Letters to the editor March 15

Posted 3/14/18

In praise of Jeff Haas It’s easy to see that Highland Supervisor Jeff Haas was the man for the job during the recent dramatic weather events and their aftermath.  His local know-how, …

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Letters to the editor March 15

Posted

In praise of Jeff Haas

It’s easy to see that Highland Supervisor Jeff Haas was the man for the job during the recent dramatic weather events and their aftermath.  His local know-how, life-long fire company service and ability to marshall and coordinate efforts across multiple federal, state and local agencies clearly expedited the response and success of the Highland area recovery.

Charles Petersheim

Eldred, NY

Time to seal the deal on the fracking ban

It is a miracle—it’s time to “seal the deal” for a permanent fracking ban here in the [Delaware River] Watershed Region. It has taken a decade of hard work (and it will require some additional effort at this time) to guarantee a permanent protection will exist for our beloved river and watershed region.

Over the last 10 years, hundreds of folks wrote letters, talked with elected officials and attended meetings. Each action was an important part of a historic community effort to protect the purity of the water, air and land here in the Delaware River Valley. Now it’s time for each of us to do a little more good work. Please submit an official comment to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC). The deadline for comments is 5 p.m., March 30. Comments should be submitted through the DRBC’s online comments webpage at dockets.drbc.commentinput.com.

This effort is very important. At this time, the DRBC’s proposed regulations allow dumping of fracking waste in the river basin. This highly toxic waste material includes hundreds of “exempt chemicals.” Radioactive materials are also a part of the toxic mix that will be dumped into the river. The “proposed treatment” cannot remove radioactive particles. Additionally, the fracking industry will be pumping-out fresh water directly from the watershed for use in drilling operations elsewhere.

Please submit comments to the DRBC and ask them to: (1) Prevent dumping of toxic and radioactive fracking waste into the Delaware River watershed—not at any location and not in any way. (2) Prevent the removal of fresh water from the watershed for fracking operations elsewhere.

I personally do this work not “in opposition to” anything. We all need to act now to protect the water for us all and for future generations.

Pat Carullo

Lackawaxen, PA

Supporting a gas and oil development ban

Please support a total ban on gas and oil development in our watershed, including the ban of water withdrawal and wastewater injection for fracking. The DRBC is taking comments via email by March 30.

The entire process of fracking is dangerous to our environment and only benefits a handful of landowners for short-term profit at the risk of polluting not only their own groundwater, but that of their neighbors. And it benefits an industry that lies about the negative impacts. These multinational corporations don’t care about the people in the U.S. or our environment, only the profits for their CEOs and stockholders, no matter what happens to the quality of life in the fracking zone.

There may be some jobs initially, but most of the high-paying jobs go to [workers in] traveling work camps that have the necessary skills, not to locals.

There is nothing natural about natural gas, and it should not be considered a bridge to alternative energy because fracking is as big a polluter as the other fossil fuels. This is a time to support true alternative forms of energy, not going backward in time to dangerous fossil fuels. The fossil fuel energy [industry] is doing everything possible politically and financially to stop the growth of renewable resources when the technology is here, but is not supported by our current government.

In the end, the fossil fuel industry knows that it will extract and sell large amounts of fracked gas to China and other foreign countries for profit, so it’s not really all about America’s energy independence.

To gamble on whether or not fracking harms our water is not worth the risks.  The odds are against us.

To voice your opinion by March 30, 2018 at the DRBC website, fill out a simple form online at   http://dockets.drbc.commentinput.com/?id=PGChb. You can voice your opinion multiple times.

FYI: The states of New York and Maryland have a statewide ban.

Roy Morsch

Starlight, PA

Which Faso

New York Times headline, February 28: “Guns Create a Political Minefield in the Midterms: After Florida Shooting, Candidates Carefully Adjust Views.” And so we see those adjustments in the recent statements from Rep. John Faso. His February 16 public statement offered his prayers and the assertion that “the shooter shouldn’t have been eligible to purchase firearms.” In a more hopeful development, his February 23 response evolved. Although criticizing the FBI, he (1) repeated his support for strengthened background checks, (2) agreed that a ban on bump stocks should be examined and (3) said we should “seriously explore” raising the age to buy semiautomatic weapons.

Contrast these with statements on his website: he is “proud” of his “A” NRA rating; he says he will fight “liberal efforts to trample on our freedoms”; he voted for a House bill loosening restrictions on carrying concealed guns across state lines.

In a February 22 C-SPAN interview, Rep. Faso rejected as an “outlandish smear” the claim that the NRA’s $8,000 donation to him would influence his votes, and [he] offered a defense of the NRA lobby: some NRA members work for police, fire and emergency departments, and are “enmeshed in our community, and… to say that they somehow don’t care about school shootings and other violence is really an outright lie.” Otheradjustments. Have you or I lately attacked the police, firefighters and first responders, accusing them of not caring about the shooting? Doubt it. This adjustment telegraphs to those who might be uneasy about what they perceive as his waffling on gun rights.

 “Chameleon: a lizard… that changes its skin color to match its surroundings so that it cannot be seen.” (Cambridge Online Dictionary).

Tom Denton

Highland, NY

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