Posted by JM Ashby
In a major victory for anyone who cares about the environment and the long term health of the nation, Governor David Patterson of New York has blocked the gas-mining practice known as "fracking."
New York Governor David Paterson on Saturday halted a controversial form of natural gas drilling in the state until July and ruled no such drilling take place until environmental regulators deem it safe.
...While neighboring Pennsylvania is experiencing a gas drilling boom with widespread fracking in the multi-state Marcellus Shale formation, New York state has been more cautious, saying the economic benefits must be weighed against environmental concerns.
Fracking is currently unregulated and both sides of the issue fear that things may swing in their favor, or not. It is difficult to deny that Natural Gas is going to be a necessary part of our energy independence moving forward, but we need to extract it in a safe manner. All too often, public safety (see Gulf of Mexico) is tossed to the wind in favor of a quick buck. Governor David Patterson seems to agree.