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Summer Report A debate over the future of the Catskills Clock winds down on Flickr user benswing drilling decision

As summer begins, thousands of New Yorkers will hike in the Catskills, climb- ing the Shawangunk Mountains, tubing on the Esopus Creek, or simply getting away from it all.

Yet most visitors will be unaware of the dramatic changes in store for the Catskills if state leaders decide to open the area to Marcellus Shale formation New York City drinking water source dangerous Marcellus Shale gas drilling. Counties with drilling sites in 2008 With a set of important decisions due on the issue this summer, Environment New York is helping to stop drilling in the Catskills and anywhere it could threaten Environment New York is working to permanently protect the Catskills from drilling. our water supplies. Pipelines, trucks, wastewater the potential for problems multiplies dra- contain toxic pollutants. Last summer, As a New York Times investigative series matically with each well that is drilled.” Environment New York staff and members reported this winter, similar Marcellus helped win a temporary moratorium on Shale drilling operations in Pennsylvania On top of the damage and disruption to the new drilling. However, that moratorium and other states have contaminated water land, drilling would also generate millions expires this summer. With a new set of supplies and disrupted the land and com- of gallons of contaminated wastewater. In decisions on the horizon, we’re stepping munities in ways few could have foreseen. Pennsylvania, this wastewater polluted the up our efforts to prevent drilling in the drinking water supply of 325,000 people Catskills and wherever the environment, “Imagine pipelines and 16-wheel trucks in the Pittsburgh area. Recently, Buffalo including our drinking water supplies, slicing through Catskills forests, clearcuts voted to forbid its treatment plant from could be threatened. despoiling the mountains and valleys, and accepting drilling wastewater, which can toxic wastewater polluting the region’s pristine streams and the drinking water supply for 9 million New York City resi- more online dents,” warned Environment New York’s Take action online to urge our state Eric Whalen. leaders to permanently protect the Catskills and our drinking water. A year ago, before he became Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top environmental of- www.EnvironmentNewYork.org/action ficial, Joe Martens noted “there could be thousands of new gas wells drilled in the Catskills and the southern tier . . . [and] Christopher Mooney. Flickr Christopher Mooney.

VOLUME 3 | NO. 3 Summer Report | 2011 Jenn Kaufer Jenn

To our members Recent action

What does summer in New York mean 2010 was breakthrough year for solar to you? Everyone’s answer is a bit dif- In an otherwise lackluster year for the economy, the solar industry shined ferent, but for a lot of us, getting back brighter than ever before in 2010, with a 67 percent increase in the amount of to nature in the Catskills is a key sum- solar energy projects installed across America compared to 2009. mertime ritual. That means millions more homes and businesses powered by pollution-free solar Given all of the fond memories New energy, an increase made possible by strong solar policies implemented at the Yorkers have of summer days in the urging of Environment New York. In Buffalo and Brookhaven, new large-scale Catskills, it’s no surprise how shock- solar installations are currently under development, and New York is one of the ing many of us find the current push top 10 states for solar job growth nationwide. to expand dangerous drilling in the region. While there’s a temporary ban To keep the momentum going, Environment New York is working to pass a bill on gas drilling, Halliburton and other in Albany, the New York Solar Jobs Act, which will increase New York’s solar companies are pushing to start drilling power production a hundredfold by 2025—the equivalent of the power generated as early as July. by five coal plants—while also creating more than 20,000 jobs. Trust me, these memories are power- President pushes for conservation funding ful—anyone who has spent time in the Margie Alt, the director of our national federation, joined President Obama at Catskills can understand the implica- the White House in February for his announcement that he’d seek the renewal tions of this dangerous proposal. Please of the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. tell your friends and family about this threat to the Catskills. Direct them to What’s the Land and Water Conservation Fund? For the past 45 years the federal our website so they can let Gov. Andrew government has put a fraction of the revenue from offshore drilling into a trust Cuomo know how they feel about the fund to expand national parks, protect hunting and fishing areas, and aid local push to drill there. conservation and recreation projects like city parks and playing fields.

Sincerely, In 2010, the Land and Water Conservation Fund spent funds on behalf of the Highlands Conservation Act, which protects the area that includes the Ramapo Mountains and the Hudson Highlands. Our staff is currently building support for approval of the conservation funding by Congress. Anna Aurilio Federal Legislative Director whitehouse.gov Tim Meaney, Flickr Tim Meaney, The Ramapo Mountains would benefit from the renewal of the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Environment New York www.EnvironmentNewYork.org/newsletters Slala.Chen , Flickr

