Reportback: Minisink Hearing We've published a full account of our trip to DC and the Minisink court date at our website. The decision won't come dow
Reportback: Minisink Hearing
We've published a full account of our trip to DC and the Minisink court date at our website. The decision won't come down for several weeks, and it's hard to predict which way it might go, but it's accurate to say the judges grilled the lawyers for both sides, and seemed to press both FERC and Millennium hard on several points. Our collective fingers are crossed, not just for the residents of Minisink, but for every town where unwanted shale gas infrastructure is a concern.
As if to underscore what those concerns are, last Wednesday night, just as Minisink residents were packing up for the trip to DC, the compressor station's malfunction alarm went off. Read the full story here.
This case could set precedent for future projects, and certainly highlights the inadequacies of current law. We look forward to working with all of you to change those laws and reshape the agencies that are allowing the callous degradation of communities like Minisink.
Monday, May 5th @7pm: NYC Grassroots Alliance
The NYC Grassroots Alliance is a coalition of 30 environmental, community and faith groups around the city. We created a meetup group to keep each other informed about events and actions of mutual interest, and work together on joint efforts. Once a month, we meet in person. It's a great bunch of people, and meetings are well-run and fun. Come check it out if you are not already a member: 7-9pm, at The New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th Street at Central Park West in the downstairs meeting space.
Tuesday, May 6th @ 6pm: Intro to Green
Did you know that if a building removes its window air conditioners in winter, it will save enough equivalent energy to run those ACs all summer long? Our pals at Solar One have organized a two-hour interactive workshop that discusses ways to reduce energy expenses; strategies for working with your board, staff, and property managers; incentives and other sources of funding for capital improvements related to energy efficiency and renewable energy systems; complying with new green laws and code changes. Registration begins at 6:00 p.m. Event runs 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Sutton Place Synagogue, 225 E. 51st Street, FREE. Register here.
Friday, May 9th, 10am-2pm: Hearing on the Radon Bill!
For 2+ years activists have been pushing for a public hearing about the risks of radon in shale gas, and now, finally, that hearing will take place! Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (upper west side) and State Senator Diane Savino (Staten Island) have written a bill that would demand utilities test the gas supply for radon. This Friday, a public hearing on the issue will serve as a prelude to bringing the bill to a vote in Albany.
Getting this bill passed this session is crucial, because the Spectra and Transco lines are already in service and if the Rockaway pipeline gets built, that could mean 3 new pipelines feeding high-radon Marcellus gas to NYC by winter, 2015. Radon is a public health issue, whatever side of the fracking debate one is on. If you cook with a gas stove, do laundry with a gas dryer, or run a gas boiler, you want to have the minimal assurance that the gas being delivered does not contain elevated radon levels. This is a simple matter of consumer protection and basic precaution.
Please attend the hearing, and ask your representatives (state and local) to attend as well.
Details of the hearing can be found here. Oral Testimony is by invitation only, but citizens are encouraged to submit written comment (Sane Energy will be testifying). Attendees must pass through a security screening at 250 Broadway, across from City Hall, on the19th Floor, from 10am until testimony concludes or by 2pm latest. Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, May 13th @7pm: TPP Fast Track Tutorial
Global City NOT Global Governance: DEFEAT THE FAST TRACK BILL!
MC: Ron Kuby, Co-host of ABC Radio’s “Curtis and Kuby” SPEAKERS: Kian Frederick, Nat’l Field Director, Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch; Mitch Jones, Director Common Resources Program, FWW; Reverend Stephen Phelps, former Senior Interim Minister, Riverside Church; Mark Weisbrot, Co-Founder, Center for Economic Policy Research; Jennifer Flynn, Director, Health Global Access Project, and more.
SPONSORS: Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter; NY Society for Ethical Culture; Public Citizen’s Global; Trade Watch; Food & Water Watch; 350NYC; MoveOn Councils of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens; NYC Metro Raging Grannies; Three Parks Independent Democrats; Trade Justice NY Metro;
Citizens Trade Campaign; Sierra Club NYC Group; United for Action; Big Apple Coffee Party; The Mothers Project; Damascus Citizens; All Souls Church Peace and Justice Task Force; HealthGAP; Resistance Cinema; Eco-Logic, WBAI-FM; Gray Panthers; Sane Energy Project.
NY Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th St. at Central Park West. $5 donation requested
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