Jan, I applaud all of your efforts, and the self-sacrifice you and your family are making for the integrity of your position. >From reading your post, though, it does not seem that you read George's post. What I take from his post is that there is no single morally, environmentally sustainable justifiable position with respect to the issue. I imagine other people will make different choices than you would or than I would that they believe, based on evidence that they find credible. Those positions may and do differ dramatically from either of ours. We will all be neighbors, living with the consequences, for decades to come, whether drilling does or does not proceed, whether lots or little. The debate seems to not be about a diverse community that governs itself (as impossible as that may be). The debate seems to be about winning control in a particular way, with parties on both extremes being willing to say almost anything to win. In the middle of such conflict, we lose sight of how to govern ourselves, as a community. Eric Eric Clay, M.Div., Ph.D. Community Coach Shared Journeys, Inc. 832 North Aurora Street Ithaca, NY 14850 607-592-6874 [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) sharedjourneys.net (under construction)
SHARED JOURNEYS That all may thrive and none be excluded In a message dated 11/20/2009 10:50:01 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Margaret makes an excellent point. Our position in protesting hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale is NIABYism (Not In Anybody's Backyard), not NIMBYism, and it's the most responsible position to take, from both an environmental point of view, as well as a social justice one. In case you haven't already signed Walter Hang's coalition letter, here it is to sign and forward widely: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/coalition_letter . George Frantz is oversimplifying the anti-fracking position in his recent post. He lumps all protesters together under the label of "leisure class environmentalism," basing his argument on the false assumption that all of us who are against fracking -- and we were over 1,000-strong last night at the State Theatre! -- blithely plan to use fossil fuel forever; that we are doing absolutely nothing to reduce our CO2 output; that we are a bunch of hypocrites who could care less about the environmental devastation caused by fracking in other states and nations. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is the very people who are protesting, the very individuals who spoke so eloquently and knowledgably last night who are the most responsible citizens in our community. Each and every one is a leader in the sustainability movement, in his or her own unique way. They are the ones who are documenting and sharing the devastation from other states. They are the ones researching, educating and investing in renewable energy options and energy conservation measures. They are the ones working hard to improve our present and our future. They may not all be able to afford to transition immediately to renewable energy (and George criticizes them harshly for it), but they are doing their best to go in that direction. In the Ithaca area, there are hundreds of local organic farmers like us who not only refused to sign a drilling lease a few years ago, but at the same time took personal responsibility to lower our footprint. We invested $5,000 in insulating our farmhouse, and $6,000 in an energy-efficient wood stove that supplies 100% of our heat; we built 30 raised beds, grow much of our food, and share the rest with friends; we invested thousands to drain our fields and amend our soil to create an organic CSA for the community; and we're now saving for a geothermal system and solar panels. Our "leisure time" is spent in activism, promoting citizen engagement in government, liberation from corporate control, and sustainable living. (For more info, visit www.backtodemocracy.org .) Our personal details are only relevant because they represent a huge portion of residents of Tompkins County who share our commitment to sustainable agriculture and renewable energy. For over 25 years, my husband and I have been a good land stewards. As a result, our organic fields have provided high-quality barley, spelt, oats, wheat, rye and soy to the community. We could have sold out to developers. We could have made quick cash by signing a drilling lease. But we chose not to because we considered those choices highly irresponsible. We chose instead to take care of our land. Since our farm is on Cayuga Lake, we pay very high property taxes. Is it fair that we don't get any tax break or cash bonus for protecting the lake from chemical runoff? Is it fair that those who sign drilling leases get wealthier while they risk poisoning the environment for the rest of us, as well as future generations? Why should they be allowed to plunder the Earth -- to risk dredging up radioactivity that will sicken every living thing around them -- just to make quick money for themselves? Why should we have to pay for the consequences of their choices? And surely, we will. We'll pay for the cleanup of