Save the date for an important event discussing one of the biggest environmental issues affecting our state and nation.....at one of the city's hippest venues - the nation's first LEED certified nightclub, Greenhouse!
Mark, Kate and Susan are engaged in a long-term campaign to protect our water, air and public health from the practice of hydraulic fracturing.
Stay tuned for more information, and see you on the 19th.
About the issue:
Hydraulic fracturing - or “fracking” - is a type of natural gas exploration that requires the use of chemicals and vast amounts of water to release natural gas from rock. The drilling is highly controversial because of the risk it poses to groundwater, particularly in areas like New York.
The New York State Senate and Assembly recently imposed a moratorium on fracking, making the state the first to take such action. In December, former Governor Paterson issued an executive order calling for a seven-month moratorium on the process until the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation revises its environmental impact statement on the matter. As one of his first acts since taking office, Governor Cuomo has kept in place Paterson’s executive order that froze permits for fracking until July of 2011.
About the speakers:
Actor Mark Ruffalo, known from movies The Kids Are Alright and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, has been politically active for most of the past decade. As an Upstate resident, he has become a leader in the anti-hydrofracking movement. Read more here: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/08/daily-politics-vi...
Kate Sinding is a Senior Attorney at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in New York City. She works on a broad variety of matters, including hydraulic fracking, the recycling of electronic waste, opposing development that NRDC views would impact NYC drinking water, and more. Before joining NRDC in November 2006, she was in private practice at a small environmental law firm in New York City.
Ulster County Legislator Suzan Zimet (D-New Paltz) represents the 10th District in the Ulster County Legislature where she chairs the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Budget Reform, and the Arts, Education and Community Relations Committee that oversees all cultural, tourism, education, aging, veterans and health agencies. She is widely acknowledged for her work on open government, budget and taxation reform, clean elections, protecting women’s and veterans’ health, school safety, alternative energy, and sustainable economic development. Prior to service in the Legislature, she served two terms as Supervisor of the Town of New Paltz, the first woman to hold that job.
About Greenhouse:
NYC first eco-friendly, green nightclub! Features green design, wind power, water and energy efficiency and even real leaves. The bilevel, 6,000-square-foot space is the first nightlife destination in New York to seek LEED certification, the official stamp of approval from the US Green Building Council. That means that everything from building materials and garbage disposal, energy and water usage, has to be regulated and reduced. With walls made of sustainable bamboo instead of wood and LED lightbulbs that use just one-thirtieth of the energy of regular incandescent bulbs.