or not they’re in compliance with regulations.
If you have family, friends or neighbors who are still either disengaged or undecided on the issue of shale gas drilling in New York, this film is a good tool for raising their awareness, as it is quite sober in tone, no gimmicks, etc.
The post-film discussion should be quite interesting even for the best-informed among us, and we hope many of you will be able to attend.
http://www.pause-newfield.org/

Rally in Support of the Town of Avon and Home Rule

Posted by editor1 on January 31, 2013 None comments
When: View in Calendar » February 4, 2013 @ 9:30 am - 11:30 am
Where: Front Lawn of Livingston County Courthouse, Main Street, Geneseo,NY 14454, USA
Contact: Zora@nyagainstfracking.org
Categories: Livingston
Tags: antifracking Frack Free Genesee Fracking gas drilling gas industry hydrofracking Lenape Resources moratorium New Yorkers Against Fracking rally Town of Avon
Join Frack Free Genesee and New Yorkers Against Fracking in support of the right of the Town of Avon and any other town in New York to make their own decisions regarding natural gas drilling and other forms of resource extraction in their area!
We will be hosting a rally and press conference on the lawn in front of the court house. Speakers will be highlighting the ways in which they have been or would be affected by the introduction of HVHF to their local areas.
Peaceful gathering, local speakers and theatrical shenanigans.
Event happening simultaneously with important court hearing: Lenape Resources vs Town of Avon in Courthouse Chambers. 
“The citizens of NYS WILL NOT be bullied by the Goliaths of the Gas Industry!”
We are many and we stand in solidarity!
Background: The Town of Avon is being sued over their passage of a moratorium on High Volume Hydraulic Fracking (HVHF). More information on the case here:
and here:

Shaleshock 101: Organizing against fracking

Posted by editor1 on January 31, 2013 None comments
When: View in Calendar » February 3, 2013 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Where: First Unitarian Society of Ithaca Annex, 208 East Buffalo Street, Ithaca,NY 14850, USA
Categories: Tompkins
Tags: antifracking direct action gas drilling hydrofracking shaleshock Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Church Tompkins County Health Care Task Force training

Shaleshock 101

Organizing Against Fracking:

Reflections on the Movement to Protect our Communities & Environment

Sponsored by the Tompkins County Health Care Task Force

& the Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Church

To get involved and hear of upcoming trainings and actions:

contact action@shaleshock.org

www.Shaleshock.org

Ithaca College Department of Physics and the Power & Energy Ithaca Seminar present: “Unconventional Gas Development from Shale Plays: Myths and Realities”

Posted by editor1 on November 19, 2012 None comments
When: View in Calendar » November 28, 2012 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Where: Williams Hall Room 225, Ithaca College, Ithaca College, 953 Danby Rd,Ithaca,NY 14850, USA
Cost: Free and open to the public
Categories: Tompkins
Tags: anti-fracking gas drilling hydrofracking Ingraffea Ithaca College natural gas shale drilling
“Unconventional Gas Development from Shale Plays: Myths and Realities“
A. R. “Tony” Ingraffea, Ph.D., P.E.
Cornell University
Dr. Ingraffea will explore some myths and realities concerning large-scale development of the unconventional natural gas resource in shale deposits in the Northeast. On a local scale, these concern geological aspects of the plays, and the resulting development and use of directional drilling, high-volume, slickwater, hydraulic fracturing, multi-well clustered pad arrangements, and the impacts of these technologies on waste production and disposal, and contamination of water supplies. On a global scale, we will also explore the cumulative impact of
unconventional gas development on greenhouse gas loading of the atmosphere.This event is free and open to the public.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Marian Brown at mbrown@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-3787.
We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.

For those from off-campus who are unfamiliar with the Ithaca College campus, here is a link to:
Driving directions to Ithaca College  http://www.ithaca.edu/about/directions/
Please note important information about the detour around the Clinton Street of Route 96B South:
http://www.ithaca.edu/about/directions/2012detour/  (That detoured route MAY be back open by Nov 28th, but it is best to be prepared).Here is the link to a PDF version of the Ithaca College campus map: http://www.ithaca.edu/map/pdf/Ithaca_College_Campus_Map.pdf
Williams HALL is building # 8 on this map.

Free visitor parking is located just off the main campus entrance – turn right at the traffic circle and make the first right turn into the visitor parking lot. Just tell the parking booth attendant that you are here for a campus presentation in Williams Hall. They can direct you. Please note that Williams HALL is the not the same building as the Peggy R. Williams Center, which you will see from the parking lot. It’s not a far walk.

If you have mobility issues, note that there is handicap parking in E lot near Williams Hall. Please refer to the parking map:
http://www.ithaca.edu/map/#parking

Pennsylvanians Rebecca Roter and Frank Finan to speak to the Plymouth Town Board

Posted by editor1 on November 9, 2012 None comments
When: View in Calendar » November 12, 2012 @ 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Where: Plymouth Fire House Plymouth, 3461 State Highway 23, Plymouth,NY 13844, USA
Categories: Chemung Interstate
Tags: Fracking gas drilling gas pollution hydrofracking Plymouth Friends of Clean Water
Rebecca Roter’s once idyllic country home has become surrounded by gas wells and processing stations since the gas boom began in PA four years ago. Cabot of Dimock fame (or infamy) has drilled and fracked nine wells within a mile and 17 wells within a mile and a half of her home. When Cabot began drilling and flaring 4 wells on the hill 3,000 feet behind her house, Rebecca developed breathing problems. She and her mother can not only smell the gases released from the drilling and fracking, but they also experience headaches and metallic tastes in their mouths. There is plenty of noise and an unknown quantity of all kinds of pollutants released around her house. Heavy trucks have transformed her once quiet rural dirt road into a major truck route.
As if that were not enough, Williams is building a massive central compressor station a mile up the hill. She and others who have studied the plans and activity believe that this station is to be the first compressor for the planned but so far unapproved Williams/Cabot 120 mile Constitution Pipeline from Pennsylvania to Schoharie County, NY. Williams denies this. But they have already installed 3 dehydrators which clean (actually dump into the air) all gases except methane from the gas stream including carcinogenic benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene. The Environmental Impact Study for the Williams Compressor Station says that when completed it will dump 46 tons of Volatile Organic Compounds and 76 tons of nitrous oxides into the air per year.
But Cabot is not finished yet, with perhaps only 10% of projected wells completed. In March or April Cabot intends to drill and frack another four wells only a half mile from her house. The PA Department of Environmental Protection does not seem to be interested in protecting her or anyone else’s environment in the gas fields that now surround her.
Frank Finan is a retired contractor who is also from Susquehanna County. He was so disturbed by the amount of drilling and fracking and the chemical odors he was noticing that he bought a special video camera that can detect otherwise invisible gas releases. He has videoed compressor stations, dehydrators and even innocent looking produced water tanks where the gas releases are invisible to the naked eye. He has documented gas releases in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana as well as PA. When videoed with his expensive FLIR gas finder camera, clouds of gases can be seen pouring out of their vent stacks. http://archive.org/details/bDimockCompressor
Frank’s videos have been used in scientific research. He will be bringing photographs and possibly video of his camera’s revelations. 
Plymouth Friends of Clean Water are bringing these two courageous Pennsylvanians to Plymouth in an ongoing effort to educate the town board and their neighbors, with the near-term goal of passing a moratorium on drilling and fracking in the Town of Plymouth.