Save the Date!! Barnfest 2013 – Woodstock!

As always, Barnfest is FREE! We do require registration to attend. Click here to register now!

PLACE & TIME
Andy Lee Field – In the Heart of Downtown Woodstock
Rock City Road,
Woodstock, NY 12498
12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Ben Hewitt
Food Activist and best selling author of The Town that Food Saved and Making Supper Safe

Want to help? Click here to volunteer at Barnfest

Save the Date!! Barnfest 2013 – Woodstock!

HAPPENING NOW

Save the Date!! Barnfest 2013 – Woodstock!

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Mountainkeeper

WOODSTOCK, NEW YORK
SAVE THE DATE: JUNE 22, 2013
Join Catskill Mountainkeeper at our 
5th Annual Barnfest 

Celebrate the FOOD, ARTS and CULTURE of the Catskills
2 stages of live music, theater, film, kids activities, art auction, food trucks, and more

CHECK BACK FOR MORE DETAILS INCLUDING CELEBRITY HOSTS AND HONORED GUESTS

As always, Barnfest is FREE! We do require registration to attend. Click here to register now!

PLACE & TIME
Andy Lee Field – In the Heart of Downtown Woodstock
Rock City Road, 45 Comeau Drive
Woodstock, NY 12498 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Ben Hewitt
Food Activist and best selling author of The Town that Food Saved and Making Supper Safe

Want to help? Click here to volunteer at Barnfest

Media Sponsor:

Time to Make Your Voice Heard as Fracking Deadline Looms

HAPPENING NOW

Time to Make Your Voice Heard as Fracking Deadline Looms

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Mountainkeeper

Fracking is Coming Unless We Pull Together to Stop It

If the stakes weren’t so high, the way that New York State is conducting its review of fracking’s environmental and health impacts would be laughable. Again and again the Governor and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) have put the cart before the horse and turned what should be a straightforward, science-based process into a convoluted debacle.
It’s hard to explain how the DEC could issue the regulations that would govern fracking BEFORE they finished their Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement, the in depth document they have been working on for the last several years.
Or how they could issue those same fracking regulations BEFORE the panel of three medical experts they hired to study the health impacts of fracking submitted their report.
And all of this is coming on the heels of the devastating report this week by researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that has reconfirmed earlier findings of high rates of methane leakage from natural gas fields and in fact found that levels can be much higher than previously anticipated.  These findings utterly vitiate the climate benefit of natural gas, even when used as an alternative to coal.
This week The New York Times released a copy of a year-old closely guarded report from the state’s Health Department that concluded that fracking could be done safely within the regulatory system that the state has been developing for several years. It is inexplicable how the state could come to that conclusion with no original research and no independent assessment of the public health risks.
Unfortunately this is not a laughing matter and the fiasco that has become the regulatory process is moving us toward the implementation of fracking in New York State.

But there are still things that we can do to fight this outrage:

Help flood the DEC with comments on proposed fracking regulations
We have until just January 11, 2013 to make comments on the DEC’s proposed fracking regulations. We are trying to replicate the staggering 66,000 comments that were submitted to the DEC on the draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS) and we need your help to do it. We want the Governor and the DEC to understand the depth of public sentiment against fracking New York State. Please go to Thirty Days of Fracking Regs to learn more about the flaws in the regulations and submit your comments.

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Join us for a rally in Albany at the Governor’s State of the State Address on January 9, 2013 and speak out to ban fracking
We will be rallying before the Governor gives his annual State of the State Address.
Date/Time: Wednesday, January 9th, 2013
, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Place: Empire State Plaza – Concourse hallway near the entrance to The Egg
(Indoors), Albany, NY
Stay over in Albany and join us at the New York State Assembly Hearings on the DEC’s proposed fracking regulations on January 10, 2013.
Your testimony at the New York State Assembly Hearings will be extremely important in our fight to ban fracking in New York State. For more information and to register to testify please click here.
Date/Time: Thursday, January 10th, 9:30 AM
Place: Legislative Office Building, 2nd Floor, Albany, New York
This is a critical time in the fight we have been waging against fracking and now more than ever we need your help.

