Hudson Valley officials unite with activists against fracking
Several of the region's most noteworthy politicians have offered support in the fight against hydraulic fracturing, a controversial gas mining technique known to pollute water supplies.
Hudson Valley United Against Fracking held a kickoff event Tuesday morning at the Ulster County Office Building, to urge a moratorium on fracking.
Former congressman Maurice Hinchey was joined by state senator Cecilia Tkaczyk, state assembly members Frank Skartados and Didi Barrett, New Paltz town supervisor Susan Zimet, Ulster County executive Mike Hein, and a host of environmental organizations.
They were accompanied by dozens of local "fractivists," pleading for Gov. Cuomo to delay gas drilling until independent scientific environmental studies are completed.
Large deposits of natural gas exist deep within the shale below upstate NY, representing a financial boon for the energy industry.
"Everywhere fracking has been allowed, the process has contaminated their water, polluted their air, and destroyed their land," indicated Hinchey.
"I have been fighting to protect our state from polluters for nearly 40 years. Now Gov. Cuomo is dealing with one of the most contentious environmental issues that we have ever seen," Hinchey said.
"Governor Cuomo is to be commended for taking a thoughtful approach to fracking, rather than rushing in, like so many other states. And I hope he will continue in that course," the retired congressman added.
"We're talking about our children, and our children's children -- we're having a conversation about whether or not we're going to poison them. It's absurd," maintained Hein.
"I'm incredibly proud as the Ulster County executive, to be part of the Hudson Valley, a place has turned out to be the conscience of New York State," Hein said. "But I will be the proudest when we can once and for all in NY State that we will not play games with our future," he noted.
"We are going to leave this planet like we found it, for generations to come, and generations after that," Hein said.
"Why are we continuing to rely on finite resources, that are also threatening to destroy our very existence," asked Skartados. "Why are we contemplating playing Russian Roulette with the same very elements that created us -- water, air, soil, food. Haven't we learned enough from the Hudson River?"
Skartados' remarks touched upon the underlying issue of renewable energy alternatives which preclude the need for environmentally destructive energy exploration.
Songwriter Natalie Merchant, a local resident, expressed her concerns about fracking while offering copies of a short documentary featuring musical performances from a recent State of the State protest in Albany, titled Dear Governor Cuomo.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlmZqZJrbc4
Schumer warns of unsafe railroad bridges, demands inspections
US Senator Charles Schumer gave a dire warning in Kingston Tuesday, as freight trains rumbled across a nearby trestle crossing the Rondout waterway south of downtown.
“The bridges are deteriorating fast. One particularly in Ulster County has deteriorated to the point where it would send shivers down your spine,” Schumer indicated.
The privately owned CSX trestle near Wilbur Avenue has a crumbling foundation, cracks and exposed rebar, plus loose and missing bolts, Schumer said. “As you can see,it’s in bad shape.”
Schumer said a disaster of epic proportions would occur if the bridge failed while carrying trainloads of hazardous tanker cars. The Rondout Creek just below the Wilbur trestle in Kingston flows directly into the Hudson River.
Each freight train contains up to 3 million gallons of crude oil -- and roughly 30 oil trains per week cross the channel.
Railroads are only required to inspect their bridges annually, and only 7 Federal Railroad Administration experts exist nationwide to check for safety, Schumer observed.
Only one such expert exists to oversee New York’s 3,000 private bridges, plus bridges in 13 additional states.
The national inspection capacity is 1% of all private railroad bridges per year -- many over a century old.
In response, the senator is calling for immediate federal inspection of the Wilbur trestle, along with two more near Storm King Mountain; plus an increase in federal railway safety oversight staff.
County executive Mike Hein agreed. “If this bridge had a catastrophic failure, we’re talking about loss of human life and absolute devastation to our ecology. Environmental damage on that scale in our community is inconceivable,"’ Hein said.
“The only way to completely protect the rivers, is not move the product,” noted nonprofit watchdog Riverkeeper patrol captain John Lipscomb. “Until that happens the only and best thing we can do is prevent an accident,” he said.
Transport of crude oil by railroad tanker increased significantly since 2009. Last year Schumer called for mandatory phase-out of outdated and dangerous DOT-111 tanker cars. Legislation will hopefully be passed in a few years, he said.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcKy8XGKIjk
Wed., June 26, 2019 @ 11am,
Ulster County Restorative Justice Center
Kingston NY USA
Speakers:
Ulster County Executive Patrick Ryan
Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa
Father Frank Alagna,
Holy Cross/Santa Cruz Episcopal Church
and Ulster Immigrant Defense Network
UC Exec Ryan signs “non-cooperation” order to passively resist immigration enforcement
Ulster County Executive Patrick Ryan signed his second executive order Wednesday, instructing county employees under his authority to follow “new operating procedures that are designed to halt cooperation with federal immigration officials, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers.”
The policy avoids controversial “Sanctuary” language, opting for the less politically loaded “Protect Rights of All Residents,” and “Ensuring Justice for All.” According to definition, “sanctuary” refers to municipal jurisdictions that limit their cooperation with the national government's effort to enforce immigration law.
“In light of statements and threats coming out of Washington D.C., we are here to make a clear unequivocal statement about our values as a county, and our values as a community. We reject division, we reject fear-mongering, we reject xenophobia,” Ryan said.
The policy move comes on the heels of a two-week deadline, announced last Saturday, delaying the expected mass deportations involving 2,000 families residing in major U.S. cities. President Donald Trump said the pause was granted at the request of congressional Democrats.
Joining Ryan was Sheriff Juan Figueroa, who reiterated that local law enforcement never had jurisdiction over immigration matters. “I am here today in support of our county executive, and in support of the Constitution,” he said, citing the 14th Amendment.
“The entire case of undocumented immigrants being covered and protected by the Constitution has been settled law for over a hundred years, and rests on one word, ‘person.’ It is the word ‘person’ that connects the dots of due process and equal protection,” Figueroa maintained.
“You cannot and may not call yourself a decent and good human being, or lay claim to being a person of any authentic faith, with the possible exception of a Satanic cult, and either cause children to suffer, or stand by idly in the face of the suffering of a child, as if that child’s suffering, was someone else’s concern,” noted Father Frank Alagna, Holy Cross/Santa Cruz Episcopal Church and Ulster Immigrant Defense Network.
President Trump had issued a Twitter message on June 17, “Next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States.” Trump and contends
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlHYpuABxNQ