New England is out in the cold, being denied affordable, domestic energy by Governor Cuomo’s fracking moratorium and pipeline rejections.

Adrian Kusminsky’s column in Hometown Oneonta two weeks ago, entitled “10 Years Ago, Anti-Fracking Fight Taught Communities Empowerment,” celebrates the anti-fracking mobilization instrumental in the ban on gas development. As a key player, he is proud of the effort. He writes about “the vulnerability of our local communities to powerful outside forces over which we have little or no control. In this case it was the oil and gas industry that was led by the most powerful corporations in the world.”

He notes the opinions on the forces outside our local political control are split, are viewed as good or bad, depending on our point of view. However, conservative or liberal, if we’ve made up our minds, there is little chance of changing them.

Very true. However, Mr. Kuzminsky misses a couple of forces that shaped the fight. They include the Governor, the courts, and the dark money that foundations provided for support, leadership, and coordination that made the anti-fracking effort effective. The popular story line of a band of valiant citizenry arrayed against Big Oil and Gas needs some context.

Read more:

http://naturalgasnow.org/dont-blame-big-oil-gas-denial-domestic-ene...