Why Mountainkeeper Needs Your Support This Holiday Season

During this holiday season I hope that you include Catskill Mountainkeeper in your year-end giving for 2012.   A significant portion of our operating budget comes from end of year donations and it is a great time to support our work because your contribution is tax-deductible.  It is really easy to donate before the end of tax season by using our secure online donation system, by using Paypal or by sending us a check.
Why should you support Catskill Mountainkeeper?
We love the Catskills, and know you do too.  Over the last five years, Mountainkeeper has become its leading advocate, working tirelessly to protect the region from imminent threats like hazardous gas drilling while encouraging a sustainable future through smart planning and promotion of the region’s agricultural and tourism industries.  While we have made great progress under surmountable odds, the future of New York State is still unclear.  The decision on fracking from Albany is looming; we don’t have much time to ensure our voices are heard and dually represented.
We need to increase our efforts, our actions and our giving, before it’s too late.
Advocating for the Catskills needs to be a group effort.  That’s why across the region, generous members of the community are donating their time, goods and services in support of the work we do.  It is with thanks to them, that we offer the following to you:
Contribute $20 or more to Mountainkeeper between now and December 31st, and be entered into a drawing for:

Please join us. Click Here to make a secure donation online today.
As a grassroots organization, a large portion of our funding comes from our annual appeal.  By supporting us at this time, you will not only become an important part of our ongoing efforts to ban the dangerous practice of hydraulic fracturing in New York State but will also be supporting our comprehensive plan to encourage sustainable economic alternatives.  Together, we can protect the vast resources and unique character of the beautiful and irreplaceable Catskill region.
To find out more about what Mountainkeeper has accomplished this past year I invite you to read my 2012 Report to Stakeholders.  In it you’ll find valuable information about the latest steps we’ve taken in our fight against fracking, as well as the economic opportunities we are working to develop.  If you stand behind what we do, please stand with us, and donate today.
There are three simple ways to donate:

Mail a Check to: Catskill Mountainkeeper P.O. Box 381 Youngsville, New York 12791

To find out more ways you can become involved, visit our website at www.catskillmountainkeeper.org.
Catskill Mountainkeeper is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and all contributions are tax deductible.
As always, I remain available to answer any questions you might have. Please don’t hesitate to give me a call, send an email or stop by my Youngsville office.
Best wishes for a joyous holiday season.
Ramsay Adams
Executive Director

Bay Ridge Journal: Drilling Companies Push LPG Fracking in Tioga County

Bay Ridge Journal: Drilling Companies Push LPG Fracking in Tioga County

Our Fight Against Fracking

HAPPENING NOW

Our Fight Against Fracking

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Mountainkeeper

Part of our worldwide effort to halt climate change and why we need to ban fracking and adopt a renewable energy policy

When you are fighting against fracking you are part of a larger global effort to wean the world off fossil fuels and move us toward using renewable energy sources so that we avert catastrophic global warming. You are fighting the same fight as those who are trying to stop mountaintop removal in West VA, the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport tar-sands oil (whose extraction and refining produces up to 30 percent more greenhouse gases than conventional oil) and dangerous nuclear power. You have become a member of a worldwide effort to move from polluting carbon fossil fuels to renewable energy alternatives.
The world is running short of easy to access fossil fuels, but rather than take the diminishing supplies as a sign to change our paradigm to renewable energy, we have instead gone to more extreme methods (such as hydrofracturing) to remove it from the earth.
While these extreme methods temporarily give us the fossil fuels we crave, the extraction process comes with a big price tag to our environment and our health and does nothing to curb our carbon footprint or mitigate climate change.
At the “Planet Under Pressure” conference in London last month, scientists warned that the world is close to reaching tipping points that will make it irreversibly hotter, making this decade critical in efforts to contain global warming.
While the science of climate change is complex and not totally certain, it is certain that so far we have substantially underestimated the problem. The polar ice sheets are melting 100 years ahead of 2001 forecasts and you just have to look at the warmest winter we’ve ever had to see that there is a huge problem.
Unfortunately, the United States has been the chief obstacle to moving away from a fossil-fuel-based economy, in spite of the fact that we are the largest historical emitter.

