(Syracuse, NY) Howie Hawkins, the recent Green Party candidate for Governor who finished third, called today upon Governor Cuomo to veto on November 6 the proposed Pt. Ambrose liquefied natural gas facility off of Long Island. Cuomo has from Nov. 6 to Dec. 21 to issue the veto, as does Governor Christie.

In April 2008 Gov. David Paterson vetoed a similar proposal in Long Island sound.

Hawkins and the Green Party began calling for a ban on the hydrofracking of natural gas more than 5 years ago. At the time, most other environmental groups either supported it as a bridge fuel or wanted a moratorium to study the health and environmental impacts of the technology. The Greens said they opposed any more natural gas in the state because of its negative impact on climate change.

“It was good that we were able to convince Cuomo to stop a particular method of extreme extraction, but unfortunately he is still looking to promote the use of natural gas, including gas from fracking, throughout the state. That will only make climate change worse. We need to say no to natural gas and yes to off-shore wind, solar, geothermal, and tidal power and yes to energy conservation,” noted Hawkins, who is running this year for City Auditor in Syracuse.

Hawkins pointed out that there are dozens of natural gas pipelines, storage facilities, compressor stations and power plants being proposed in NYS. While much of the decision rests with the federal government, many of them require state water permits that the Governor could deny.

The liquefied natural gas facility has been proposed for the same area as a proposed wind farm. The off-shore wind farm has been put on hold by the federal government until the status of the LNG application is resolved. On the same day that Cuomo announced his decision on fracking, the Long Island Power Authority, which he controls, rejected a major off-shore wind farm.

The deadline for Pt. Ambrose was triggered on Oct. 5 by the US Department of Transportation (Maritime administration) and the US Coast Guard. After two final public hearings are held, the 45-day decision making period for the Governors of New York and New Jersey begins on Nov. 6.

LNG facilities are also considered major terrorist targets. Department of Energy studies indicate that if such a facility was set on fire, it would be hot enough to melt steel at distances of 1200 feet, or result in second-degree burns on exposed skin a mile away.

Hawkins pointed out that an off-shore wind farm would produce far more jobs and contracts for local business while reducing carbon emissions.

According to the Sane Energy Project, “Liquefied Natural Gas is methane...Not only is the process of liquefying, transporting and re-gasifying extremely expensive—making LNG a costly fuel—it also costs our climate: LNG has a carbon footprint 40% larger than domestic shale gas (in itself a greenhouse gas with an effect on warming that is 86 times worse over 20 years than carbon dioxide).”