Not only can concerned citizens be "Friends of Rogers Environmental Education Center," but "Friends of Natural Gas" as well. Why not let Rogers generate its own funds? Hydrofracking doesn't just have to be insanely profitable; it can be fun and educational too! Let's take a look at the possibilities.
Imagine cedar boardwalks winding around waste pits and chemical storage tanks, meandering past compressor stations and condensate tanks. What would your kids rather look at, a screaming 100-foot gas flare or a willow hut?
We can still have all the seasonal activities that families enjoy with just a few minor tweaks. For example, Winter Living Celebration can now be the Nuclear Winter Survival Challenge. Join staff botanists in a desperate attempt to find plants that can survive on low-light levels. Prizes go to best "shock and awe" costume.
They'll also be new trails like the "All the Animals That Used to Live Here" trail. See if you can find any evidence of the coyotes, bears, bobcats and other creatures that now prefer more pristine environments like New Jersey.
Introducing the new Compressor Station trail! A great hike on those sultry summer days. … ahhh! Feel the breeze from those diesel turbines! The ever-popular night walks are going to get even better. Thanks to gas well flaring, we'll be able to easily see all the owls and bats and other animals that are too sick to leave.
There will be new animals too. Take your kids to the "Wildcat Den" located at the Adams Farm. Nature truly reveals herself here. From the migration impulse that brings these odd creatures to our area, to the mating habits, territorial disputes, even life-and-death clashes -- it's all here for your nature viewing pleasure behind specially constructed and reinforced observation blinds.
At the Ronald Reagan trailside disinformation board, find out why trees are the planet's largest source of pollution. Also check out the latest on the bedeviled cash borer, already decimating much of the Allegheny National Forest and coming soon to New York's state forests. Also, high school students can drop off their entries for the essay contest, "Why Trees are Always in the Way." First prize is a brand-new Stihl chainsaw courtesy of Commerce Chenango.
Take a stroll down the Halliburton Loop: The whole trail takes at least two terms. You'll encounter sign boards explaining the Clean Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act and other unnecessary federal environmental laws. The observant naturalist will note holes bored into the federal legislation caused by the destructive, redstate block-headed woodpecker, an invasive species that, if left unchecked, can parasitize whole ecosystems.
Don't miss the Cornell Cooperative Interactive Exhibit, where state epidemiologists will take a sample of your child's blood and screen it for methyl-benzene, toluene and other pesky chemicals that are sometimes, maybe, sort of connected to gas drilling. Whether or not you "pass" the test -- every child gets a cool coloring book extolling the virtues of "clean-burning natural gas" and a free inhaler!
Finally, we'll need a new name and a catchy slogan. I suggest: "Norgers, Where Industry Puts Nature in Its Place."
Bill McLaughlin, a member of Chenango Forest Watch, lives in New Berlin.
Columns
'Friends' should unite for Rogers
- Big Chuck D'Imperio
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Safety Patrol D.C. visits never get old
I asked Cam Morris, head of Eastern Travel/Oneonta Bus Lines, how many years her company has been handling the Safety Patrol trip to Washington, D.C.
Continued ... - My pal Brucie, savior of Sidney's hospital
- Catching a whiff of 'Vermont Vapor'
- Selections from the virtual mailbag
- Recalling days of 'Doughnut King'
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Safety Patrol D.C. visits never get old
- Cary Brunswick
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We've become our own worst enemies
The past month has been marked by a seeming unprecedented number of man-made tragedies, as distinct from those caused by violent outbursts of the natural world, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis.
Continued ... - Plenty of blame to go around for Bangladesh horror
- Obama is going against his word on Social Security
- Reflecting on a Florida trip
- Those magnificent spies in their flying machines
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We've become our own worst enemies
- Chuck Pinkey
- Guest Column
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Records seizure is an insult to free press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
Continued ... - The evangelical view of same-sex marriage
- Manor's fate will be Otsego board's legacy
- A closer look at our economy - Part II
- Use fracking to fill budget gaps
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Records seizure is an insult to free press
- Lisa Miller
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A view from above
Fire towers in the Catskill Mountains have always been destination points, built to capture some of the region’s best views. These sentinel stations served an important role for the earliest possible sightings of forest fires in the remote mountain ranges. But the fire towers and those who manned them fulfilled a multitude of other roles as well.
Continued ... - Being a parent is a constant learning process
- Healthy doesn't have to mean expensive
- A family era ends with close of Potter series
- Independent stores make up for loss of Borders
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- Mark Simonson
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General Clinton Canoe Regatta got a new home in 1972
Ever since 1963, when Charles Hinkley and a group of Tri-Town businessmen came up with the idea for what we know today as the General Clinton Canoe Regatta, people lined the shores of the Susquehanna to watch the canoeists as they made their 70-mile trek from Cooperstown to Bainbridge.
Continued ... - Sunday movies in Oneonta finally shown in 1934
- Politics, fitness and landmarks dominated local news in May 1968
- Local people sought income in many ways in 1933
- Local windstorm in 1983 caused tense moments
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- Rick Brockway
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Kids have sparkle in their eyes
When I was in my teens, old Bill Naatz told me about a stream north of Lake George where a man had panned out enough gold to make his wife a wedding band. It was all rumors, but to his grandson and myself, it sounded like the makings of a great adventure.
- People make the outdoors even better
- Turkey season has ups and downs
- Spring air isn't always the freshest
- Adriondacks keep growing and growing
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Kids have sparkle in their eyes
- Sam Pollak
- William Masters
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Schreibman tops Chris Gibson on women's issues
As the time to vote draws near, we need to remember how money can run politics more than we can. Raising funds is a prominent (if not the dominant) task of getting elected. Raising issues is also crucial, but those efforts are subject to distortion and fear-mongering.
- Republicans feelentitled to allthey can garner An entitlement is a legal benefit available from the government to individuals who are within a defined category of recipients, such as needing insurance for unemployment or health services.
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Romney focuses on self; Obama emphasizes unity
Mitt Romney criticizes President Obama for saying a person's success is rooted in his community, and is not all his alone. Romney belittles this with his belief in individual initiative. He is better at the put-down than the push-up.
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Romney shows little regard for common man
The Republicans in Congress have voted over and over, 33 times, redundantly and uselessly, to rescind what they call Obamacare.
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Scouts' gay ban creates problem where none exists
The Boy Scouts of America's "emphatic reaffirmation" of its vow to exclude any and all homosexuals from its hallowed ranks is ill-considered and pathetic, especially in view of its having reviewed the matter for two years.
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Schreibman tops Chris Gibson on women's issues