But we need to move forward.

First we must acknowledge the grievous mistake we made in the 1980s when we failed to create a long-term energy policy. Then we need to move forward by encouraging our elected officials to take whatever political risks present themselves and stay on the course to develop clean energy solutions.
This is a problem that will affect us all, particularly our children and grandchildren. That is why Catskill Mountainkeeper has launched a new Carbon Neutral Initiative. Visit our website to learn more about global warming and important information about how you can move toward becoming carbon neutral.

COME TO THIS IMPORTANT FREE EVENT ON MONDAY, APRIL 23RD
To educate the public, Catskill Mountainkeeper and our partners Frack Free Catskills, Clearwater, NYPIRG, and Working Films/Reel Power are sponsoring the “Extreme Energy and the Fight for Our Future Conference” on Monday 4/23/12 at 6:00 PM, SUNY New Paltz, Lecture Center 100.
Please attend and hear from people who are fighting fracking and nuclear power in New York, mountaintop removal in W VA, climate change and working for a sustainable future. See a screening of “DIRTY BUSINESS: ’Clean Coal’ and the Battle for Our Energy Future” Learn what you can do! VISIT THE WATERSHED POST TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE EVENT

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Join us in writing to your legislators and Governor Cuomo demanding that this process be banned

We often ask you to write to our government officials, and some of you may feel that you have already expressed your objections to fracking, however, it is critical in this fight that we keep up the pressure and that our elected officials hear from us again, and again about why fracking is too great a risk to our health and the well-being of our communities to be done in New York State.

And please mention that you don’t want propane fracking in New York when you call Governor Cuomo as part of our “DON’T FRACK FRIDAYS” call campaign. His office can be reached at (518) 474-8390.

Presenting the New Catskill Mountainkeeper Website!

Mountainkeeper Proudly Flips the Switch on Our Newly Designed Website

Communicating with you is a critical part of our core mission and to satisfy our goal to keep you informed and educated about the issues that are important to the Catskills, we are proud to introduce our new revised and redesigned website.

We have changed our look, added substantial amounts of new content and improved our navigation so that it will be easier for you to find the information you’re looking for. Under the leadership of Catskill Mountainkeeper Board Member, Ilene Ferber, we are happy to announce our launch.

Here is a snapshot of the site.

We have incorporated many of your great suggestions and we encourage you to visit our site often as we will be continually updating and improving it. Please tell your friends about it and encourage them to get involved. We’d love to hear from you and have added a “Contact Us” section on each page for your convenience.

Please consider donating to Catskill Mountainkeeper so that we can continue to represent and work for you. All of our programs and initiatives, including this website, require a tremendous amount of staff time and cost. Catskill Mountainkeeper is a 501(c)(3) corporation and we are 100% reliant upon financial contributions to do our work. All of the money that we receive goes to pay for our program costs.

or mail a check to: Catskill Mountainkeeper, PO Box 381, Youngsville, NY 12791
www.catskillmountainkeeper.org

845.482.5400

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About Catskill Mountainkeeper
Catskill Mountainkeeper is an independent, not for profit, 501(c)(3) community based environmental advocacy organization, dedicated to creating a flourishing sustainable economy in the Catskills and preserving and protecting the area’s long term health. We address issues of water integrity for the Delaware and Susquehanna River Systems, the defense of the vast woodlands that encompass the Catskill Forest Preserve and the New York City Watershed as well as farmland protection. We promote “smart” development that balances the economic needs and concerns of the Catskill regions’ citizens and the protection of our abundant but exceedingly vulnerable natural resources.
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