When New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he was taking steps to ban hydraulic fracturing in the state, he was strongly influenced by the statement of Howard Zucker, acting state health commissioner:

Dr. Zucker said his review boiled down to a simple question: Would he want his family to live in a community where fracking was taking place?

His answer was no.

“We cannot afford to make a mistake,” he said. “The potential risks are too great. In fact, they are not even fully known.”

It turns out that Zucker has no children, no family to protect. Kenneth Lovett of the New York Daily News:

 In recommending a ban on fracking in New York, acting state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said he wouldn't want his kids growing up near a drilling site.

But Zucker doesn’t have kids, state officials confirmed Thursday.

Zucker made his comments during a Cabinet meeting Wednesday as he announced his long-awaited decision on whether to allow the controversial gas-drilling technique.

“Would I live in a community with (fracking) based on the facts I have now? Zucker said.

“Would I let my child play in a school field nearby or my family drink the water from the tap or grow their vegetables in the soil?” he added.

“After looking at the plethora of reports ... my answer is no.”

He was protecting imaginary children from an imaginary danger. Despite the best efforts of greenies and federal and state regulators to document serious hazards from fracking, the cupboard is bare. So Zucker turned to the argument that safety can’t be proved, as if such a thing were possible. We can’t prove the safety of airline travel or automobile travel either, after all.

What is certain is that upstate New York will continue to be held in an impoverished state in order to gratify the egos of rich environmentalists in New York City and environs, who want to feel good about themselves protecting Mother Gaia. How about protecting the children of Utica, New York, who move away in droves because there is no economic opportunity there.

When regulators turn to fraud, you know they are up to no good.