Archive: Opinions

Recently I read an article in which a Texan said he was baffled about the opposition to hydrofracking in New York State.  He said it is no big deal in Texas.  It certainly is a big deal here in Tompkins County, and the New York hasn't even begun to allow permitting yet.

The Town of Lansing is currently considering a moratorium.  This week Tompkins County legislators went to Albany again to voice their opposition and to ask for a statewide hydrofracking ban.  Dryden is defending its local fracking ban in court at great expense.  Are the risks of gas extraction worth the benefits?

As someone who is constantly reminded how naive I am, I am always surprised at how many of the stories I cover as a reporter are about NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard).  People are happy to use natural gas in Tompkins County, but when it comes to drilling for it here, not so much.

This first struck me when the federal government was talking about the benefits of safe oil drilling in Alaska during the Bush years.  Here they were talking about drilling that would not impact the environment much, if at all.  And nobody lives where they wanted to drill.  And there was plenty of tundra for the animals that a well here and there wouldn't impact very much.  It was about America choosing to become independent of people who largely hate us, who sell us most of our oil.

When you put it that way it seems to make sense, and is very patriotic.

But Tompkins County isn't empty of people like that part of Alaska.  A lot of people live here, and pumping unknown chemicals into the ground in a region that is all about clean water doesn't seem as clear-cut or patriotic to me.  This piece of America thrives on the water, the lake, the grapes, and the tourist industry that has grown up around it.  The answers to the questions that are being asked are not entirely reassuring.  The state seems to be pushing forward, and we may even see permitting begin this year.

I struggle with how much is legitimate concern and how much is NIMBY.  I hate sending all that money to the Middle East, I hate high gas and oil prices, and I think we live in a huge country that is rich in resources.  I think we should be able to use parts of our country to extract those resources.

But I see what we have here and it is no stretch of the imagination to see how it could be decimated by a few drilling accidents, or things that aren't so accidental.  With the economy still struggling it doesn't seem right to put more burden on people here whose jobs depend on the environment we have, and whose taxes have to pay for roads and legal fees the drilling issue brings.

Sometimes NIMBY is resistance to change.  Change isn't always bad.  Sometimes it's just different.  But sometimes change is bad and then NIMBY is resistance to losing the things that define the character of communities.  The things that make people want to live and visit here.

In my head I am struggling with fairness and what's right in terms of producing our own natural resources.  But in my heart I see the beautiful Finger Lakes community we have here and the high New York taxes and wonder how much threat, real or imagined, do we need to take?  Can't we solve existing issues, build on our natural resources, build our community in positive ways that we determine without this thing descending on our communities at this particular time?  Is it a big deal?  Shouldn't we not do it until we know for sure it's not?

v8i4