New Yorkers and Tony Avella Speak Out Against the Dangers of Hydraulic Fracturing

Concerned New Yorkers rallied on the steps of City Hall Wednesday calling attention to the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, the mining method proposed by several natural gas companies to extract underground natural gas deposits in Chenango, Tioga, and Chemung counties. With hydraulic fracturing, water, sand, and chemicals are pumped into horizontal well holes at a pressure 300 times greater than a garden hose. Gas seeps into the well when the surrounding rock cracks under the pressure. "Hydraulic fracturing injects toxic chemicals underground,” warned rally sponsors, Safe Water Movement (SwiM) in a press release. “Scientists examining the fluids have determined that they universally include extremely dangerous chemicals, some of which can cause severe health problems and irreversibly contaminate ground and surface water.” New York City mayoral candidate Tony Avella attended the rally and said he is introducing a resolution to the City Council that would ban hydrofracking because the current risks outweigh the gains. “Let’s come up with a better way to do this,” he said.