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| Photo courtesy: AMagill |
In true Meredith fashion, residents are invited to the East Meredith Fire Hall on County Route 10. For me, that's on the other side of town. But if Joan suggests I go, I'm thinking I ought to show up. It starts at 7 p.m. and will probably last two hours.
The proposed Constitution Pipeline is a 30-inch high pressure, interstate gas transmission line proposed for New York State, with a portion of it planned to run through Delaware County. It could enable hydrofracking - and a network of other pipelines - once New York State finishes its environmental review. All environmental issues to the side (and there are many), the pipeline is enabling large international energy companies to take private land by eminent domain. This singular issue should have Meredithers, and New Yorkers, in arms. This practice of taking land without a landowner's permission flies in the face of our constitution. How ironic they're calling it the Constitution Pipeline.
Anne Marie Garti, Delhi native and Town of Kortright resident, will present information on this pipeline,
questioning its need and proposing alternatives. There will also be a question-answer-discussion period to follow. Sponsored by Citizens Energy & Economics Council of Delaware County (CEEC), this informational meeting is about opening the conversation around gas drilling, the appropriateness of it in our town and lives, and what we can collectively and individually do about it. The pipeline is merely a symptom of a larger illness.
Not since the wind debate has there been such a contentious issue in Meredith or Delaware County. Hydro-fracking and the Constitution Pipeline bring with them impacts 10 times more lasting than those we faced as a community at odds over wind. We owe it ourselves, our neighbors and Meredith's future farmer to gather around this issue now, talk about it, and plan. If we follow Meredith's proposed Farmland Protection Plan with a goal of promoting our town as a "Farming First" community, I'm not sure how industry, like gas drilling or its transmission, falls within that farmland mandate.
What attracts me to Joan's emails, along with the content, is her email signature. "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong we may begin to use it with love and respect." I believe it is this quote, by Aldo Leopold, that captures Meredith and its residents. As a community, our choice to love and respect the land that nurtures us is ours to make. I hope to see you on Tuesday, July 24 at 7 p.m.
Bring a batch of cookies if you like.
