W
elcome,
THURSDAY-FRIDAY, MAY 22-23, 2014
Mr. President!
COMMEMORATIVE EDITION/A7
Keep Fracking From New York State’s ‘Walden Pond’ Dear President Obama, I thought I would tell you about James Fenimore Cooper (a forebear of mine) and his connection with our village and Otsego Lake. Because of him, this area would be a terrible place to allow hydrofracking. It was in this region, with its woods and lake shore, where as a child he developed his devotion to nature, which he later wrote about. Before his novels began appearing, in 1823, most Americans thought of nature as an obstacle,
even a dangerous one, to be overcome by hard work and courage. Largely as a result of his writings, Americans began perceiving nature as we do today: as a thing to be conserved and cherished. Because his novels were so widely published, they brought to people in Europe (and even some in the United States) their first view in literature of the American wilderness. He was a major source of American attitudes toward conservation and the environment. Though environmental-
James Fenimore Cooper
ism is a relatively modern concept, he grasped its basic concept: to destroy nature is to destroy that which sustains us. One of the best-known scenes in “The Pioneers” (1823) is the massacre by the villagers of thousands of passenger pigeons flying overhead. Natty Bumppo, the frontiersman who is the hero of the book, deplored this invasion of nature; he just shot one bird — enough to supply his needs. Through his writings (decades before Thoreau), Cooper broadcast these ideas to
the rest of the world. Otsego Lake, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, can be regarded as the Walden Pond of New York State. It would be ironic indeed if this Lake and surrounding landscape — so central to our ideas about nature — were put at risk by hydrofracking and the pollution that very likely accompanies it. Please do not let this happen! Sincerely yours, HENRY S.F. COOPER, JR. Cooperstown
LETTERS TO THE PRESIDENT
‘Build Energy Infrastructure For Your Grandchildren And Ours’ LETTERS/From A4 research. For natural gas to be considered a “bridge fuel”, infrastructure has to be built on both sides of the chasm to be crossed. Federal subsidies for petroleum development have not resulted in new infrastructure for renewable resources such as solar, wind, tidal or other hydroenergy. Fossil fuel subsidies constitute a “bridge to nowhere”. Therefore, as a scientist and engaged citizen, I encourage you to hear from us in the heartland: Build energy infrastructure for your grandchildren and ours, and turn down support for fossil fuels. Thank you. RONALD E. BISHOP, Ph.D. Cooperstown • President Obama, My main question is will you please do everything in your power to carry out your original campaign promises? So many people voted you into office trusting on your promises of change. I took note that you also said you couldn’t do it alone, and I know you have had a very tough time getting bi-partisan support, and the public absolutely needs to be more active. I am concerned about the treatment of peaceful protesters around the country, the militarization of the police, (the end of posse comitatus), wholesale surveillance of citizens, collateral deaths from drone bombs, corporate subsidies, bank bailouts – but no people bailouts (and by the way, corporations are NOT people). We need campaign finance reform (equalization), alternative energy, increased diplomatic efforts to solve differences rather than ongoing wars. And please stop the XL Pipeline and fracking! Thank you, SANDY PEEVERS Cooperstown • Dear Mr. President, Thank you for visiting our wonderful region to help promote tourism. I moved to Upstate New York four years ago after visiting Cooperstown. After living here, I am more in love than ever with this special place. The only reason I would ever leave would be if hydraulic fracking came. The headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay start in Otsego Lake and provide clean water to millions of Americans from New York to Maryland. Due to the Halliburton loophole, companies do not have to disclose the toxic chemicals involved in fracking and are exempt from the Clean Air and Clean Water acts. Fracking has devastated once beautiful rural Pennsylvania a short drive from here. Water must still be delivered every day to the residents of Dimock because their own well water is unsafe. No one deserves to live that way. If fracking comes to New York, tourists will flee and businesses that depend on tourism, clean air, and clean water will leave. Ommegang Brewery, which strongly opposes fracking, has created 100 local jobs and relies on clean water to make world class beer. For Ommegang, opposing fracking is just good business. For me, it means protecting my family’s health and quality of life. SHIRLEY SCHUE Cherry Valley
