Earth Day is a call-to-action to promote sustainable practices and work to eliminate ones that exploit what scarce resources are available to us. One of the goals of the New York Public Interest Research Group is to raise awareness about an issue that not only spurns sustainability, but also poses a real danger to us all: fracking.

Fracking is the process of drilling deep into the ground vertically and then horizontally to extract natural gas deposits. Millions of gallons of water, sand and up to 600 toxic and potentially carcinogenic chemicals are then injected into the ground.

We have seen the terrible damage that fracking has inflicted on people’s health, drinking water, financial well-being and quality of life in states across the country. Right now is a momentous time to speak out and prevent this dangerous form of natural gas drilling from becoming legal in New York.

Since 2008, there has been a de-facto moratorium on fracking in New York. However, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has stated that he will be reevaluating the moratorium in 2015 and will base his decision on whether to allow fracking in the state on what Health Commissioner Nirav Shah concludes are the potential effects on people’s health and well-being. But Shah will be leaving New York in June and we do not know if this timeline will be impacted.

Students and community members who wish to become involved in efforts to ban fracking can affect change by submitting a comment on New York’s Draft State Energy Plan. The comments can be anything from personal insights to reminders about the problems fracking has brought to bear upon communities. To aid you, NYPIRG has compiled fact sheets and a submission form that can be accessed on Facebook by searching “NYS Draft Energy Plan Comments.”

In honor of Earth Day, NYPIRG is having an exciting Earth Day Celebration           this Sunday, April 27, at 12 p.m. in Thornden Park Amphitheater. Musicians such as Woodworks will perform and there will be meditation, face painting, a “mud pie” eating contest, hula hoops, finger painting and many more activities. Among those who will be speaking is State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry President Quentin Wheeler. We hope you will come out and join us in a fun afternoon of celebrating the Earth, and each other, before the start of finals.

Hasmik Djoulakian
NYPIRG Hydrofracking Project Leader