Letters to the Editor Policy

Recipe For Disaster

Environmentalist: person who considers the environment has a primary influence on the development of a person or group.

Steward: person who manages a property.

I finally got out to the farm a while ago and learned the difference. I worked for a project that was run by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The very same foundation that will allow development around the bay, and go to another state and tell its citizens what improvements you should make, to live upstream.

I find that whole idea to be absurd at best. My experience is watching a "wet land" be built on 7 acres of agriculture land because a developer, in the bay area, drained 5 acres of true wetland, and so the state environmentalists, and the Army Corp. fined a permitted project 200 miles away to compensate for the loss. The site is holding water after all these years. In the beginning, I questioned that poor call, and they fined the business $7600.00 for my sass.

I agree with some of the best practices that come from earth studies. What I don't agree with is the politics that come with some of these best practices. Do you really think the bay should penalize and criticize another's ways, while they continue to issue permits for development? I have never heard of Zebra Mussels in PA. They don't frequent the high quality watershed that the Salt Lick Creek is designated. It flows into the Susquehanna River, which just got reappointed to the endangered list. The first time it made that distinction was when a die-hard kayaker complained an inflatable dam will ruin that pleasure. He again is the author of this new protest. Now it seems he will not benefit from any monies generated from being the steward of your property, so he shall be an environmentalist, and condemn the outsiders for the greed, and distaste of it all.

I mean really, who would knowingly foul the water that you and your cattle will drink!? He just knows that somewhere down the line, the water will have gas, fracking sands and fluid, and other unsavory things to spoil his water sport. I wonder if his concern for the stewardship of the mighty Susquehanna includes pulling the shopping carts, tires, etc. out of the water. I'm sure he would win my heart to see a kayak pulling a floating barge.

I wonder if this guy is like the rest who will want to involve the EPA, and DEP, and not the local conservation district. How goofy is that?

I think to cut the locals from the land is strictly politically motivated. Don't we know what being local means? To me it means that the people who run the local programs, live here. They know the soil and erosion spots. They also know where the sites are, who the landowners are, and are not surprised the roads are in the shape they are in.

It will be another government snafu if politics are allowed to go the way of the former governors' policy. He endorsed going federal and not local to over see a local development. I will be writing to the elected to see if they agree with me on this.

I believe that by not involving your local conservation district, you take out the steward, and are left with environmentalists.

And that my friend, is the recipe for local disaster.

Sincerely,
Cynthia Allen
Summersville, PA

Why Stand We Here Idle?

In Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States it says “The President, the Vice-President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Article III, Section 3 states that “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. ...The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason...”

Treason. Bribery. High Crimes and Misdemeanors. Levying War against them (the individual states of the United States).

When the “President, Vice-President and all civil Officers” refuse to defend our borders and instead verbally attack, impugn, mock and insult the governors and people of states who are trying to protect their right to life, liberty and property against illegal aliens and the violence and drugs they are bringing with them as they violate our borders, while doing little or nothing to help them in their plight, is that understood to be “levying War against them?”

When senators (such as Ben Nelson) are given kick-backs (as in the Cornhusker Kick-back) to secure their votes for an unpopular, nay, un-Constitutional piece of legislation (Obamacare), is that bribery?

When the President and his band of radical White House lawyers decide to defy the provisions of the War Powers Act and continue, after 60 days, the action in Libya at the expense of American lives and treasure, without the consent of Congress and for no gain or interest for the United States, (with no intention of Congress to stop him) is that “high Crimes and Misdemeanors?”

When the President of the United States demands that a sovereign, democratic government, an ally of the United States, reshape its borders for the benefit of other foreign, terrorist countries, who have consistently made war against it, deny its right to exist and have sworn the destruction of it and the United States of America, while at the same time awarding these same terrorist regimes (the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Hezbollah and soon the Muslim Brotherhood) with millions in grants of U.S. dollars, (which must first be borrowed to give to them), should we not call that “adhering to [our] Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort,” and therefore, “Treason?”

