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Anti-fracking rally draws record crowd to Albany
Jun 19, 2013 6:50 am
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Larry Bennett, public relations and creative services manager for Brewery Ommegang addresses the crowd on the Capitol steps, Monday. (Sam Sebren photo)[/caption]
More than 2,500 people gathered at the Capitol Lawn in Albany, Mon., June 17, for "New York Crossroads," a rally in opposition to high volume hydraulic fracturing of natural gas, and in support of renewable energy in New York state. The rally was the largest of its kind in Albany to date. Workers, business leaders, health professionals, elected officials, scientists, farmers and faith leaders spoke on the Capitol steps, calling on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to take the lead in the effort to reduce climate change and to ban fracking, the process of drilling for gas that is increasingly under scrutiny for the production of greenhouse gases and water supply contamination. The rally lasted for three hours and included a march around the Capitol building and performances by singer Natalie Merchant. PLAY clip (2:44) Speakers during the three-hour event included included:
Larry Bennett, public relations and creative services manager for Brewery Ommegang addresses the crowd on the Capitol steps, Monday. (Sam Sebren photo)[/caption]More than 2,500 people gathered at the Capitol Lawn in Albany, Mon., June 17, for "New York Crossroads," a rally in opposition to high volume hydraulic fracturing of natural gas, and in support of renewable energy in New York state. The rally was the largest of its kind in Albany to date. Workers, business leaders, health professionals, elected officials, scientists, farmers and faith leaders spoke on the Capitol steps, calling on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to take the lead in the effort to reduce climate change and to ban fracking, the process of drilling for gas that is increasingly under scrutiny for the production of greenhouse gases and water supply contamination. The rally lasted for three hours and included a march around the Capitol building and performances by singer Natalie Merchant. PLAY clip (2:44) Speakers during the three-hour event included included:
- Arun Ghandi, president of The Ghandi Worldwide Education Institute PLAY (5:10).
- Dr. Mark Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University PLAY (5:29).
- Larry Bennett, public relations and creative services manager at Brewery Ommegang PLAY (4:37).
- Jim Dean, chair, Democracy For America (DFA) PLAY (3:10).
Phil Aroneanu, cofounder, 350.org PLAY (3:13)
Alec Guettel, cofounder, Sungevity PLAY (4:08)
Dr. Sandra Steingraber, author, biologist, cofounder of New Yorkers Against Fracking PLAY (8:34)
Natalie Merchant, "I Don't Want Your Millions Mister" song performance PLAY (4:36)
-- Sam Sebren