The Atlantic Chapter ExCom met in person in Albany in May and held subsequent telephone conference call meetings.
The ExCom approved Atlantic Chapter membership in the Alliance for a Green Economy, a new statewide coalition, but withdrew Sierra Club sponsorship for the Energy 21 Symposium in Syracuse, out of concern over the role being played by hydrofracking and nuclear energy corporations.
The ExCom has spent considerable time crafting the terms for involvement in the national Beyond Coal Campaign, which will be phase one of the Atlantic Chapter’s Beyond Fossil Fuel Campaign. The ExCom also approved plans for the training of volunteers by the Water Sentinels committee.
Administrative matters included approval of numerous appointments to Chapter committees, improving the coordination of events between the Chapter and the local groups, tightening the oversight of the groups’ financial reporting, and clarifying the procedures for management of the increasing number of lawsuits in which the Chapter is participating. The ExCom approved one new lawsuit challenging the proposed withdrawal of millions of gallons of water from one of New York’s primary aquifers; the water would be sent to Pennsylvania for use in hydrofracking operations there.