What anti-frackers must be forgetting are the lives at stake due to problems caused by not using hydraulic fracturing to drill for natural gas.
Protesters are ignoring that without new industry, no potential exists for new jobs. Without jobs, no opportunities exist for college students like me to stay here. With unemployment rates at 7.7 percent, a future here does not seem likely. As a soon-to-be college graduate, I have one question: What is our future?
The future of my generation depends on decisions made by today's lawmakers. We must take opportunities to drill the natural gas we are literally standing on to drive New York's industry and economy.
With star power like Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon and Susan Sarandon, it's easy for anti-frackers to gain blind support. It's easy for celebrities to protest fracking when unemployment is not a concern for them. What New Yorkers must do is stop allowing ourselves to be manipulated. We need to educate ourselves through independent research and make decisions that benefit us.
While I appreciate Gov. Andrew Cuomo's decision to thoroughly research the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing, stalling is not a decision. Circumventing the issue any longer will not appease either supporters or opponents of fracking.
With the appropriate research and environmental safety standards, fracking will create jobs without residual environmental effects. Instead of creating tension and frustration by delaying that decision, why not create jobs?
Fracking is a solution, not a problem.
Kelsey Hart
East Greenbush