In the Fairfield Sun-Times: Fracking and Dithering Used in the Lede

Updates

January 25, 2013: New York state continues to dither. 

Governor Andrew Cuomo has publicly remained neutral on the issue. Last year he ordered a health review of fracking before finalizing his decision, but the Nov. 29, 2012 health review deadline was missed and delayed, again.

However, the opposition for allowing this widely-used procedure is growing louder. In January 2013, environmental advocates walked to the governor's office and delivered 50 boxes of what they said were 204,000 anti-drilling comments to the DEC.

My hunch: no decision until at least after the next presidential election in which Gov Cuomo will be a primary candidate.

Original Post

You have to love it. Finally, honest reporting:

Spooked by left-wing environmental activists, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been dithering over whether or not to approve the production of natural gas by means of hydrofracking from the Marcellus Shale formation in his state. Activists are trying to block approval by claiming that fracking can cause health problems. Today, the New York Times is reporting that a study done a year ago by the state’s Health Department finds that fracking can be done safely.

I guess the only way this paragraph could have been improved would have been to replace the word "activists" with "radicals." I am not a philologist, but "reactionaries" is probably even more important than "radicals."

"Radicals" or "wildcatters" as they are called in the oil and gas industry embraced fracking some time ago.