There’s a better way

By Robert A. Schulman, MD

The New York Times of January 2 posted an editorial praising efforts to block drilling in the watershed that serves NYC and its environs, citing environmental concerns. Well done. However, I am a bit shocked that the reporting in the Times has not taken this a bit further.

If the fracking fluids will destroy the water in the watershed zone, what about outside of the zone? What about the people and farms that depend on well water for their families and livestock? Would we resort to bottled water to shower and bathe with and water the animals?

In Sullivan County, where I live, wind is plentiful, solar is doable, geothermal is available, and the spirit of conservation abounds. But without state regulation banning gas drilling in the state as a whole, we will be continuously faced with the prospect of this environmental disaster. In other states where gas drilling has commenced, such as Texas and Pennsylvania, horror stories abound.

Sacrificing our future for a few more years of business as usual hardly seems logical or responsible. Sullivan County is the home of exquisite natural beauty and many family farms. These family farms do serve the local market for meat and vegetables, and this market could be vastly expanded to create a system of sustainable food for much of the region, without resorting to the nightmare of feedlots and factory farms.

Instead of bringing in gas drilling to prop up the local economy, money invested in high-speed trains from NYC would allow for the revitalization of a once-thriving tourist economy. This would bring real jobs to the region, not low-wage, demoralizing jobs such as those associated with casinos or destructive ones related to gas drilling. Perhaps now that we are in the midst of a bit more confusion regarding air travel, a trip upstate to the Catskill Mountains (a brief two-hour train ride, potentially) is more desirable.

A recent article in Scientific American stated that using current technology and available capital funds, it would be possible to convert the entire planet to renewable non-carbon energy sources in less than 10 years. A tall order, to be sure. Our upstate regions are not the entire planet and, thus, it ought to be reasonable to refit the entire state with renewable energy systems within allowable capital resources, with existing technology, within the next 10 years.

In Japan, walking in the woods is recognized as a potent tool for healing. It’s called “Forest Bathing.” Studies in the medical literature compare a walk in the woods to a walk on city streets, and it’s not surprising that stress hormones and brain neurotransmitters are in better shape following a stroll in the calming cathedral of nature. Global warming is about to set off a chain reaction that will be of a magnitude unimagined in all of human history. Within a few short years, life as we know it may become impossible. We must not ignore the perils of pulling yet more hydrocarbons out of the ground, just to satisfy our shortsighted urge for easy money and cheap fuel.

Sullivan County and the Catskills, as a whole, have the potential to help heal the entire region by becoming an ecological showplace. Allowing the drilling of natural gas will be a mistake, and our descendents will wonder why we ever did such a silly thing.

(Robert A. Schulman, MD has a residence in Callicoon Center, NY.)