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…

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…

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…

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…

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20121209/ARTICLE/121209612/2416/NEWS?Title=Drilling-twist-Environmentalists-want-to-keep-idle-offshore-oil-rigs&tc=ar

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…