Dear Editor:
Election Day has passed, the science is in, and now it’s time for Gov. Cuomo to permanently put to sleep the noxious idea of hydraulic fracturing in New York State.
Hydrofracking uses millions of gallons of water for each well, which we can never get back. Sacrificing necessity for commodity is flat out irresponsible. While we are focusing our efforts to keep up with the demand for energy, we need to keep in mind that it is inevitable that someday, locating and supplying fresh water is going to be even more of a challenge. We can no longer afford to risk our most important natural and limited resource: water.
The world is faced with a crisis to find the next energy source while the Village of New Paltz is struggling to supply enough water to its residents – a problem brought to the forefront with the ten week closure of the Catskill Aqueduct. Our small village cannot even come up with a viable water source to run on for the short time period of two and a half months. If fracking were to take place in New York, we would be having an even more difficult time trying to find an adequate water supply. In Wyoming, gas companies are outbidding farmers for what has become an endangered resource. Do we want our local municipalities bidding against corporate giants for water rights?
The best way to achieve social and environmental justice is through the governmental system. Cuomo owes it to his many citizens who voted for him in the hope he would make the right decision – the decision to ban fracking. Don’t leave our next governor with a water shortage crisis; energy supply problems are much more manageable.
Alexandra Miller
(949) 910-4194
NYPIRG