The debate over whether to allow hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, in the State of New York continues to heat up.

State Senator Tony Avella held a public forum this week aiming to dissuade the public from supporting the controversial natural gas drilling procedure. Mr. Avella’s event followed a statement from Governor Andrew Cuomo that he is considering permitting it in five counties near the Pennsylvania border: Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Steuben and Tioga.

For the uninitiated, hydraulic fracturing involves injecting a cocktail of water, sand and chemicals into the ground to crack open rock formations, which contain gas. It has been going on since 1947, but many environmentalists are in a seemingly sudden, even apocalyptic panic mode over the issue, especially in New York. They raise concerns fracking could cause air pollution and contaminate critical groundwater supplies by releasing methane gas and toxic chemicals. One attendee at Mr. Avella’s event even claimed that, if fracking isn’t stopped, we are facing a situation similar to that in the film The Day After Tomorrow. Read More