[The slides from the Conference are located in the "Energy Conference" menu item above. We are working on providing various mixed media from the Conference and will announce their availability here.]

Just a brief report on our May 5th, 2012 conference on "Meeting the Energy Challenge for Otsego County: Local Solutions, Local Control, Local Jobs."

Over 100 people attended, filling up Templeton Hall. Our speakers did a great job in six hours covering many aspects of conservation and renewable energy. We looked at everything from the big picture to nuts and bolts.

I believe a lot of new information was brought together in one place and shared with our local community for the first time in a systematic way.

I would only add that local control over our resources is ever more important, and that our communities should have a central role to play in deciding public policy on environmental matters.

This is not about undermining property rights, but about protecting them.That's also the best way to protect the environment and our resources. If corporations and governments can come in and do as they please, we will be the victims not the beneficiaries, and our resources will be lost, not protected.

If you didn't make it, you missed a great experience. If you did, you know what I'm talking about.

My thanks again to the participants and to our supporters who made this possible, and to our co-sponsors: OCCA, Brewery Ommegang, and Otsego 2000.

Adrian Kuzminski
Moderator, Sustainable Otsego

This important action by the Preservation League was announced yesterday based on a Seven to Save application submitted by Otsego 2000 with substantial assistance from Ellen Pope, Martha Frey and Jesse Ravage. Copies of the full application can be found at Otsego2000.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Preservation League adds Historic & Cultural Resources

in the Marcellus & Utica Shale Gas Regions

to Seven to Save list of endangered places for 2012-13

ALBANY, March 29, 2012 – The Preservation League of New York State has named the historic and cultural resources in the Marcellus and Utica Shale gas regions to its list of the Empire State’s most threatened historic resources, Seven to Save.

Albany rally speech, 1/23/12  
“Fracking Abolition”  
--Sandra Steingraber

Hi, everybody.  After three years of fighting fracking together, I feel like we’re old friends.  
You know my story:  
How I grew up in a heavily industrialized river valley in Illinois just downwind and downstream from the state’s biggest pollutors—dirty coal, ethanol distilleries, aluminum smelters.  
How my hometown drinking water wells were contaminated.