News
Hammond Hill State Forest Hike, Sat., July 18
Saturday July 18, 2009
Hammond Hill State Forest hike
Meeting time: 9am
Location: Parking lot at the end of Hammond Hill
Road SE of the junction with Irish Settlement
Road in Dryden.
Leader: Virgil Shields (607-319-5349, vshields
at alumni.caltech.edu)
Join us for a moderate 7-8 mile hike through this popular recreation area. We plan to enjoy the wildflowers and new foliage as we tour through this rich and diverse forest. Wear study shoes and be prepared in case of rain. Contact the leader for information.
Forum on the Effects of Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling on Local Water Sources
On June 22, 2009, the Finger Lakes Group of the Sierra Club joined with the Steuben County Environmental Management Council, the League of Women Voters of Steuben County, the League of Women Voters of Chemung County, and the Bath Peace and Justice Group to sponsor a public forum on the Effects of Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling on Local Water Sources. The program was held at the Fire Hall in Bath and was attended by 114 people. The remarks of the three outstanding speakers at the forum were taped by Wilton Vought of True Colors Video and are posted on his website, http://essentialdissent.blogspot.com/2009/06/marcellus-shale-gas-drilling-and-water.html The speakers were:
Ron Bishop, lecturer in chemistry and biochemistry at SUNY Oneonta, gave an overview of natural gas extraction technology and explained how water contamination can occur during the gas drilling process.
Steve Penningroth, Executive Director of the state-certified water testing laboratory at the Community Science Institute in Ithaca, described how to test private and municipal water wells so that landowners and municipal officials can discover problems and have solid scientific baseline water data that will stand up in court should contamination occur.
Andrew Beyers, a farmer/botanist from Newfield who has been studying gas drilling issues, talked about the work of the Shaleshock Citizens Action Alliance, and described how community members can take action on gas drilling issues.
Earth Day Survey
An informal survey on environmental issues was conducted by Gene Stolfi, Katie Stroman, Robin Stroman, and Jim Trondsen at our Sierra Club Finger Lakes Group table at Corning Community College's Earth Day event on Wed., April 22, 2009. Robin De Lill Stroman, our FLG Zero Waste Chair, designed the survey and compiled the results. Interestingly, while most people think global warming is real and are worried about the harm human activity is causing the planet, most people also believe that the United States is doing enough to confront the problem and believe that global warming can be reversed. Click here for the detailed results.
District Office Lobby Day
The Finger Lakes Group participated in the Sierra Club's District Office Lobby Day on Fri., Mar. 6, 2009. We met with staff members of Senator George Winner and Assemblymember Tom O'Mara in Elmira, and with Assemblymember Barbara Lifton in Ithaca. We have a follow-up meeting scheduled with Assemblymember Lifton in May to discuss restoring authority to local governments to regulate oil and gas drilling in New York by repealing the 1981 amendments to the Environmental Conservation Law removing that authority.
Photograph
by
Sue
Heavenrich
Sierra Club Finger Lakes Group Elections
Lee Hersh, Gene Stolfi, Rachel Treichler and Jim Trondsen were elected in the 2009 group elections to two year terms on the Finger Lakes Group Executive Committee. They join Kate Bartholomew, Susanne Brown and Annie Koreman. At the group meeting on Feb. 18, 2009, the following officers and committee chairs were elected for 2009: Kate Bartholomew, Chair and Chapter Delegate, Annie Koreman, Vice Chair and Alternate Delegate, Susanne Brown, Secretary/Treasurer, Robin Stroman, Zero Waste Committee Chair, Annie Koreman, Energy Committee Chair, Jim Trondsen, Water Committee Chair, Lee Hersh, Environmental Education Committee Chair and Carolyn Kreisel, Elections Committee Chair.
Forum on New Gas Drilling Techniques
On Sun., Feb. 1, 2009, the Finger Lakes Group sponsored a public forum on the health and environmental impacts of new gas drilling techniques in Corning. For more information about the forum, click here.
Winter 2008 Newsletter
Many thanks to our newsletter team of Annie Koreman and Kate Bartholomew for an excellent new issue of the Finger Lakes Sierran, and to our authors:
Our New Geothermal
Heating and Cooling System by
Annie Koreman, Energy Committee Chair
Is New York Ready for
Zero Waste? by
Robin De Lill Stroman, Zero Waste Committee
Chair
Marcellus
Shale Formation—Are You Being "Fracked"? by
Gene Stolfi, ExCom
Who Wants to Save Money, Reduce Housecleaning Chores and Feel Good? by
Gene Stolfi
The Continued "Wasting" of
Rural New York by Erin Riddle