A Toxic Island Coming To A Beach Near You

citysurfer

I'm a surfer and resident of Rockaway Beach. Although I do not live in Brooklyn. I know that many residents visit and enjoy our local beaches. I write to you today to inform you that New York’s beaches are under attack by big oil.

A company with no prior experience wants to build a toxic and explosive artificial island off our coast to house and transfer Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

I’m not writing this to spark a debate on the current energy crisis or green alternatives. I’m informing you because many New Yorkers are unaware that this project is trying to be pushed through Albany. Anyone that enjoys our ocean beaches needs to be informed of this project.

Don’t kill the messenger. Here's the gist of it:

Atlantic Sea Island Group, wants to build an artificial island approximately the size of 11 Giant Stadiums on our areas ONLY natural reef, Cholera Bank. This area located 13 miles off the coast of Long Beach, NY is a thriving eco system and prime fishing and diving grounds. This project would devastate this area and cause irreversible damage to an already stressed coastal region.

We have had public meetings in Rockaway Beach with the US Coastguard, Congressman Anthony Weiner, Assemblywoman Audrey Phiffer and Assemblyman Eric Ulrich among other elected officials, community board members and environmental activists.

.Why is LNG a bad choice for the ocean? The LNG facilities will:

•devastate important fish habitat, and impact endangered and threatened species,
•damage seafloor habitat,
•destroy vast quantities of marine life by refilling huge emptied tankers with billions of gallons of seawater to replace LNG cargos,
•create navigational hazards, leading to accidents & spills,
•be exposed to stronger and more frequent hurricanes, nor’easters, and wind & wave risks.

Why is LNG the wrong choice? Liquefied Natural Gas:

•is grossly more polluting than domestic natural gas, resulting in up to 40% more greenhouse gas emissions (due to LNG lifecycle of extraction, cooling to liquid form at -259°F, transport from overseas, and heating to gas form),
•increases our use and dependence on foreign fossil fuels,
•will lead to increased home energy bills by significantly increasing supply costs (Jan. ‘08 data),
•port facilities and supplies that exist are under-utilized and can more than meet our region’s energy needs,
•steers us in the wrong direction away from existing conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy technologies & options, opens the door to offshore oil & gas drilling

In short, this LNG proposal is not only a step in the wrong direction, but an environmental disaster waiting to happen.

Clean Ocean Action, along with Surfrider Foundation are spearheading the fight against this proposal.

If you are against this project, please sign the online petition. It only takes a couple of minutes. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/689151878

If you would like more information, go to: http://www.cleanoceanaction.org/?id=636

To read about a recent NO LNG protest at Rockaway Beach in the NY Times go to: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/rain-doesnt-throw-surfing-protesters-off-their-boards/?scp=1&sq=LNG Protest&st=cse

If you think this is a bad idea, please tell your friends and family, and get them to sign the petition.

PROTECT OUR BEACHES!

JUST SAY NO TO LNG!