Thursday, August 6, 2009

Into New York State

This is my last view from Pennsylvania, the Susquehanna River at Great Bend. I walked along this wonderful river from Harrisburg, past Shippensburg and Sunbury, Bloomsburg and Berwick, and Wilkes Barre, and caught up with it again at Great Bend. Someday I'd love to take a long canoe trip down my favorite river - Canoeing for the Climate!

My good friend from the Lehigh Valley peace community (LEPOCO), robert, and his girlfriend, Kim, came up to Bingamton to visit her sister and to walk a few miles with me. I loved their company as we walked 7.8 miles together, into the city and back out again. We were amused by this stop sign - no road, no traffic to stop.

These new friends from the Binghamton UU church, Wes and Gerry, braved a downpour to walk a couple of miles with me just north of the city. There was a lot of traffic because of the Spedie Fest (the spedie is a regional sandwich, a kind of chicken gyro), but the rain put a damper on the fest goers as well. I would have enjoyed the hot air balloons but they weren't flying.

On out into the hills between Binghamton and Syracuse - beautiful country. I was disappointed to learn that here too the digging for gas in the shale is going on.

A windmill - the first I've seen, having missed those in the PA northeastern area - is a welcome sight, but it seems it's too little, too late.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Greta, I admire you for your efforts to save the planet. I too have faced much resistance by ignorant people that refuse to get the facts. I started talking about the climate change several years before Gore hit the scene. I was commenting about the lack of snow compared to when I grew up. When hunting in my teens, twenties and thirties, in Dec./Jan. time frame, I could walk on top of crusted snow where barb wire fences once blocked your way. We would have nearly a week to ten days of below zero weather every year and snow was on the ground from December to February. Not any more, snow is usually melted within three to four days of snowing. I live in Iowa, the eastern half. I started noticing this in the early to mid 80's.

Bob Webster said...

Greta,

As a native of Allentown, PA, whose mother was born in Bethlehem, I found your story in the Times interesting.

I thought you might be interested to know that the 100-year worst case scenario of the IPCC reflects the climate difference between living in Bethlehem, PA, and Fredericksburg, VA or the difference between Baltimore, MD and Charlotte, NC. I seriously doubt if one were to move from Bethlehem to Fredericksburg, VA, or from Baltimore, MD to Charlotte, NC, that a catastrophic change in climate would be experienced. And how about those people who move to south Florida?

In reality, CO2 has very limited impact on climate. But understanding that requires a scientific background and an objective mind. Sadly, you have been duped by extremists whose real goal is to artificially make Americans "pay" for their past successes by restricting access to low cost carbon-based fuels so that the rest of the world can "catch up" while Americans enter the dark ages of socialism.

You seem like a kind, decent woman whose been terribly misled by the constant barrage of media propaganda fanning the flames of climate alarmism.

I will pray for your guidance to see the truth.

Best regards,

Bob Webster
Vero Beach, FL

Kazi Iqbalur Rashid (shahin) said...

Thank you, for your wonderful idea. I live in Bangladesh. We have not much concuss about the green. I had a scholarship and January to May I lived Kent, OHIO. It's the first time I saw snow and It's the first time I realized what is green. That was a great experience.

Sorry for my poor English.

Kazi Iqbalur Rashid
Assistant Professor,
Cantonment College Jessore, Bangladesh