What is wrong with our Congressmen and Senators? What is wrong with us? The Constitution is clear. What answer do we give to Patrick Henry, who asked “Why stand we here idle?”

Sincerely,
Edna K. Paskoff
Montrose, PA

Ignorance And Betrayal

Last week’s Democratic win in the heavily Republican New York 23rd Congressional District shows just how much power there is in ignorance. Democrat Kathy Hochul won in this long standing Republican district by using the threat of Republican cuts to Medicare and the potential effects of such cuts on seniors. No matter that Paul Ryan’s plan specifically exempts those in or nearing the age where they qualify currently for Medicare. Ryan has made it abundantly clear, over and over, that his proposal will not affect current seniors. But voter ignorance is a very powerful weapon in the hands of those who put political aspirations above truth and Country. Don’t get me wrong - both parties are guilty. It is up to you to read, listen and know the truth before you step in the voting booth.

On a more important issue, President Obama clearly threw the State of Israel under the bus last week, followed by much dancing and double speak about what he said; nevertheless, he abrogated all the assurances which he gave over and over again for the last several years with respect to Jerusalem and the borders in place after the 1967 Arab Israeli war. Irrespective of the willingness of Israel to negotiate permanent borders with the Palestinians which would be different from the current borders, Palestinian President Abbas promptly rejected Netanyahu’s position. Resulting, I believe, in the Arabs being emboldened toward Israel, and considering all which is raging in the Middle East, I think that Obama just threw gasoline on the smoldering Palestinian Israeli situation. Nice work, Mr. President.

Sincerely,
Joe McCann
Elk Lake, PA

A Looming Disaster

The Lyncott Landfill has been a situation looming over the New Milford residents and Susquehanna county residents since it was declared a toxic waste dump in the 1970’s. IBM and Magnetic Labs, along with other industries out of New York State had been dumping their industrial chemicals on top of the hill for many decades and it finally caught up to the residents. Since the mid 70’s, DEP, Susquehanna County Commissioners, Waste Management (now the owners of the property); the Susq. Co. Solid Waste Director, RESCUE Representative (myself), and the New Milford Township Supervisors have been kept informed of the twice a year monitoring on the site. Letters, charts, and records as to the results of testing on the site is sent to all of the parties above. The bottom line, DEP confers with all parties involved and makes the decision as to whether to keep monitoring the toxic waste site; they have never put closure on it.

That said, now there is a permit entered at the Bureau of Oil and Gas Management, Western Pa. site in Meadville - to put in 3 well pads and a road to be constructed through the Lyncott Landfill site. Waste Management sold the lease rights. I am not aware of which company bought the rights.

I received a call from DEP, Solid Waste Department, as we have worked together on the Lyncott landfill site since the mid 80’s. I was informed of this permit in consideration. We need to get a letter campaign going to DEP, Oil and Gas, to put this permit from the fast track to the slow track. Apparently, the couple of earlier letters that we wrote did take it off the fast track. However, we are still within a 45 day review period (2 weeks in I believe) and the permit is still going forward. We need public awareness of this issue and the ramifications of what this permit will do.

The Lyncott Landfill has concrete bunkers buried in its soil which contain the hazardous waste materials of the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s. The concrete bunkers had a 30 year life span; it has been more than 30 years. There has been manganese, arsenic, and mercury in higher than accepted levels showing up in the test wells, thus the reason to keep an eye on any materials that might have the potential to migrate off the site. Truck traffic on or near this site is going to compromise that concrete, as it is in fragile condition because of age. The static and thundering of heavy trucks and blasting at the top of the mountain will also cause increased compromise to these concrete bunkers filled with hazardous waste material.

