My reaction to George's statements on the morality question of opposing fracking, differs from reactions of those who were critical of his position. What I take away from this conversation is that we have no moral high ground to stand on in opposition to fracking until our opposition to the criminally excessive use of gas (and, of course all fossil fuels and most other global resources) here in NY reaches the level that it has with the fracking issue.
There is a movement that seeks a policy change - a ban on fracking, but why, long before the threat of gas mining of the Marcellus shale, did no massive movement develop seeking policy changes that would end in a ban on the use of fossil fuels in Tompkins County and transform the local economy toward zero growth as rapidly as possible? That movement should have begun ages ago. Why the double standard of activism? Isn't the dirty face of environmental damage right here at home in our extravagant resource use? Isn't George right that here we exhibit the genteel face of environmentalism? On Thursday in Copenhagen Naomi Klein said that the protests there are exposing the real face of environmentalism, "a class war that is being waged by the rich against the poor." That warfare starts with our consumption habits, and only secondarily with the corporations that feed them. The parallels with the so-called war on drugs are palpable. As has been repeatedly pointed out, the causes of the drug trade are here in the causes of substance abuse, and are not going to be addressed by military violence in Columbia, Mexico, or Afganistan. All too often I am forced to return to the wise words of Pogo: we have met the enemy and he is us! If there is to be a fight for policies that end environmental damage (and there should be), it should start with a fight for policies that end abusive resource use, which occurs every time we turn on the gas. On Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:57:38 -0800 (PST) George Frantz <[email protected]> writes: > > --- On Wed, 12/9/09, Jan Quarles <[email protected]> wrote: > > "I hope you're not asking that question as a way, yet again, to say > that protesting fracking is morally wrong as long as the protestors > are heating with gas. That's a trap that could have a chilling > effect on the learning curve." > > > +++++++ > Sorry, Jan, but that is exactly the point of my question regarding > how IC heats its buildings. > > Who are we as a region to say NO!" to natural gas drilling,and its > associated risks, when our robust economy and associated affluence > are so dependent on burning natural gas? > > What give us the right, as a region, to continue to foist off the > environmental externalities of our affluance on the poorer regions > of the United States and the world? > > My questioning of the morality of blind opposition to drilling in > our region, and my "lazy, crazy, deserves to die" leisure class > environmentalism position with regard to opposition to drilling > remain on the table. > > So the new "green" building at IC is heated and cooled using > geothermal technology. (If it is.) So is my home. But what about > the other 75 buildings on the I.C. campus, or the other 10,999 homes > in the city and town of Ithaca? What about the Cornell campus, > where they are now converting from a coal fired central heating > plant to one burning natural gas? > > Why in the Ithaca Times (12/2/09) is the mayor of Ithaca using as a > rationale for demolishing the Ithaca Commons the need to install > larger natural gas service lines to enable more restaurants to open > there? > > As far as my position having any chilling effect on any learning > curves, we've been "learning" now for forty years. Where are we > today as a result? > > As a nation we now burn up land for development at 8 times the rate > of our underlying population growth. There is no evidence to > indicate the Ithaca and Tompkins County areany different in this > regard. On the contrary in Ithaca and Tompkins County it's not > merely environmentally acceptable, but even environmentally chic to > live 5, 10, 15 miles or more beyond the urban fringe and > alternatives to the single-occupancy vehicle, and commute into > Ithaca on a daily basis. (burning gallons of gasoline imported from > elsewhere and generating in the process a pound of greenhouse gases > per mile in the process) > > In 2007 Americans generated 26.5 tons of greenhouse gas emissions > per person, versus 11 ton per person in Europe and 6 tons per person > in China. > > Just how much more is there to learn, and when are we actually move > beyond pious pronouncements like "Not in Anybody's Back Yard" and > "Light in My Back Yard" > and make the necessary changes? > > > 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 > > ____________________________________________________________ Cash Advance Need cash? Click to get a cash advance. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/c?cp=n8ZGIxjM17VlhrUzg6H8BgAAJ1B3xrWZQZfhuPn7Zx_iV2uNAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADdgAAAAA= _______________________________________________ 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