Defending 40 years of dec.ny.gov progress on clean air

There’s no doubt that the Clean Air the waterways and making it dangerous How could nuclear ever Act, which celebrated its 40th birth- for humans to consume this fish. day in 2010, has improved the health be worth the risk? and well-being of millions of Ameri- Showdown in Congress Our hearts go out to the families in cans. Its protections are credited with The Obama administration’s updates Japan that were stricken by a massive saving the lives of 160,000 Americans to the Clean Air Act face great uncer- natural disaster in March. in 2010 alone. tainty, with polluting industries and their allies in Congress having launched After an earthquake and tsunami Of course, air pollution remains a press- an all-out assault on the Clean Air Act. ravaged Japan, the country remains ing health threat in this country, a stark in the midst of a nuclear crisis. The reminder of the work still left to do. In February, the House of Representa- fallout from this disaster has touched An estimated 13,200 Americans lost tives attached a provision to a federal millions of lives in Japan and is being their lives as a result of heart attacks, funding bill that would have blocked felt worldwide. The health threats are strokes, asthma attacks and other fatal the EPA from cutting mercury pollution numbing: drinking water samples in To- conditions brought on or exacerbated from cement plants, cleaning up soot kyo are contaminated with radioactive by air pollution from power plants. It’s pollution, and reducing carbon dioxide iodine at a level dangerous to infants; estimated that one in six women of from coal-fired plants. a dozen agricultural products from childbearing age has enough mercury the Fukushima region are radioactive in her bloodstream (a byproduct of coal Less than a month later, the Senate at dangerous levels; hundreds of thou- power production) to put her child at rejected the House measure, with many sands of people have been evacuated risk should she become pregnant. senators citing the environmental and from the area around the reactors; and public health attacks within the bill as many other effects are just being as- Thankfully, the Obama administra- one of the reasons for their opposition. sessed—including high radiation levels tion has announced it will seek to in the nearby ocean waters. strengthen and update portions of the Yet with some members of Congress still Clean Air Act in the coming months. trying to block the EPA from doing its The events in Japan must be a wake-up job in protecting our air, Environment call for Americans about the dangers of New York is continuing to work for Clean Air, Healthy Families nuclear power. We must ask ourselves: With some vocal opponents of the clean air and a healthier future. Is it worth the risk? Our current use of Clean Air Act throwing their weight nuclear power gambles with our chil- around in Congress, Environment New dren’s health and our environment. In York joined our national federation, Japan, Mother Nature yet again proved Environment America, along with the stronger than anything we can design. American Lung Association and other Could it happen at Indian Point? public health associations, in building support to make sure the administra- We must act now to ensure the relative tion’s proposals go through. safety of existing plants, put a morato- rium on any new plants, and begin to In January, Environment New York phase out our use of nuclear power. We released a hard-hitting examination of can and must move away from energy

one of the most dangerous air pollut- Staff technologies that put our environment ants: mercury. According to that report, and health at massive risk, and repower “Dirty Energy’s Assault on our Health,” our country with clean, renewable en- power plants in New York emitted more ergy, like wind and solar power. than 700 pounds of mercury pollution in 2009. Even very small amounts of mercury can have significant impacts, as studies suggest that a gram-sized drop Join our Clean Air, Healthy Families of mercury can contaminate an entire campaign on Facebook, and tell us why 20-acre lake. More than 50 New York Indian Point nuclear plant, along clean air is important to you: waterways are polluted with mercury the Hudson River in Buchanan, N.Y. pollution, contaminating fish that live in facebook.com/CleanAirHealthyFamilies

Summer Report | 2011 237 West 37th St., Ste. 203 New York, NY 10018 Environment New York (646) 473-0905

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Summer Report Flickr user dawnzy58 VOLUME 3 | NO. 3 | 2011

Environment New York Progress for Long Island Sound in jeopardy

Our mission Whether we’re fishing off Montauk or swimming at Rye Beach, for many of us summer in New York We all want clean air, clean means a trip to Long Island Sound. But pollution threatens our ability to enjoy this special place. water and open spaces. But it takes independent Sewage pollution leads to beach closings each summer and creates dead zones in the Sound that research and tough-minded can grow to be up to seven times the size of Manhattan. To make matters worse, recent Supreme advocacy to win concrete Court decisions called into question whether more than half of New York’s streams, including results for our environment, waters that feed the Sound, are still protected by the Clean Water Act. especially when powerful interests stand in the way of Last fall, in response to our urging, the Environmental Protection Agency agreed to strengthen environmental progress. protections for Long Island Sound and waters across the country. Unfortunately, Congress is threatening to stop them. Environment New York and our allies are working to build the broad That’s the idea behind public support the EPA needs to take action for Long Island Sound. So far, these efforts have Environment New York. helped defeat the worst assaults on clean water—but with little doubt that polluters and their We focus exclusively on allies in Congress will try again, our fight is not yet over. protecting New York’s air, water and open spaces. We speak out and take action at the local, state and national Read more about the how we are protecting levels to improve the Long Island Sound on our website: quality of our environment and our lives. www.EnvironmentNewYork.org/reports Flickr User hatchski

Design: Public Interest GRFX, (215) 985-1113 Editor: Anna Aurilio | Primary contributors: Sam Rothberg and Erica Rosset Printed on recycled paper.