Do you have the means or the resources to help us get the word out on awareness of this permit? Any letters of inquiry and comment should be sent to: The Department of Environmental Protection Northwest Regional Office, Bureau of Oil and Gas Management, 230 Chestnut Street, Meadville, Pa. 16335-3481 or call 814-332-6860.

Sincerely,
Sandra A. Babuka
RESCUE of Susquehanna Co.

The Malthusian Catastrophe

Pump shock at the gas station and price hikes at the supermarket - when will it end? It won't. To understand why this is happening and why it will become progressively worse we have to examine the work of the 18th century demographer, Thomas Malthus and contemporary petroscientist, Marion Hubbert.

Malthus wrote a series of letters setting a limit on human population of about 1.5 billion people. His calculations were based on irrefutable math.

Yet this Halloween the population of the human species will meet and quickly exceed 7 billion. Was Malthus wrong? In practice, yes, but in principle, he was right on target.

Malthus noted that population increases at a geometric rate. He contrasted this with food production that increases at an arithmetic rate.

In a geometric series each succeeding number is multiplied by a certain number. For example, in this series each number is multiplied by 1.1: 1.0, 1.1, 1.21, 1.33, 1.46 …

However, in an arithmetic series each number is added to a certain number. For example, in this series 0.1 is added to each succeeding number: 1.0, 1.10, 1.20, 1.30, 1.40 ….

At first glance the difference (0.06) appears inconsequential. But when these series are carried out to 25 places the disparity is dramatic. Geometrically it's 10.8 while arithmetically it's only 3.5. And that's what Malthus was concerned about. Food production, according to Malthus, always lags behind population and limits its growth.

Demographers tell us that for most of human history this proved true. If graphed, the population would be a linear line raised just slightly above the horizontal. In other words, for thousands of years the population increased only slightly. As Malthus wrote, it was pegged to food production.

But that started to change in 1750, the beginning of the industrial revolution. Food production began to increase and with it population. In England production started to shift from one based on manual labor and draft animals to machinery powered by steam.

As technology advanced the steam engine was replaced with the internal combustion engine and coal gave way to oil. Now one man with a tractor could plant, harvest, and bring to market, what would have taken 100 men to do.

The world's population is underpinned by oil: oil for fuel, for lubricants, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides; oil for irrigation, refrigeration, packaging, distribution. Without oil the earth's population would crash until it reached the pre-industrial level of about 1.5 billion. It is oil that has enabled the population to reach an artificial high.

But what happens when the oil runs out?

Petroscientist Marion Hubbert warned almost 60 years ago this was inevitable. In a seminal presentation to the American Petroleum Institute, he predicted that oil production would reach its peak in the first decade of the 21st century - that's now.

According to Hubbert, after oil peaks in 2010 production will begin a precipitous decline. It has. Oil companies will be forced to explore places on land and in the sea that previously were prohibitively expensive. They are. Oil will become increasingly more expensive as it becomes more expensive to mine. It is.

At the same time worldwide demand for oil by the burgeoning populations in China and India will drive the price of oil and food ever higher. By 2020 oil production will plummet to 1970 levels yet the population will have increased from 3.7 billion to 8 billion.

There is no end in sight to the population explosion. Plot population growth from 2,000 years ago to the present and it looks like a hockey stick, a horizontal line ending with a curve the shoots almost straight up. The growth is exponential and unsustainable.

What happens when falling oil production and rising prices can no longer sustain the world's population? That's the Malthusian Catastrophe. No one knows exactly what will happen except that the world is fast approaching a place where it will find out.

Sincerely,
Bob Scroggins
New Milford, PA

Back to Top

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY
Letters To The Editor MUST BE SIGNED. They MUST INCLUDE a phone number for "daytime" contact. Letters MUST BE CONFIRMED VERBALLY with the author, before printing. Letters should be as concise as possible, to keep both Readers' and Editors' interest alike. Your opinions are important to us, but you must follow these guidelines to help assure their publishing.

Thank you, Susquehanna County Transcript

©