In a roll call vote of 95-40, the New York State Assembly has passed a two-year moratorium on fracking. The bill, if passed by the Senate and signed off by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, would close the state’s doors to the oil and gas industry’s desire to begin operating in New York’s portion of the Marcellus Shale basin until May 2015. New York has had a moratorium on the books since 2008.? This is the third time the Assembly has passed such a bill, with similar moratorium bills passing in 2010 and 2011, but then dying a slow death in the Senate and never reaching the governor’s desk, meaning the de facto?moratorium has remained in place. The third time might prove to be the charm. The bipartisan Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) bloc of the Senate?-?which shares control of the Senate with the Republicans — has come out in support of the bill’s passage, according to the Associates Press?(AP). “We have to put science first. We have to put the health of New Yorkers first,” Sen. David Carlucci (D-38) and an IDC member told the AP.? If passed, this will be a huge sigh of relief (even if temporarily), for the thousands of New Yorkers who have worked tirelessly to make sure Governor Cuomo knows that allowing fracking to occur would be doing his state, and its residents, a great disservice.

Mediterranean Diet Shown to Ward Off Heart Attack and Stroke

A new study had found that about 30 percent of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease can be prevented in people at high risk if they switch to a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables, and even wine. The findings, published on The New England Journal of Medicine?s Web site on Monday, were based on the first major clinical trial to measure the diet?s effect on heart risks. The magnitude of the diet?s benefits startled experts. Heart disease experts believe the study was a success because it showed that a diet was powerful in reducing heart disease risk, and it did so using the most rigorous methods. Scientists randomly assigned 7,447 people in Spain who were overweight, were smokers, or had diabetes or other risk factors for heart disease to follow the Mediterranean diet. The mainstays of the diet consisted of at least three servings a day of fruits and at least two servings of vegetables. Participants were to eat fish at least three times a week and legumes, which include beans, peas and lentils, at least three times a week. They were to eat white meat instead of red, and, for those accustomed to drinking, to have at least seven glasses of wine a week with meals. They were encouraged to avoid commercially made cookies, cakes and pastries and to limit their consumption of dairy products and processed meats. Ultimately, the study wound up comparing the usual modern diet, with its regular consumption of red meat, sodas and commercial baked goods, with a diet that shunned all that. ?This study further cements what many of us know: a diet low in meat, high in produce, and free of processed food, will greatly improve your health in various ways. To add to that, it is in your best interest (and the planet?s, to eat organic food ? free of pesticides, GMO?s, and other harmful chemicals).

Paper or Plastic? Both are Now Illegal in Austin, Texas

Late last week, the city council of Austin, Texas passed one of the most comprehensive bans on disposable shopping bags in the country, despite Texas’ history of a lack of commitment to environmental sustainability. The state’s economy runs off the oil and natural gas pumped from beneath politicians’ feet, and Houston has one of the worst asthma rates in the country, attributed to the city’s not-so-great air quality.? A dozen cities have already passed bag bans that target plastic bags, eliminating those in favor of paper bags for which customers are charged a small fee, usually 5 to 10 cents per bag. But thus far, no other city has successfully implemented a ban as comprehensive as Austin’s. In the year between now and when the single-use bag ban goes into effect, the city plans to launch an educational campaign encouraging people to get into the habit of bringing and using reusable bags. When the ban begins, retailers will be penalized (an amount yet to be determined) for handing out flimsy, thin plastic or paper bags. We can only hope that this becomes a trend and continues to spread throughout the U.S., and the rest of the world!

The Fort Collins City Council, on a second reading Tuesday night, voted to uphold the fracking ban within city limits by a vote of 5-2. The ban is now final. This vote defies the governor and other state authorities who say local governments have no right to regulate the oil and gas industry. The state and Colorado Oil and Gas Association threatened lawsuits if Fort Collins? ban on fracking became final. ?The Fort Collins City Council stood up to the bullies?Governor Hickenlooper and the Big Oil and gas industry?to protect citizens and their health and property by banning fracking in the city,? said Gary Wockner of Clean Water Action, a national environmental organization in Fort Collins that has 2,000 members. ?People are taking charge of their democracy, wrestling it away from powerful special interests?Longmont was first, Fort Collins second, who will be third??