Gay touches on many critical issues here, all of which add up to a
sustainable, just energy policy vs. more of the same: extracting and
burning of fossils fuels as fast as can be done, with no regard for
the environmental costs of how or where extracting is done, where
emissions are released and/or travel, etc.
We should replace NIMBYism (not in my back yard) with YIMBYism (yes,
in my back yard) for safe, appropriate scale renewable energy plus
NIABYism (not in anybody's back yard) for surface coal mining,
unconventional fracking, super-scale hydro, nukes, etc.
These issues need to be raised with the Obama administration,
Congress, and state energy policy makers.
Margaret
On Oct 30, 2009, at 10:13 PM, Gay Nicholson wrote:
Actually, this decision concerns me. Now that NYC residents and
politicians
are assured of their safe drinking water supply, there is no
motivation for
them to stay in the fight. NYC is a big consumer of natural gas for
heating. It seems unlikely that NYC residents and politicians will be
equally vocal about protecting our lands and waters once they have
safe
water and cheap gas. I wonder if anyone has sent op-eds to NYC papers
calling for their support in our watersheds to prove this is not
simply
another case of NIMBYism. Of course it is; but why not make some
political
noise about it?
And again, let's keep the conversation going about making
investments that
reduce our need for natural gas for heating and conventional
agriculture.
Those investments must be made eventually anyway. Why not have
current
generations make the investment? It's insane what we are leaving to
future
people to figure out.
I've been wondering if anyone is making projections about supply and
price
due to global increase in leasing underway for shale gas drilling.
Perhaps
if enough of these projects get underway, the price of natural gas
will fall
to the point where communities that make it expensive to drill will
be left
alone. Of course, that just has us cycling back along NIMBY road.
That's
why it seems to me that we need to escalate the conversation about
shared
investments in RE and organic farming methods to reduce the demand
side of
the equation. Otherwise, people will accept the argument that
natural gas
is a good transition fuel and thereby continue to put off
investments at a
scale that make a difference. I think it just buys more time for
business
as usual. We need to be closing down the valves on coal and natural
gas to
force RE investment, not opening them up further. The natural gas
market is
global, but it would help if the people in our state worked together
to
reduce our demand for this fuel.
Gay
On Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 10:09 PM, Tony Del Plato <[email protected]
>wrote:
One of the biggest drilling companies in the country withdrew from
drilling
in the NYC/Catskill area.
Tony Del Plato
http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20091028/NEWS01/910280468/1126/news/Chesapeake+won+t+drill+in+New+York+City+watershed
--
"This is a subtle truth: whatever you love, you are".
Rumi
--
No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of
policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets.
- Edward Abbey
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--
----------------------------------------------------
Gay Nicholson, Ph.D.
President
Sustainable Tompkins
109 S. Albany St.
Ithaca, NY 14850
www.sustainabletompkins.org
607-533-7312 (home office)
607-220-8991 (cell)
607-216-1552 (ST office)
607-216-1553 (ST fax)
[email protected]
_______________________________________________
For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County
area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for:
[email protected]
http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins
Questions about the list? ask [email protected]
free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
_______________________________________________
For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please
visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for:
[email protected]
http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins
Questions about the list? ask [email protected]
free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
