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ENVIRONMENT

I am, un-apologetically, a tree hugger.  The idea that our children and their children will inherit an increasingly toxic environment is unacceptable to me.  Events such as the Exxon Valdez and the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spills and the Chernobyl and Fukoshima nuclear disasters have left deadly legacies which are yet to be fully understood or experienced.  As we begin to witness the effects of our dependence on fossil fuels and our abuse of toxic pesticides and industrial chemicals, we must confront the reality that we need to make dramatic changes, and we must do so immediately.

We live on a much smaller and more vulnerable planet than we once believed.  To continue to defile it with reckless pollution and depletion of its resources is short-sighted, selfish, and ultimately, self-destructive.  There are also permanent, inescapable economic ramifications for New York State if we don't act now to protect our water.

We are at the point where we have no logical choice but to transition to green technologies across the globe, and there is no reason that New York State shouldn't be a global leader in the implementation of alternative energy production as well as in environmental protection.  In fact, there is every reason that we should!

Our water is arguably New York State's most precious resource, second only to our children.   Increasingly, clean, potable water is in short supply in many parts of the world.  The wars of the future will be fought over drinking water, not over gold or oil.  A cogent case can be made that in several instances, wars have already, and are already, being fought over drinking water.  Today, in New York State, however, we are preparing to permanently compromise our water-- not out of necessity or for the good of the people, but for industry profits.

Hydro-fracking proponents argue that the process is safe when everything is done "properly" and goes as planned.   So far, however, this has not been the case.  So far, we have seen inadequate monitoring by governmental organizations, conflicts of interest with respect to the organizations responsible for monitoring, inadequate fines for violations, drilling accidents resulting in serious toxic spills, lack of comprehensive and conclusive soil and water "before and after" testing at drilling sites, insistence by the industry that the chemicals used in the process be kept confidential as to remain a trade secret, dumping of the waste fluids at municipal waste treatment facilities that are unprepared to treat chemical and radioactive wastes, and reliance on sheer speculation as to what long term geological effects will occur.

But in late June, 2011, despite widespread opposition, Governor Cuomo announced plans to lift the state's moratorium on hydro-fracking, which had been put in place by the state legislature and signed into law by then-governor, David Paterson.  Cuomo defends his decision by arguing that fracking will create jobs.   I say we can create jobs by building green industries, not by compromising our future environmental well-being and our most valuable resources.

We are living in a time when we need to approach job creation with environmentally sane criteria in place.  Green jobs will be an integral part of the solution for our economy and it is clear that no other choice is viable for our environment or for future generations.  It is time to lead or to follow, to prevent permanent damage or to regret having inflicted it, to employ our wisdom or to suffer our ignorance. Our economic and environmental struggles are one struggle.  Send me to Albany to represent you and to fight, without compromise, for a sane, sustainable future for Western New York.