Kayak Dude responds to Carney and Marino

Don Williams of the Susquehanna River Sentinel sends along this guest post:

I'd like to offer my thoughts on some of your recent posts, specifically those regarding Chris Carney and Tom Marino on the Marcellus Shale issue.

I've met and spoken with Chris Carney twice. Our first encounter was a formal meeting @ his district office in Clarks Summit regarding the proposed inflatable dam about a year before it was deflated in February 2008. More recently, I snagged about two minutes of his time at RiverFest 2009 in Wilkes-Barre. Of course, the topic was the Susquehanna River and what I felt we needed to do to protect it. With one of his dual degrees from Cornell College ( Iowa ) being in Environmental Science, I - at minimum - felt that he would understand the issues beyond the myopic perspective of their political impact. I'm no longer sure that is the case. I've never met or spoken with Tom Marino, but I felt his incredibly brief statement was borderline useless and I've found more substantive dialogue on the label of a bottle of mustard. And spring water.

Truthfully, for Chris Carney to be holding a field hearing in another state a thousand miles from his district ( scheduled for July 12th ) on BP's spill in the Gulf of Mexico while his very own backyard in Dimock - Pennsylvania's current version of Love Canal - is being slowly raped and industrialized is beyond incomprehensible to me. Yes, the eyes of the world & media & White House may be focused on BP's Gulf spill, but Chris was elected by his constituents in northeastern PA...and he needs to represent and serve them in their time of need. For some reason, the imagery of Nero fiddling keeps coming to mind. Anyway, if necessary, the world can survive with a few less shrimp and oysters for the short term, but clean water is essential to life itself for generations to come. In my opinion, Mr. Carney is getting some very bad advice from someone within his inner circle, and he needs to redirect his focus immediately. Being a leader requires getting involved in difficult issues and making tough decisions, yet Chris has done his best to stay as far away as possible from the Marcellus Shale maelstrom for way too long. I've been getting his Friday missives for quite some time, and unless I missed it ( hint: sarcasm ), he's failed to face this issue head on. Although it's never too late to get involved, IMHO, he is getting perilously close to the point of no return. The first step is always the hardest, but he needs to get fully engaged now. Regarding his recent Marcellus statement; I could spend an hour commenting on it, but have a post on my own site that I need to get to ASAP and will simply offer that although it was longer, it was just ( barely ) a shade more substantive than Tom Marino's. BTW, since I communicate with one of Chris's staffers quite frequently, I'll offer that I can be contacted at any time should Mr. Carney need some environmental enlightenment that they evidently failed to include in the curriculum @ Cornell College ( Iowa).

Marino's comment is unworthy of anything beyond what I've already offered. Mustard seeds, vinegar, and a little turmeric.

Finally, to all of my fellow tree-hugging bloggers ( and you know who you are )...if you've never been there, check out the Battle of Wyoming ceremony on Saturday, July 3rd beginning at 10 a.m. @ the monument's site on Wyoming Ave in Wyoming, PA. Hear the story of men who chose to stand and fight to protect the land they called home.
July 3, 1778 was a defining moment in the history of the region and, truthfully, the nation.

Funny how history tends to repeat itself.

Remember Wyoming!

Best regards,


Don Williams
http://srs444.blogspot.com/


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