• Dear Mr. President, Do you fully understand that you are riding a dying horse? Western Civilization is in a death spiral. We have inherited a 10,000-year-old cultural model that has repeatedly failed: Rome, Babylon, etc. We cannot see that history is repeating itself, over and over on an increasingly grander scale. The philosophies that direct our lives are inadequate and misguided. We must live within the Natural Laws of this World. We cannot keep using our super intelligence to funnel the limited resources of this planet into shortterm pleasure for humans. Consider the following quote from Dr. Einstein: “A problem can not be solved by the consciousness that created it”. In the same way that apple trees make apples, certain kinds of consciousness inherently create certain kinds of problems. The problems we face can only be solved by a radical change in consciousness. In conclusion Mr. President, as your elder, I must give you a task of epic proportions. You must now take your life’s journey to the next level, leading the entire world to a new consciousness. I can not exactly define what this means, but when you make this commitment you will find assistance and support flowing to you from many remarkable sources. Peace and Blessings, BILL RECORD Cultural Engineer aka “Medicine Bear” • Dear Mr. President: Thank you for visiting our beautiful Cooperstown area. The Hall of Fame is just one of the many tourist attractions this community has to offer. One mile south of Cooperstown is Beaver Meadow Road. This road is three miles long with approximately 40 residences. This road is also the primary site for well pads and hydraulic fracturing. The fracturing will occur 250 feet from many of our homes. The truck traffic, noise and light pollution will be horribly detrimental to our lives. The water pollution, we all have well water, will destroy all that the families on this road have worked to achieve. I would like to invite you to visit my home and tour Beaver Meadow Road. I truly believe if you see for yourself what the gas companies plan for residential communities, such as this one, you will understand that hydraulic fracturing in NOT appropriate in
residential neighborhoods. Thanking you in advance for any consideration you may give my letter. Sincerely yours, STELLA DeCESARE-KENNY Cooperstown • Dear President Obama, You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You cannot help the poor by discouraging the rich. You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn. You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man’s initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves. Respectfully, WILLIAM W. DORNBURGH Greenville, R.I. (formerly of Cooperstown) • Dear President Obama and family, Hi! My name is Lindsey Trosset and I am 10 years old. I heard you where coming to Cooperstown this week, so I have a few questions for you. I was wondering if you like baseball? In my opinion I like baseball and love the Boston Red Sox because my family is from there. What baseball team do you like? Another question is, are you left handed? If so, we have something in common, I am a leftie too. It would be nice if you could come to the Cooperstown Elementary School and tell us how much education you need and how important being president is, also, what you do every day. President Obama, I hope you enjoy Cooperstown and enjoy the Baseball Hall of Fame on Main Street. Sincerely, LINDSEY TROSSET Cooperstown (Lindsey is in Mrs. Craig’s fifthgrade class.) • Mr. President, I have proudly taken my daughters with me to cast a vote in your favor on the two occasions you ran for the highest office in the land. As a proud father of daughters yourself, I would imagine you want the best future possible for them. I would ask that you cast a
LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVES
P
resident Obama’s visit to Cooperstown is a symbolic statement of his recognition of the wide range of priority issues that our nation’s leader must balance. In the midst of the international and domestic challenges the American people confront, the President has found time to address a “core issue,” our economy, and the fact that its stagnancy contributes to our inability to take on broader issues. Locally, that means that his visit to Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame is recognition of our regional tourism economy as a critical component of our future. This is an important reminder that just not Cooperstown benefits, but so do we all from its centrality in the tourism sector of our economy. Thank you Mr. President, and thank you Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame. RICHARD P. MILLER JR Mayor City of Oneonta
LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVES
