Wednesday, January 25, 2012

FRACKING GETS ITS OWN “OCCUPY” MOVEMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS RALLY
FOR NEW YORK BAN ON FRACKING
Albany, N.Y. (AP) - Health and environmental groups rallied at the Capitol on Monday to call for a legislative ban on hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells, saying no amount of regulation can adequately safeguard water supplies from contamination. “Fracking is the most important environmental issue this state has faced in the past 100 years,” Sen. Tony Avella, sponsor of a bill to ban hydraulic fracturing, said at the rally in the Legislative Office Building next to the Capitol. “There is no possible regulation or series of regulations that can stop the one incident that pollutes our water supply for 1,000 years.” Organizers said about 600 people from around the state traveled to Albany and registered to lobby state lawmakers for various bills related to the practice known as fracking, which stimulates gas production by injecting wells with millions of gallons of chemically treated water to fracture shale.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation has refused to consider new shale gas wells since 2008, when it began an environmental impact review of fracking. Industry groups, who point to a decadeslong history of safe gas drilling in New York, have said the regulations proposed by the DEC are so strict they would effectively shut down shale gas development in the state because of the high cost of compliance. The rally featured chants of “No fracking way” and signs calling for “Renewable energy now.” A group of residents from Middlefield in Otsego County held a banner supporting a “home rule” bill, which clarifies the right of towns to enact zoning ordinances that prohibit fracking and discourage industry-funded lawsuits against such bans. Middlefield is fighting a lawsuit against its local fracking ban.

Health and environmental groups calling for a legislative ban on hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells have rallied in Albany (USA). The technology known as “fracking” stimulates gas production by using chemically treated water to fracture shale with the tremendous risk of contamination to the drinking water supply and the entire ecosystem.  We must start urgent action in awakening consciousness and ending the dangerous and self-destructive habit of exploiting our natural resources.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 
Nature is one of the manifestations of God; if we mistreat the environment, if we live irresponsibly, in any moment we will be sucked into an abyss. God is in each tree, each plant. The waters of the Earth are the veins of the Lord. We should proceed with absolute compassion and responsibility, because by not taking care of other living beings, our present planet will become a complete desert. Polluted waters cause the leukemia of the ecosystem. Mother Earth heals you, she allows you to build houses, sustains you, gives you drinkable water; that is our dear Mother Earth. ... All the elements created by the Lord are different representations of His powers, and the combination of all the components produces food for us, the conscious beings.

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