It has long been my contention that opponents to natural gas drilling in New York aren't interested in debate or reaching common ground. With this group there is no common ground to be found. Either you support the outright banning of hydraulic fracturing or you are a greedy capitalist pig wishing to see lives destroyed, water poisoned, air polluted and endocrine systems disrupted. I have published letters that outline the hatred that is directed to those who simply have a differing opinion.
I came across this opinion piece published in The Oneonta Daily Star that succeeds in illustrating this absurdity while mocking the underlying arguments.
On death row at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, a condemned man begins his final walk from Cell Block 1. The death chamber awaits. His feet are heavy, his legs are weak, and his breath is short.
As Albert Camus once said: "A man is undone by waiting for capital punishment long before he dies. Two deaths are inflicted upon him, the first being worse than the second."
His time is at hand, all appeals have been exhausted. As he passes the cells of other condemned men, they shout and call out their goodbyes. His thoughts are of home, his family and of his victim.
Little does he know as he enters the death chamber and awaits the injections of sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride, that the current budget crunch in New York has called for simpler measures.
After giving his last confession, nodding goodbyes to his family and making a final statement of remorse for a wasted life, he is forced to drink a quart bottle of tap water, fresh from the fracked fields of Montrose, Pa. Death is instantaneous.
Of course, read the whole thing. It will give a true sense of the rhetoric being unleashed on those who look to science and technologic advancement to better the lives of all people.
For further thoughts on the matter I would recommend a couple of blogs that are doing great work keeping the public informed as to the goings on regarding the Marcellus Shale.
And always remember, "The truth is out there", science is on our side, and so are many allies willing to fight the good fight and get the message out, regardless of insults.
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