Home rule and natural gas development in New York: civil fracking rights

Abstract

This paper explores the way community understanding of the impact and infrastructure associated with hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has translated into social action within the social, political, and ecological context of rural New York State, USA. How have residents confronted the boom-bust development of fracking, in the face of both actual drilling and the construction of supporting energy infrastructure? What avenues are open to residents as they plan for the long term sustainability of townships? Finally, on the level of both energy and rural development: if not gas, then what? This paper uses both actual and virtual interviews and oral histories to provide a case study of a struggle for environmental justice amidst conflicting visions and experiences of rural life in one New York region.

Key words: fracking, home rule, New York, social movements , Zapatistas