You all were fast out of the gate after the holiday break with a packed Port Ambrose hearing; gratitude to everyone who made the trek. Engagement on Port Ambrose continues with written comments and calling on elected officials to act (see "Engagement Party," below). This week, our friends upstate head into three days of DEC hearings on the Constitution pipeline, and tomorrow, a decision may come on the KXL "tar sands" pipeline. As always, we'll be supporting these fights with the high energy that New Yorkers are famous for.

Our friends and You Are Here map contributors, Stop the Pipeline are not just suing FERC, they've prepared an excellent set of resources to help us all participate:

There'll be three public hearings this week: Monday in Binghamton; Tuesday in Oneonta; Wednesday in Cobleskill. All hearings start at 6pm. Maps and directions here.

Comments continue after the hearings too. Click through to this page for an easy form that allows you to submit comments directly to DEC and offers sample comment topics.

If you really want to dig deep, read the background info at this link, or this letter to the editor that details the past violations Williams has racked up building other pipelines. Bottom line: Williams has polluted streams multiple times before and the Constitution pipeline application has 24 mentions of stream crossings in 4 counties (see maps of streams here).

The Koch brothers are the biggest funders behind the climate-destroying tar sands pipeline. There'll be a massive wave of rallies across the country tomorrow to make sure President Obama not only lives up to his promise to veto the latest KXL legislation, but that he finally kills this Koch-fueled fever dream once and for all.

Meet up tomorrow on the sidewalk in front of the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, 63rd & Columbus; RSVP here so you can be noticed of any last minute changes. Share the event on Facebook. Note: this will NOT involve civil disobedience or any arrestable action.

Sane Energy Project and Food Not Fracking present A Panel Discussion and Book Signing:
The Landscape of Fracking in New York; What's Changed and What Hasn't.

The announcement that DEC will prohibit fracking in NYS may lead some to believe that now we're "safe." However, pipelines, compressor stations, storage caverns and LNG facilities have been and remain the current threat. "The Real Cost of Fracking” authors, Michelle Bamberger and Robert Oswald, will demonstrate why such infrastructure may actually be WORSE than drilling in its health impacts on humans, animals, and our food shed. You Are Here, a new online mapping tool, will demonstrate how New York is already being fracked in every way BUT the drilling. Local activists join a panel discussion about current infrastructure projects and what is being done to stop them. FREE. 4-6pm, Sunday, January 18th at the beloved independent Brooklyn bookstore, Bookcourt, 163 Court St, Brooklyn (F/G train to Bergen, most trains to Jay Street or Borough Hall). Light refreshments will be served. RSVP here.

You are cordially invited to help us unite on our special day and start the next phase of our engagement with Politicians, Leaders and The Public to say No to LNG and renew our vows to bring renewable energy to the New York area. Now that the hearing is over, we have a very short time (only until about April or May) to convince the Governor to VETO Port Ambrose, so we need to follow up with further action! Join us for a community meeting to organize outreach to Cuomo and the state and local officials who can demand he veto Port Ambrose. Sample letters, nosh, soft drinks provided. Supervised art workshop for the kids, so bring the family! January 20th, 7:30-9pm, Long Beach Public Library, 111 W Park Ave, Long Beach, New York 11561 (Easy walking distance from the LIRR Long Beach Station). RSVP here.

Join the rally and after-party to celebrate the ban on fracking, next Wednesday in Albany. We're grateful that Governor Cuomo allowed DEC Commissioner Martens and Doctor Zucker to do their jobs; now we need him to show leadership on a project where he has direct veto power, that HE CAN STOP: Port Ambrose. Rally indoors at 11:30; party from 1-4. Info/Buses here.