DON SURBER: New York returns to the 19th century.

I fully expect Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo to follow through on this [ban on fracking] by banning all use of oil and natural gas as a means of keeping the evil spirits from rising elsewhere.

A return to wood stoves would promote the renewable energy that trees provide. OK, you would probably deplete the forests of New York in one winter, but a few years of cold while you await the regrowth of the forests is a small price to pay for keeping the evil spirits at bay.

Likewise, Mayor DeBlasio will have to rescind his ban on horse-drawn carriages if New York is going to keep moving. The return of electric streetcars would help, provided the electricity is generated by hydro or wooden wind turbines because we cannot extract the ores for metal, lest we disturb the undergrounnd gods. Coal, and uranium for nuclear use are also out.

Dried manure burns; not well - and it smells - but it does burn.