Forum on Gas Drilling and Water Safety-02/26/09-7:30 PM

lostingreenwoodhts

WHAT: Forum on Gas Drilling and Water Safety
WHERE: Park Slope United Methodist Church, 410 6th Ave. @ 8th St.
WHEN: Thursday February 26, at 7:30 pm
HOW MUCH: FREE!!!

View preview clips from Josh Fox’s new documentary “Rage of Nature”
Guest Panel: Filmmaker Josh Fox; former NYC DEP Commissioner Albert Appleton; NYS Assemblymember James Brennan; Co-Founder, Damascus Citizens for Sustainability and NY-H2O - Joe Levine

Sponsored by PSUMC Social Action Committee and Damascus Citizens for Sustainability
For More Information about the dangers of gas drilling visit:
WaterUnderAttack.com and www.DamascusCitizens.com

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Park Slope United Methodist Church
410 6th Ave. (at 8th St.), Brooklyn, NY 11215

February, 14, 2009 www.parkslopeumc.org Email: [email protected]
CONTACT: Church Office (718)768-3093

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Editors: Please List and Cover!

Does Natural Gas Drilling threaten the safety of New York City’s Drinking Water?
A panel discussion and film preview

Did you know that plans for natural gas drilling in New York State may have devastating effects on the safety of our drinking water? Many Americans are aware that the mining and burning of carbon producing fossil fuels is a major contributor to greenhouse gases and pollution of water sources around the world. However, they may not be aware that the recent push to drill for NATURAL GAS (Aubrey McClendon of Chesapeake Energy- T. Boone Pickens, of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, $50 million ad campaign- biggest public policy campaign ever!) in the vast Marcellus Shale in NY, PA, MD, West Virginia, and Ohio will have devastating consequences for our nation’s air and water, just as it has in the western United States. In NY State alone, tens of thousands of wells are expected to be drilled within the next few years. There are millions of dollars to be made by those who own the mineral rights to this land, and billions to be made by the gas companies. But there’s a BIG problem.

The gas companies, with the help of Cheney and Bush and utilizing Halliburton technology, are exempt from much of the environmental legislation put in place over the past 30 years. The 275 known chemicals that are used to extract the gas through hydraulic fracturing are a dangerous, toxic brew. Billions of gallons of water, more precious than gold, will be depleted and contaminated.

Meet Albert Appleton, the former NYC DEP Commissioner and worldwide water expert who states, “The threat to drinking water from shale drilling is indisputable. There should be a ZERO RISK factor where water is concerned. The standard for assessing public health risk is not the environmental standard of balancing environmental risks against economic benefits.” There are only 5 water supply systems in the U.S. that are still pristine and unfiltered. One of them is in NY and it must not be contaminated, and neither should the water supply in PA, NJ, MD or elsewhere.