All Blog Posts (1,973)

Cut out the nonsense instead of the trees

Recently, Adrian Kuzminski, moderator of Sustainable Otsego, wrote a piece for the Oneonta Daily Star where he suggested a wood-pellet alternative to natural gas energy development in our county, claiming it was the "conservative" way to go. Dave Parker, a member of the Town of Worcester Town Board, took issue with those contentions in a letter to the editor that forms the basis for the following post.

The following suggestions were made by Adrian Kuzminski of Sustainable Otsego in a…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 19, 2012 at 2:42pm — No Comments

Vestal Gas Coalition Conducts Essay Contest - Another Winner

The Vestal Gas Coalition recently held an essay contest on natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale, sponsored in part by EID Marcellus. The result was some very thoughtful examinations of the opportunities and needs surrounding natural gas development in our region. The winning essay was reported here. This is Part II.

We noted in our earlier post that the Vestal Gas Coalition decided to sponsor a scholarship for seniors at Vestal High School this year. Students were asked to…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 18, 2012 at 4:26pm — No Comments

Farming in Ny Depends on natural Gas

Sander Diamond makes the assertion farmers in upstate New York can experience a revival without natural gas development in a recent letter to the editor. Steuben County organic dairy farmer, Neil Vitale, takes a look at his misconcieved notions of farming in the state.

Sander Diamond, in “Food Production, Not Fracking (Nov., 2012),” offers a litany of unsupported assertions in arguing New York should pass on natural gas. While what he says on paper is a beautiful idea–farmers pulling…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 17, 2012 at 8:43pm — No Comments

Oxford Tables Moratorium

There was another village board meeting in Oxford this week. The board has been contemplating enacting a moratorium on natural gas development, which would be the only one in Chenango County.

This past week there was a village meeting in Oxford, New York, Chenango County. Readers will recall Oxford is the only community in Chenango County considering one of those Slottje cookie cutter moratoriums on natural gas development. There was a nine month moratorium proposed and the board was…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 17, 2012 at 4:52am — No Comments

It's All About the Renewables

The battle over natural gas is really a battle about renewables, says Dick Downey. They’ve gotten the massive subsidies and have generated little to show for it, while natural gas has become the nation’s energy choice through a system of largely free-market initiatives and consumers who were free to choose.

More than half (56%) the households in the USA, a total of 62 million, are heated with natural gas. Pipeline networks like the proposed Constitution Pipeline, deliver cheap,…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 16, 2012 at 7:14am — No Comments

There Is Support for Natural Gas in the Finger Lakes

Natural gas has been produced in New York’s Finger Lake region for decades. Yet, in the irrational discussion surrounding hydraulic fracturing, a new political dynamic has taken shape; lake front land owners are suddenly trying to dictate others’ rights. Happily, other residents are seeking the facts ignored by this very vocal minority.

A recent trip to the Finger Lake Region of New York taught me some things about natural gas and oil operations and how they co-exist with the wine…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 15, 2012 at 6:43am — No Comments

Schneiderman Tries Intimidation to Stop Pro-Gas Efforts

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is fulfilling a campaign pledge to oppose natural gas development in his state, challenging the DRBC and now upstate elected officials whose only sin is to disagree with him. The AG’s opposition to a resource used to heat 56% of New York homes seems to be an exercise in intimidation.

The New York State Attorney General’s office has done something remarkably cynical. It has joined the NRDC in a campaign of intimidation aimed at local…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 14, 2012 at 10:44am — No Comments

Cathles on Marcellus Shale

Recently, I stumbled across a blog by Larry Cathles, the Cornell faculty member who documented flaws in another Cornell study by Howarth, et al that suggested natural gas was somehow dirtier than other fossil fuels due to methane emissions and the like. We wrote about both here.

The Cathles blog, entitled Perspectives on the Marcellus Gas Resource, addresses the benefits and risks associated with Marcellus Shale gas development in an independent manner and it’s one of the most…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 13, 2012 at 11:18am — No Comments

Lenape Suit Against Avon Is Strong

The Lenape Resources lawsuit against the Town of Avon is accompanied by a first-class summary demonstrating the “home rule” campaign sponsored by the Park Foundation is mightily mistaken.

Our earlier post on the subject of the Lenape Resources lawsuit against the Town of Avon dealt with the practical side of the case. The legal side is also compelling and it’s laid out very methodically in a Memorandum of Law submitted with the complaint. It addresses not only oil and gas law, but…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 11, 2012 at 9:19am — No Comments

If Climate Change Is A Problem, Natural Gas Is the Solution

Natural gas development is allowing the United States to achieve carbon emission reductions no one thought possible even a few short years ago. The International Energy Agency indicates the U.S. has, incredibly, led all developed nations in reducing its carbon dioxide emissions since 2006. Some Cornell University natural gas opponents deny this reality and suggest it is also offset by methane emissions, but their theories have now been discredited almost everywhere.

