“Fracking,” according to the New York Times “Involves injecting large amounts of water, sand and chemicals deep underground at high pressures to release oil and natural gas from rock formations.”
While many believe that fracking may be needed because of fears that the supply of fuel that we have may diminish sooner than expected, the state of New York decided that fracking is not in favor for its people in the long run.
The topic of fracking has been around for quite some time now, especially for New York, but Cuomo decided that with his reelection, he would move forward with making New York a little greener for its people. That is why on December 17, 2014 his plan to cease all fracking procedures within his city was achieved. When the ban was confirmed by Cuomo’s administration, local citizens and environmentalists were more than ecstatic, and gave them some hope that their efforts to protect their communities were taken into consideration.
Cuomo believed that the risks of potential health hazards that could result from fracking, such as the spewing of toxins and potential hazardous materials on the environment, was a good enough reason to stop fracking before they had to live with the consequences. While there is an ideal amount of resources buried deep within our Earth that can be uses as a substance, the cons still outweighed the pros for this governor because even though that may last us another life time, what will happen when those resources run out as well?
While more and more states and countries are starting to realize the dangers of fracking, some areas of the world still practice it because they feel that the resources are necessary, despite the possible instability of the process.
Cuomo has definitely gained a reputation as a savior to his community by many, but some believe that his ban on fracking may prevent any future growth for many parts of the city, which are suffering from lack of resources.
The banning of fracking in some parts of the world does shine some light on the issue of the world’s resources being completely drained for future generations. Maybe now newer cleaner resources will be the main focus and maybe will be developed for a broader range of citizens.
Photo: Gareth Fuller/AFP
