Jailed Members of Seneca Lake 12 Released After Peaceful Blockade

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y., April 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released by Finger Lakes CleanWaters Initiative, Inc.:

Released Protestors of Seneca Lake 12 Demand Adoption of Jacobson et al, Road Map to Renewables for New York State. Community Group Opposes Inergy Midstream's Frack Gas Infrastructure Build-out and Heavy Industrialization of the Finger Lakes with Peaceful Blockade.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130422/DC98528)

Just after midnight on Thursday April 25, over 100 community supporters of the Seneca Lake 12 greeted author, biologist, and Heinz Award Recipient Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., local businesswoman Melissa Chipman, and farmer Michael Dineen as they emerged from the Schuyler County Jail for a joyful reunion with their families. Press Conference April 25, 1:00 pm, Seneca Lake Harbor Front Park.

The Seneca Lake 12 were arrested on March 18 for peaceful blockade of Inergy's salt cavern gas storage facility and compressor station in Reading, NY. At their arraignment on April 15 they refused to pay fines on ethical grounds, and were sentenced to fifteen days in jail.

"The Finger Lakes is one of the largest pools of fresh water in the country. It needs our protection. Clean water is more valuable than gas. I farm and work, I have a wife and granddaughter, and this is what we can do to make a difference."—Michael Dineen

Salt caverns have a troubled safety history when used to store either compressed natural gas or LPG. A 2004 analysis by industry insider John Hopper found them to be far more prone to catastrophic accidents than other more common underground storage options. (DC Bureau)

"I think it's criminal how the gas industry treats the earth and the people on it" 
—Melissa Chipman

The Road Map to Renewables for New York refers to the Jacobson et al. paper published last month, demonstrating that New York State can move to become completely free of fossil fuels, and run our energy economy just on renewable energy sources; wind, water, and sunlight. The plan is based entirely on technologies that are commercially available today.

"For decades, renewables have been recognized as the fuel source of the future. The future is now."—Robert W. Howarth, Ph.D. Co-Author, The Road Map to Renewables

The current use of fossil fuels in New York State kills 4,000 people each year, at a cost of $33 billion each year. The roadmap to renewables for New York is cost effective.  The total cost of implementing the plan over 20 years is less than the savings in health costs from freeing ourselves from fossil fuels.  The plan creates a stable and economical energy future for New York.  And it creates a large number of new jobs.

"As someone who grew up amid heavy industry, I highly value clean air and water and am motivated to protect them. I think a lot of cancer survivors feel that way."—Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D.  Letter From Chemung County Jail, Scientific Advisor to the Finger Lakes CleanWaters Initiative, Inc.

Photos, video, bios, links  http://ourfutureisunfractured.wordpress.com/

SOURCE Finger Lakes CleanWaters Initiative, Inc.