Fracking, besides being a word that makes childish bloggers like me giggle because of the other word it sounds like, is where you extract natural gas from a rock. It’s short for hydraulic fracturing and slightly more complicated than that, but for the sake of this blog post it has to do with an “all of the above” energy policy, and upstate New York.
Parts of upstate New York (that generally border Pennsylvania) would like to frack the hell out of the Marcellus Shale, a rock formation and untapped source of natural gas and the money and jobs it would bring to the upstate region…that while legal in Pennsylvania, isn’t in New York.
Rep. Tom Reed is the vice-chair of the “Marcellus Shale Caucus” and spoke aboot this recently…
At a town hall meeting in Penn Yan Saturday, Reed said the purpose of the Marcellus Shale Caucus, on which he serves as vice chair, is to get the best scientific data about natural gas exploration.
Saying he favors an “all of the above” energy policy encompassing traditional as well as renewable resources, Reed told about 60 people at the meeting that an energy platform can be a good long term goal for both Democrats and Republicans to work together to achieve.
“I appreciate the passion,” he told those who spoke out against drilling in the Finger Lakes, but he added he believes the chemicals used in hydrofracking will be disclosed, and we have to be aware of the national security and economic issues tied to the natural gas supply.
The economic issues tied to natural gas exploration is the big one, because Lord knows that upstate New York needs a boost to jobs and the economy.
The Right Hook 