Archive: Opinions

I found your opinion on gas drilling to be well-balanced and reasoned, however I don't share your concern that local opposition to hydrofracking might be due to "Not In My Back Yard". On the contrary, from hearing other opinions, as well as voicing my own, it's not NIMBY, but rather, Not Under My House, and Not In My Well.

I've been paying attention to the various positions that the towns of Tompkins County have been taking in regard to hydrofracking such as moratoriums and using local laws, and I find myself puzzled by our local Town of Lansing leaders, both elected or appointed to committees.

The Lansing Town Board and Lansing Drilling Committe seem earnest in their efforts to not rush into approval for gas-drilling, but they state all the wrong reasons. They are more concerned with truck traffic, noise and "a major change to the Town of Lansing's character" than the real culprit.

It's the "elephant in the room" that they seem afraid to say...so I'll say it. Hydrofracking pumps poison into water, people drink the water, get sick, become ill, and die. No matter how much money the gas-companies pay for friendly-to-industry studies, those are the facts. Just ask the folks in Pennsylvania and other states...and please no hollow excuses that the geological constructs in NY state would have a different outcome than hydrofracking elsewhere.

It's a no-brainer. Hydrofracking is toxic. The other towns in Tompkins County aren't afraid to say it out loud, why is official Lansing so reticent?

Marc Catone
Lansing, NY

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