[taildragger]

The question begs, does the Marcellus and York Shale Formations extend all the way up to Buffalo and Rochester area, or does it stop about an Hr or so South of them by car if you look @ the maps.

If it did and Coumo wasn't the Mini-Me-Dictator he is and allowed Fracking in this region cam you imagine the turn-around?

FWIW I have a friend in the area and have spent sometime their. The Fruits grown and harvested in late August are amazing and this on top of Corn etc. The wine guys have found it out too, great for grapes. The lay of the land is stunning.

Can you also imagine if they Spun off from the rest of the State and became "Reaganville" and how prosperous the area would be without NYC and Albany?

[grania]

I agree with you about the beauty of most of upstate and western NY. When I was looking for a place to locate, I wanted

(1) safety

(2) reasonably priced and quality housing

(3) easy access to shopping and necessities,

(4) recreational/cultural oppotunities

(5) availability of public transportation if I ever couldn't drive

In NYS, maybe Rochester would provide all of that. But strangely (who'd think it?) there are towns south of Cleveland that meet ALL of those criteria.

I could see rural NYS having a future when federal and global govenments collapse. There's a lot of sparsely populated land and plenty of resources for self-sufficiency.

[what's up]

I think this is why cuomo is blocking fracking. He does not want upstate to climb out of the hole they have been in for decades and be real contenders in Albany.