Posted on 04/02/2013 12:14:31 PM PDT by neverdem
Although he is famously averse to leaving New York State, Gov. Cuomo would be well advised to make a day trip 60 miles across the border to a booming city in Pennsylvania.
Williamsport, a town of 30,000 people, is renowned as the site of the Little League World Series. More instructive to Cuomo as he dithers over approving fracking for natural gas in New York is how stunningly the industry has improved the area’s fortunes.
Once plagued by a shrinking population and economy — like much of upstate New York — Williamsport now boasts the third-fastest-growing metropolitan economy in the country.
Young people are flocking there to take good-paying jobs. Hotels, real estate agencies and car dealerships are doing land-office business.
Williamsport had the good fortune — also like upstate New York — to be situated above the gas-rich underground rock formation known as the Marcellus Shale, which can now be profitably tapped thanks to the drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
The process involves drilling deep into the earth, then pumping in millions of gallons of chemically treated water at high pressure to fracture the surrounding rock and release pockets of fuel. Across the country, the technology has unleashed massive reserves of gas.
In places like Williamsport, fracking has proven to be an economic powerhouse. But not in New York — a state with an 8.4% unemployment rate and well below-par job creation — because Cuomo cannot bring himself to give the regulatory green light for drilling on his turf.
When Cuomo took office, the state Department of Environmental Conservation had studied fracking for 21/2 years. An additional two years and three months have passed, and he keeps dragging out environmental and health reviews.
Meanwhile, environmentalists and not-in-my-back-yard activists have turned popular opinion with scare stories, and towns on New York’s side of the border flounder. Take Binghamton, which saw its economy shrink by 1% in 2011 and suffers an unemployment rate of 10.2%
Or the Utica-Rome area, which also shrank and also has 10.2% unemployment.
Or Syracuse, where the economy was down 1.2%, in 2011. Or Ithaca, down 1.6%.
Across upstate, 35 of New York’s 62 counties lost population from 2010 to 2012 while the state added jobs at a 40% slower pace than the nation.
These are symptoms of a long-term slide that Cuomo promised to turn around with business-friendly reforms.
Yet he continues to deny the go-ahead for fracking, the one sure game-changer.
Drilling would create tens of thousands of jobs and pour billions into the economy.
New York would enjoy a gusher of revenue, enabling Cuomo to deliver legitimate tax relief without the flim-flam of raising one group’s taxes to give other groups a break.
The governor might even be able to shed New York’s terrible distinction of being the highest-taxed state.
New York’s draft regulations include belt-and-suspender environmental protections. Cuomo promised to act based on science, not politics. Given the crying needs upstate, his motivations and actions are inexplicable.
It's the exact opposite of what they want.
Let us assume that Cuomo will be persuaded into allowing fracking.
We know that the NY economy will drastically improve, along with tax revenues.
Question: Will the libtard use the additional fund to pay off debts/restock depleted retirement accounts/etc..OR... start new givaway programs to Obama voters and further increase the NY debt?
Ok, so it was an absolutely silly question.
Sorry.
I have some Conservative friends their and I get family, but at somepoint don't you all do a massive migration of generations to get away from this madness?
So the Libs don’t want fracking. They hate nuclear, coal and oil based energy. Even in their most delusional state, they have to understand that wind and solar energy aren’t going to be viable to power a nation of 300 million people for another 100 years, even with the draconian conservation measures they advocate. So what are we left with? Living in huts and burning wood for fire? Or are we all supposed to just die?
The price of gas is up and my royalty check (from Texas) has doubled.
I hope he keeps stalling. Maybe they’ll drill my other leases soon.
Sort of...
My guess is the connected in-crowd Dem's are trying to sow up all the good land or land their touch-hole relatives top jobs within the fracking firms.
My guess is what is going on behind the scenes would make great fodder for David Chase if he ever decided to bring the Soprano's back.
No I don't have any evidence, yes I am that cynical and yes I am a student of human nature and behavior...
One of my sons is on a team designing a natural gas pipeling from Pennsylvania to New York State. He is very frustrated. They have to keep re-designing the Pennsylvania section of the pipeline because new gas wells keep popping up in the planned right-of-way (you cannot run the line too close to a gas or oil well for safety reasons). They have to keep re-designing the New York section of the pipeline because the NIMBYs and BANANAs keep throwing up legal and regulatory roadblocks. And New York State is short of natural gas, too.
Probably true.
State Sen. Malcolm Smith, city Councilman Halloran arrested in 'bribery plot' to rig NYC mayor race
"Smith, 56, spent much of the summer trying to drum up support for a campaign, which was first reported by The Post. To bolster his effort, he met with officials around the state, including New York GOP chief Ed Cox."IMHO, I think the NY GOP is almost as corrupt as the rat party and twice as dumb.
FReepmail me if you want on or off my New York ping list.
One of the technological features of hydraulic fracturing is the ability to drill horizontally...like maybe from wells in Pennsylvania under land in New York. Not that you can drill horizontally 20 or 30 miles, but just saying that maybe not all that gas is off limits, you know.
>> IMHO, I think the NY GOP is almost as corrupt as the rat party and twice as dumb.
Same problem as Congress; it’s the old guard that’s largely the contaminant.
I hope that son of Mediterranean criminals outlaws fracking. Anything that is good for that cesspool slave state is bad for freedom.
Back in the 1990’s when I worked at the Milne Point field in Alaska the longest well we had was 8000’ deep and 10000’ horizontal. I’m sure the technology has advanced since then.
The problem is that the Unions were all set to move to the forever-green pastures of “employment” in the Government for good.
You’ll have to give them a lot to get them into something this closely related to actual work. The Dems are having to work this out.
It depends on New York laws. in PA the oil companies are signing leases left and right. If they go one inch onto your property, 15% royalty. The one thing PA did right is they segregated out the mineral rights from the “energy” right of the property owner. I don’t own the mineral rights, but as far as fracking, I “own” straight down to the core (note, “they” are operating 6000 feet below me)..
New York is becoming two radically different states
You have New York City and environs, which are supported by Wall Street and the Federal Reserve
Then you have Upstate NY, which is turning into Appalachia.
All of NY State used to be based on manufacturing, but that is gone. Meanwhile as the entire US economy has become increasingly based on financial services and debt, NYC/Wall Street has continued to thrive from this. Laws are made by, and for, New York City. This is has continued to speed the decline of Upstate NY.
More likely that Cuomo is getting paid by someone to delay the decision.
When I hear abut something like this or the Keystone Pipeline delay, I always ask who benefits from this decision?
With the Keystone Pipeline we knew that George Soros/Petrobas, OPEC(the Saudis) and Warren Buffet/BNSF railroad have all benefitted from the delay of the pipeline.
I would think big companies in NY State that already own gas wells would want to keep this new production off the market and keep the price high. Maybe someone like that made the right campaign contribution.
Well... that would sure eliminate our carbon footprint. Unfortunately, the Libs will not lead by example in that regard..
LOL!! Glad you caught yourself on that one. :-)
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