Author: Ann I. Aurelio
After approximately 3 years of petitions, phone calls, rallies and hearings, Gov. Cuomo took center stage in Long Beach.
On Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015 something monumental happened for NY. Governor Andrew Cuomo rejected the proposed Port Ambrose liquefied natural gas terminal. (LNG) Had this offshore terminal been built it would have been close to the shipping lanes of NY harbor. It would have interfered with a proposed wind farm project. Its purpose was to import condensed liquefied gas through a series of pipelines that would have been sunken in the waters off the coast of Long Beach. Since NY is rich in natural gas it was feared that high volume fracking would occur and that this facility would have turned to exportation.
Vetoing this project was the environmentally correct thing to do. For liquefied gas escaping into the air is not only flammable, but it emits more greenhouse gases in the way of methane. It is also the safer thing to do, for in cases of severe storms like we experience with Super Storm Sandy there is always a danger of it being damaged. In these days of terrorism this would have made a good target for destruction. Economically it would have only added 6 permanent jobs for NY, where as a wind project could offer many more jobs permanently.
Governor Cuomo’s rejection follows a series of actions taken to protect New York’s environment and lessen its dependence on fossil fuels, including a fracking ban imposed at the end of 2014, a commitment to achieve a 40% carbon emissions reduction statewide by 2030 and 80% by 2050, and a pledge to source 50% of New York’s energy from renewables by 2030.
New York should be a leader in clean renewable energy and Cuomo’s vetoing this project hopefully clears the way to move forward into 21 Century clean technology.
Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune applauds the gov. on his decision.