Dear Editor:
As a resident who, among millions of others here in New York City, relies on drinking water from upstate New York, I am appalled at the misinformation being spewed by the gas drilling industry.
People must be educated about the long-term consequences of hydrofracking- the chemical run-off and spills, and later-abandoned well shafts that will provide corridors to aquifers for toxic chemicals. Throughout our region ethical thinking is being blinded by the promise of financial rewards. People must be told that very little of the shale gas extracted in New York and Pennsylvania will be used locally-or even nationally, it will be sold to foreign counties.
In addition, communities are not being told that three-fourths of the drilling jobs will be filled by “company men” and not by locals. Yes, it may bring temporary relief to the economy, but by the time our grandchildren reach the age of employment, the jobs will be gone and the land will be desecrated and useless. And we all know what runs downhill.
Wake up, New Yorkers, before it’s too late. Future wars will be fought over water.
Scott Dill
Brooklyn
