Hyrdofracking is a major threat to not only the safety of our drinking water, but is also a MAJOR issue when it comes to global warming. According to pretty much every major scientist out there, we are FUCKED if we allow hydrofracking. And yes that is a major scientific analysis...we are FUCKED if we let it go forward.

So it is about time we all stand up against hyrofracking because our drinking water and our ability to adapt to global warming as a nation will be screwed up. It is time to take a stand! From Democratic District Leader Jo Anne Simon:

Here's the statement I recently submitted to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation:  read more »

Sustainable South Bronx is one of the best organizations in the city, addressing environment, health and poverty all at the same time. Here are a couple of excellent upcoming events for Sustainable South Bronx.

Happy Hour with Sustainable South Bronx
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Bruckner Bar and Grill
1 Bruckner Boulevard
Bronx, NY 10454-4411
Cost $25 in advance, includes 2 free drinks and appetizers
RSVP by March 19, 2010 at Brown Paper Tickets
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/99880
Contact: Laura Johnson Avanessian at ljohnson@ssbx.org or 646.400.5433

4th Annual Hunts Point Hustle
5K Run/ Walk Race

on the future site of the South Bronx Greenway

Saturday, May 22, 2010
9am
Hunts Point Riverside Park
Calling for Volunteers!

To volunteer, call 646.400.5432 today.

Sponsorship Opportunities! Call 646.400.5433 today for information
on a variety of sponsorship opportunities.

Not able to give right now? Ask about other ways in which you can support
the Hunts Point Hustle and Sustainable South Bronx!  read more »

Well, perhaps soon my wife's pictures of the slime in the Gowanus canal (we beat the NY Times to it by more than a year) may become a thing of the past. Today the United States Environmental Protection Agency finally designated the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site, designated for cleanup. I think we can all greet this with relief, with the exception of developers who wanted to develop the site with stink and slime intact for reasons which I cannot understand unless their greed has just decayed their common sense. I can only imagine real estate agents trying to move luxury apartments as that Gowanus stink wafted on the breeze.

But now a real cleanup is in the works thanks to Obama's EPA. Here is the Press release from State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, an early supporter (along with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Columbia University’s Urban Design Lab) of Superfund designation as the best way to clean up the canal:

Senator Velmanette Montgomery on EPA Superfunding the Gowanus Canal:
THANK YOU!  read more »

This morning, the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club held a press event at City Hall in NYC, in which they called on Governor Paterson to withdraw the draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS) on a gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling being prepared by the state Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC). About 100 people were in attendance, along with a nice gaggle of media folks.

The DEC issued the dSGEIS last fall and opened things up for public comment – and public comment was overwhelming – and overwhelmingly negative!

There are many reasons for the negative public reaction to this horrible document. The dSGEIS refuses to address the cumulative aspects of thousands of wells pumping tens of billions of gallons of water combined with toxic chemicals into the ground. It ignores the problems hydraulic fracturing has caused elsewhere, pretending that there are no problems except where there is an accident. It fails even to recommend strict controls necessary to protect the health of the people living near the drilling sites, or the water that those people, and anyone living downstream, use to drink, cook and wash.

I could go on forever, but you get the point.

In addition to the 100 or so attendees, there were elected officials from all levels of government, including three members of Congress (Reps. Michael Arcuri, Eric Massa and Jerrold Nadler), at least two state Assembly members (Deborah Glick & Brian Kavanagh), and several New York City Council members (I talked with Environmental Protection committee chair James Gennaro, Speaker Christine Quinn and newcomer Margaret Chin). Assembly member James Brennan (who will reintroduce a very good bill) sent a representative, as did Assembly member Richard Gottfried and state Senators Eric Schneiderman and José Serrano. Statements from some of these elected officials (more may be added as I get them) after the jump:  read more »

Josh Skaller, candidate for the 39th City Council district, was one of the leaders in supporting Obama's EPA and Superfund status to finally clean up the Gowanus Canal. Josh's campaign has issued this statement regarding Governor Paterson's recent comments on the Gowanus Canal:

Statement from City Council Candidate Josh Skaller (D-39th District) Regarding Governor Paterson's Remarks on the Proposed EPA Superfund Designation of the Gowanus Canal

"The Gowanus Canal has been polluted for as long as anyone can remember. At long last, it looked like we might be headed toward a solution through an EPA Superfund designation - but now our governor, like so many other would-be leaders, has buckled under pressure from a developer-loving mayor. I'm disappointed to see such indecisiveness when it appears we may be finally on the cusp of achieving what everyone wants: a clean Gowanus Canal.  read more »