These days we face a lot of problems, some of which can seem more pronounced in New York. After three years of debate and two full rounds of hearings, New Yorkers recently weighed in on a multifaceted issue that has commanded the national and global limelight.

Far from reticent, state residents—more than 20,000 of them—expressed their concerns to New York environmental officials in January, with the intent to halt hydraulic fracturing in the state. Also called "fracking," the practice involves injecting water, sand, and chemicals underground to free gas trapped in rock.

The immediate and long term impact of fracking operations on public health and the environment definitely require further assessment. The lack of documented evidence is astounding; everyone seems to at least agree on that, if nothing else.

Dissension has seeped into subsets of the varied grassroots anti-fracking organizations that supposedly strive for solidarity. Should the practice be banned altogether in favor of imposing strict limitations?

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