Monday, June 30, 2014

Only a Matter of Time

This report appeared in the Times Union this morning: "100 Gallons of Oil Spilled from Rail Car at Port of Albany." WAMC also covered the story: "Clean-up Crews Respond to Oil Spill to an Oil Spill at the Port of Albany."

1 comment:

  1. With the successful establishment of an Islamic Caliphate in Northern Iraq and Syria, opponents of every aspect of the Keystone pipeline proposal as well as those who'd defend the Hudson River from the menace of barged crude oil (not to mention opponents of fracking everywhere) are going to have to become a lot more realistic, thoughtful, and clever about the nation's energy needs.

    Who'd have thought that pulling all of our assets out of Iraq would lead to environmental threats at home? Unrealistic, self-righteous compartmentalizers, that's who.

    An uncompromising approach is a losing proposition; in the long- or even short run, this same stubbornness may have terrible results for the Hudson River. But as long as it's a boon for the tribe of self-regard then we can say with pride that "we are [still] the ones we have been waiting for." And isn't that really what it's all about?

    If you can appreciate the irony, then in the final analysis how is the purist's refusal to make choices between only bad alternatives not its own kind of exploitation of nature, albeit concealed under the banner of selflessness?

    ReplyDelete