We’ve heard a lot…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 9, 2012 at 1:06pm — No Comments

Cabot Gives Back

Cabot Oil and Gas, like all companies with whom we work, strives to be a good neighbor. Cabot and others have supported many causes, documented here. This year, and last, however, they donated $25,000 to institutions that virtually define rural communities – volunteer fire companies.

Cabot Oil and Gas presented a $25,000 donation to local volunteer fire departments at the annual Christmas Parade in Montrose, Pennsylvania this past Saturday. It was another in a long line of examples…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 8, 2012 at 7:08am — No Comments

Vestal Gas Coalition Conducts Essay Contest

The Vestal Gas Coalition recently held an essay contest on natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale, sponsored in part by EID Marcellus. The result was some very thoughtful examinations of the opportunities and needs surrounding natural gas development in our region.

The Vestal Gas Coalition decided to sponsor a scholarship for seniors at Vestal High School this year. Students were asked to submit an essay as on “How will natural gas development impact the Southern Tier and…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 6, 2012 at 9:06am — No Comments

The Perfect Storm

There was news all over the New York State natural gas front last week regarding natural gas development, most of it good news, some of it being speculation. Upstate New York could certainly use some good news given current economic conditions.

You could call last week a perfect storm of facts and speculation.

First, another pro-development advertising campaign rolled out across the state, targeting upstate major metropolitan areas, Albany and the Southern Tier. In newspapers…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 5, 2012 at 2:54pm — No Comments

Lenape Suit A Masterful Defense of Industry from Local Law Abuse

The lawsuit filed by Lenape Resources against the Town of Avon and the DEC is a superb overview of New York State law regarding natural gas development and the reasons why the efforts of two former dollar store owners from Ithaca are unlikely to prevail in their cynical campaign to kill natural gas development in New York through local bans and moratoriums.

Last week’s press was full of stories from the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal and Washington Examiner, among others,…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 5, 2012 at 11:45am — No Comments

Yoko's World and Our's

New York State represents two different worlds when it comes to attitudes, incomes and needs. It’s hard to find a better illustration than the one offered by Yoko Ono’s fashion line as compared to the reality of life in Upstate New York, where natural gas development is essential.

Earlier this year, when Yoko Ono and her son Sean were launching a campaign to ban hydraulic fracturing in the State of New York, he penned a pastoral op/ed in New York Times. It reminisced about the times…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on December 1, 2012 at 8:04am — No Comments

New York Hydraulic Fracturing Regs Proposed

Simultaneously with a whole lot of political maneuvering apparently intended to confuse everyone, characteristic of New York State, the Cuomo Administration has released a set of revised regulations for natural gas development using high-volume hydraulic fracturing.  



The New York State Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) on hydraulic fracturing languishes but the Department of Environmental Conservation published, late last…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on November 30, 2012 at 2:10pm — No Comments

10 Commandments for Gov. Cuomo

Natural gas advocate and Sullivan County, New York, landowner, Inge Grafe-Kieklak, delivers Ten Commandments for Governor Cuomo as he bobs and weaves his way through (or is it out of) the hydraulic fracturing issue.

I have been active in trying to bring natural gas development to our region of New York for five years now. Watching the machinations of New York State politics and Governor Andrew Cuomo regarding this issue has made me realize Upstate citizens are being used as pawns in…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on November 29, 2012 at 2:52pm — No Comments

Finally, An Economic Solution for Rural America

A recent analysis by USA TODAY shows that development of the nation’s shale resources is reversing a decade’s long trend and shifting significant wealth toward rural areas of the country that certainly can use the boost.

From reviving local steel mills in blue collar communities to supporting family businesses, responsible shale development is transforming and reshaping our economy for the better. And according to an analysis by USA TODAY, oil and natural gas development is also…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on November 28, 2012 at 9:47pm — No Comments

Cuomo's Natural Gas Dance

New York DEC is now extending its original deadline in a bizarre on-off-on-off-on again natural gas regulation dance. Trying to understand where the Governor is at any given moment requires a Ouija board or some other tool of the occult arts. Jim Willis of Marcellus Drilling News had this to say about the whole thing this morning.

It’s official: The New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will file for a 90-day extension on the rulemaking process for hydraulic fracturing.…

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Added by Thomas J Shepstone on November 28, 2012 at 3:02pm — No Comments

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