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Tompkins County Legislature Chair Martha Robertson was in the nation’s capital last Friday (July 27th), where she met on Capitol Hill with staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to express the Legislature’s concern about hydrofracking.

"My purpose in meeting with the staff of the Senate Energy Committee is to raise awareness of the destructive carbon footprint of shale gas compared to other fossil fuels,” says Robertson. “Most research to date finds that shale gas development releases far more methane than conventional gas, and methane is 72 times more damaging than carbon dioxide in heating up our atmosphere, over a twenty-year time frame. At our current pace of warming the planet, we don't have twenty years before we'll see terrible consequences around the globe. The many other dangers of shale gas are more well-known, but I believe its effect on climate change is the most troubling.”

Robertson also met with Patty Beneke, Democratic Senior Counsel, and with Committee staff members Sara Tucker, Kevin Rennert, and Kelly Kryc.

On Saturday, the Chair participated in a national rally against hydrofracking, sponsored by the organization “Stop the Frack Attack.”

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