For those of us who have been participating in the natural gas debate over the last few years, talking with anti natural gas folks can feel like you’ve been placed in a scene from the movie “My Girl.” It’s a classic from my childhood and one I loved and still love to watch, but let’s face it, Veda’s method of dealing with hard times and things she doesn’t want to hear wasn’t the most constructive behavior. Yet, in this discussion, I often feel like I’m watching an adolescent stick their fingers in their ears and start singing “doo-wah-ditty,” rather than listen to the facts presented to them–and not just because of the chanting and songs typically integral to their demonstrations. Wednesday’s protest in Horseheads, New York is a great example of this.

Let’s take a moment to breakdown the letter activists delivered to Talisman Energy during the protest on their property Wednesday.

[quote]
    "And we have something else in common: We all drink water. In the Southern Tier, we are lucky enough to able to drink water straight from the tap. Our freshwater has made this region ripe for agriculture, dairy farms and vineyards. Hydraulic fracturing would put an end to New York State as we know it."[/quote]

You’re right. We all drink water and New York does have an abundance of this very necessary resource. In fact, places like the Village of Painted Post, are already experiencing the benefits of the abundance of water available in New York by selling the excess in their towns to the natural gas industry. Painted Post could be making as much as $2.6 million annually thanks to this endeavor. Further the project will make use of the Wellsboro and Corning Railroad, helping to revitalize this industry and eliminating the need for truck traffic to deliver water across the border.

Like Pennsylvania, parts of New York are very methane rich and as such sometimes methane can be found in homes. Take a look at this video from the movie Truthland of Robert Sandel of Guilford Center, New York, Chenango County. When Sandel moved into his home, he was warned, “Don’t smoke in the shower.”

Read more and watch the videos at http://eidmarcellus.org/marcellus-shale/the-misinformed-actions-of-...