inevitable spills. We'll pay with our health, and with our peace of mind. And so will our children, and our grandchildren, and all the living things around us. Our property will surely devalue as this region becomes riddled with industrial drilling sites, traffic becomes congested with heavy rigs, and water and air pollution skyrockets. There is already a radioactive well in Watkins Glen, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. It would be highly irresponsible NOT to protest hydrofracking. Stand up to the mulitnational corporations who want to plunder what belongs to us! Jan Quarles Bluebird Farm Ovid, NY ----- Original Message ----- From: "Margaret McCasland" <[email protected]> To: "Sustainable Tompkins County listserv" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:44 PM Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] Marcellus shale drilling NIMBYism > One danger with cross posting (which I did when I posted a portion of > this Shaleshock thread on Sustainable Tompkins) is that the context of > the full thread of the list-serves in general is lacking. And I think > this may have contributed to george's reactions. > > The reason I made the cross-post is because I felt the Shaleshock thread > underscored the need for the work ST does on energy conservation and > efficiency, which I wanted to reinforce. > > The lost context did not show the lack of NIMBYism among Shaleshockers: I > have heard only increased sympathy for people living in other extraction > "sacrifice zones," such as mountaintop removal and long wall mining, not > to mention the folks who have been fracked in other states. There is no > good acronym for this sort of compassion and cooperation: but it would > look like NIABY (not in anybody's back yard). > > Which gets us back to where we each should be: buttoning up our houses, > cutting our own use of gas and coal, while calling for appropriate state > and national public policies which support safe energy production (safe > enough to have in anyone's back yard!) > > > Margaret > > > On Nov 19, 2009, at 9:56 PM, George Frantz wrote: > >> >> >> Thank you, Margaret and Autumn. >> I'm not in agreement with all the points you've made. I think however >> that you've raise a critical issue in that much of the debate over >> Marcellus shale drilling is sounding more and more like simple NIMBYism. >> I see nothing progressive or enlightened about the vehement opposition >> to any and all frack-based natural gas drilling in this region. As I've >> said before we are confronted with an industry that would dig up its >> mothers' graves if there was a chance of finding natural gas beneith >> them, but I also think that some of the outrageous exaggerations and >> distortions by Shaleshock and its ilk would even impress the great >> SpinMeister Karl Rove. >> The current controversy is just another of a long string of examples in >> Ithaca of what true progressives and true environmentalists refer to as >> "leisure class environmentalism." It's probably not a term you'll hear >> on NPR or read in the New York Times, but by definition it is the >> constant action of more affluent cities and regions to push off the >> significant adverse environmental impacts of their middle class American >> lifestyle onto poorer regions and communities of the world. >> Some three-quarters of homes in the city and the town of Ithaca are >> heated with natural gas, as are all of our centers of employment, our >> stores, bars, restaurants and I suspect even the State Theatre. Overall >> in Tompkins County almost 6 in ten homes are heated with natural gas or >> propane from afar. Indeed the entire economy of Upstate New York is >> dependent of natural gas and propane produced and imported from >> thousands of miles away. >> I've seen too much of the damage wreaked by energy companies first hand >> in poor communities of Appalachia and Louisiana in their quest to meet >> Ithaca's demands for coal, natural gas and gasoline. I personally >> refuse to be a party to an effort by Ithaca-style progressives to once >> again push off on other, poorer, regions of America and the world the >> severe environmental costs of maintaining our little paradise here in >> the Finger Lakes. >> And, speaking of dairy farms, there are over 300 Marcellus Shale wells >> either drilled, being drilled, or have been permitted across the border >> in Bradford County, PA. Many of them are on dairy farms. In many cases >> you can not even see the finished wells, because the drilling sites have >> been restored and crops have been planted. >> Millions of gallons of fracking fluids are flowing right now. Probably >> some 5-6 billion gallons or so of water have been pulled from the >> Susquehanna River or its tributaries by now. Take a drive down and >> check out the environmental havoc wreaked by the drilling companies, if >> you can find it. >> George Frantz >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 > > _______________________________________________ > 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 _______________________________________________ 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
