Dear Shale Protestor,

Economic war is being waged on New York’s small town and rural people by Governor Andrew Cuomo. 

If you don’t believe it, you should have been in the audience of the Independent Oil and Gas Association Annual Meeting held in Buffalo, New York November 5-7 like I was.  Speaker after speaker described farms divided and sold to pay property taxes, young people moving away because they cannot find work, businesses boarded up and abandoned, whole counties in decline while salvation lies right beneath their feet.  And while this is happening, the one person who can change it, Governor Cuomo, turns his back.

Twenty-four states in the United States have shale deposits.  Twenty-three states are developing them.  Let’s be specific:  Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, North Carolina, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho and California are developing their shale.  

Only New York is stalled.  Why?  

Well, that's because Governor Cuomo thinks New York is different from other states.  New York has to have a public health impact assessment before it can proceed, which the Governor's Commissioner of Public Health did a year ago.  It's not been released.

And here is a follow-up question for the Governor.  Given that twenty-three states are moving ahead because they understand the environmental and health risks are minimal while the economic benefits are maximal, do you think that maybe the experts, researchers, university professors and celebrities who have cropped up to obstruct shale development in New York might have another agenda?  Because whatever their agenda is, they have certainly hijacked yours.  

It doesn't matter how many times Governor Cuomo proclaims New York is "open for business," the small town and rural people of this state know it's not.

Till Next Time,

Energy Mom

New York City