On Monday, June 17, thousands of concerned New Yorkers encircled the capitol building in Albany to call on our elected officials to ban fracking and lead the way on building an energy system reliant on renewables! Attendees of the NY Crossroads rally and march, co-sponsored by New Yorkers Against Fracking and NYS Sustainable Business Council and others, came from all over the state to make their message to Governor Cuomo clear: New Yorkers want clean, renewable energy development that does not threaten their health, environment and natural resources, and complements the existing sustainable economic drivers, such as agriculture, tourism, food and beverage, and outdoor recreation industries, unlike the natural gas industry’s plan to frack New York State.
Larry Bennett, Communications Director of Brewery Ommegang and supporter of Businesses Against Fracking New York, addressed the business case for growing a sustainable energy and economic system while moving away from the development of fossil fuels. Alec Guetta of Sungevity also spoke to the importance of incentivizing innovation in the renewable industry.
Other speakers at the rally included former Congressman Maurice Hinchey, Dr. Mark Z. Jacobson, co-author of a recent study demonstrating the feasibility of converting NYS to renewable energy by 2030, Dr. Sandra Steingraber, singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant, environmental activist Lois Gibbs and several others.
