Save this beautiful Earth from more structures that encroach on open space.
Marcellus Shale exploration - at what price?
http://www.un-naturalgas.org/
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/28/science/earth/28drill.html?pagewanted=1&hpw
Loss of this pristine valley, waterways, old growth forests, and gourges? Can we farmers afford to say NO to royalties from this drilling? The money is a bonanza for some at $6,000 per acre up front plus 20% royalties! Beverly Hill Billies - Water, laced with chemicals, is blasted down gas wells at high pressure to break the rock and allow gas to flow out more easily. "Some of the methods of getting at the gas — fragmentation, for instance, which breaks up the shale to get to gas pockets — can also pollute water supplies, critics say.", this according to a recent NYTimes article. Well, it really happened in our UpState hamlet - wells were polluted! On October 27th, "the Chesapeake Energy Corporation says it will not drill for natural gas within the upstate New York watershed." Ecosystems, watersheds, waterways - these are critical to survival of all species on Earth? The answer is not raising corn for fuel because this is burning one fuel - and lots of herbicides - to make another fuel - without a reduction in energy use. The answer can't be to implode rock with thousands of gallons of chemicals in the Earth's Core...
This photo shows a land drawing from 3,000 years ago. Europe has preserved open land and the USA is gobbling everything up in less than 200 years. Quite a contrast. The Millenium Ecosystem Report - minimize disruption to existing ecosystems - a hands off policy. It is much better to keep development in major cities - do more with what we already have developed - and leave pristine areas untouched.
Restore what we can, as we've begun with the Hudson River, and should do for other waterways, by cleaning them up and stop polluting. The greatest contribution the human race can make to save the Planet from gross consumption is reversing population growth numbers in the future. That is a significant part of this problem. The other is the level of consumption per person.
I believe that as each person changes - individual effort will create the whole dynamic and a better future for the planet. Baby Boomers (all people born between 1946-1964) can't continue to pummel through resources! We need to conserve resources through sacrifice. The Flower Child will create a bright future for all!
