Fracking has been greenwashed as climate-friendly, shuttering Bayonne church isolates Italians, Hispanics | Letters
In a recent editorial, The Star-Ledger called green groups' opposition to fracking a "travesty." The real travesty is how fracking has been greenwashed by the industry and the Obama administration as climate-friendly.
We already know the EPA's five-year study revealed in June that fracking has indeed contaminated water supplies, as your editorial mentions. But the science keeps stacking up that it's also dangerous for the climate. A study released earlier this month by Cornell University shows how the EPA has underestimated the climate impacts of methane, a runaway greenhouse gas resulting from the fracking process—which is 70-100 times more potent of a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame.
Pipelines and oil trains are crisscrossing the region to rush fracked oil and gas to LNG export terminals and refineries, which pose an immediate threat to drinking water, air quality and public health and safety.
We must reduce both carbon dioxide and methane to address climate change. We must stop the oil trains and pipelines. This means we must stop extreme fossil fuel extraction (which includes fracked gas and oil) and move decisively to true, green energy.
We already know the EPA's five-year study revealed in June that fracking has indeed contaminated water supplies, as your editorial mentions. But the science keeps stacking up that it's also dangerous for the climate. A study released earlier this month by Cornell University shows how the EPA has underestimated the climate impacts of methane, a runaway greenhouse gas resulting from the fracking process—which is 70-100 times more potent of a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame.
Pipelines and oil trains are crisscrossing the region to rush fracked oil and gas to LNG export terminals and refineries, which pose an immediate threat to drinking water, air quality and public health and safety.
We must reduce both carbon dioxide and methane to address climate change. We must stop the oil trains and pipelines. This means we must stop extreme fossil fuel extraction (which includes fracked gas and oil) and move decisively to true, green energy.
Jim Walsh is the New Jersey-based Mid-Atlantic Region Director at Food & Water Watch.
Shuttering Bayonne church isolates Italians, Hispanics
The congregation of Our Lady of the Assumption in Bayonne has learned that the church will close on January 1, 2016. The parishioners were shocked when a letter from the Archdiocese of Newark was read on Sunday, September 27. This decision was unexpected and affected us spiritually and emotionally.
It was unexpected because we have had in Bayonne in the past few years many meetings under the direction of Archdiocesan representatives to discuss the "New Energies" and make a recommendation to the Archdiocese. At our last meeting the recommendation agreed upon was that Assumption would stay independent since it ministers especially to the Italian and Spanish communities, and also because the Sunday Mass attendance at Assumption is the second highest in the city.
It affects not only the new waves of immigrants who have found a home in which to pray and maintain their cultures, but also the American born, whose parents and grandparents established the parish. Although the letter indicates that Spanish Masses would be celebrated at St. Vincent's and St. Mary's, they would not replicate the religious and cultural life the Hispanics have experienced at Assumption. Also, the letter does not make mention of any Mass to be celebrated in Italian. The result may be that some Italians and Hispanics would be discouraged from going to church at all. This would certainly be contrary to the visions of Pope Francis.
Ludovico Nolfo
Bayonne
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/10/fracking_has_been_greenwashed_as_climate-friendly.html
No comments :
Post a Comment