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or the next two years, the growth of the economy is the number one issue. There’s lots to that – green jobs, research and development, high tech, infrastructure repair, increase in minimum wage – but they all are part of leading the country to a better economic future. JEFF KATZ Mayor Village of Cooperstown vote for their future as well as all future generations. There is a long list of environmental ills facing us due to our continued reliance on fossil fuels. Additionally, the ongoing need to protect fossil fuel energy sources is a drain on our country. Are we to go from the nation that was long a beacon of hope, to the nation that extracts the last bit of fossil fuel to keep a light on? Fossil fuel extraction does and will continue to destroy the fabric of small towns and villages across America – many of those villages just as beautiful as the one you visit today, with citizens every bit as proud and involved as the ones you see here. Locally, hydrofracking is an issue that has divided our communities, taken up months of our time and caused many of us to question the sanity of risking our beautiful area’s water, air and land. Although you may be told by many industry insiders that the process is safe, you only have to look at their long history of despoiling every area they touch. From the acid rains and acid runoff of coal mines, to the Exxon Valdez, to the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, fossil-fuel energy has continuously contaminated our water, air and land. The time has come to stop this. We can no longer wait, nor can our children. Many of those with vested interests in the fossil fuel industry will say we can’t move to renewable energy. Many of us know we can. Yes we can, Mr. President. It is time for our leaders to take us on a path to renewable energy. Mr. President, your legacy is already assured. Please add to that legacy by being the leader with the courage and foresight to lead our country on that path. Thank you, BOB EKLUND Oneonta • Dear Mr. President, Thank you for your visit to Cooperstown. Once you have been here, it is easy to understand why so many of us who call this place home, and the tourists who visit, hold a deep love for its grandeur and majesty. The sparkling waters Otsego Lake and the constant flow of the Susquehanna River, along with the rolling green hills and forests both inspire and humble us. We feel a deep responsibility to be good stewards to this part of creation and also to hold in trust the important history of our area through support of our museums and landmarks. Our area is presently in the courts trying to uphold our constitutional right to Home Rule. These
hills, forests, rivers and lakes are not just pictures in our minds, but they shape our souls and have shaped those who have embraced them for centuries. We believe they are a gift to be passed on to the generations that will follow. We have had to make difficult choices as to if we allow industries into our area that have the potential to harm our way of life, our health, and the health of this land we have the duty to protect. We believe in a healthy sustainable way of life and whenever possible will follow that path even in the face of other paths that seem to seek easy short-term answers to very difficult problems. We are honored by your visit. We hope that our community’s children will be able to see you and be inspired by your visit. They will all long remember this special day that they saw President Obama. Best wishes for a wonderful visit here in our beautiful Cooperstown New York area. Respectfully yours, HOLLY, ZACHARY, NICHOLAS, SAMANTHA FANION Middlefield • President Obama. Thinking people in New York State want renewable energy NOW. A future based on hydrocarbons is “So Yesterday”! Let’s forget the “transition” talk and move NOW to support renewable energy. We don’t support fracking in New York and we don’t want tar from Alberta to flow into the country. Both are only money makers for oil companies - and a dead end for the climate and humanity. We do want to support you to lead the way for more renewable energy. The future is NOW. DAVID HUTCHISON Professor Emeritus in Geology Hartwick College Oneonta • Dear President Obama, We represent Middlefield Neighbors, a group formed to educate and inform our town (which includes part of Cooperstown) about fracking and gas leases. The survey we conducted found that 84 percent of our residents are opposed to drilling, and only 6 percent for it. The overwhelming opposition here to fracking is because, despite the rosy picture the gas industry paints, we know that families like ours – like yours – just over the border in Pennsylvania are being poisoned through air and water contamination from fracking. We, the people you represent, are battling the industry and their infinitely wealthy PR machine while you and Governor Cuomo play politics with the health of your constituents. We challenge you to bring your family to one of the many gaslands across the nation. See for yourself what fracking and drilling are really like to “live” with. President Obama, would you allow drilling next to your children’s school? Or a drilling operation next to your home? Is it OK for Malia and Sasha to breathe VOCs, benzene and other toxic emissions? Silica dust when they’re out on the playground? Would you worry about the radon and radioactive material that Please See LETTERS, A8