THE VIEW FROM WEST DAVENPORT Oil Embargo’s Lesson Forgotten In 1973, the Organization for the Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) from the Middle East imposed an oil embargo on the United States. It had a crippling impact on our economy and on our way of life because we didn’t produce enough energy in this country to meet the demand. People waited in line for hours to buy a few gallons of gasoline and tempers flared. The same impact was felt on…
Online home of The Freeman's Journal and Hometown Oneonta
Advertisement
zagata
LETTER from SCOTT DUNCAN To Preserve Our Earth, Live By Nature’s Rules To the Editor: So the fracking industry comes into town and uses a lot of clean water that then becomes unusable, tears up and down the roads with trucks, and drills for the gas. Then pipes it out of the county and sells it to? … and this will benefit the poor people, how? Poor people don’t always own the land. Mike Zagata’s description of fracking left out…
VIEW FROM WEST DAVENPORT Save Eagles From Environmentalism In 1969, our country moved from demonstrating against the Vietnam War to marching for environmental protection. That year, Congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which required federal agencies to do an Environmental Assessment (EA) and/or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prior to granting a permit allowing a “project” to go forward. If it was determined the project wouldn’t cause any “significant” environmental impact, a Negative Declaration (Neg Dec) could be…
COLUMN VIEW FROM WEST DAVENPORT Capitalism Works; ‘Squad’ Proves It Since the day they were sworn into office, the “Squad of Four” Congresswomen with a far-left agenda have been critical of the President and of this country. They have been incessant in demeaning the President, calling him a racist, xenophobic, homophobic and every other “phobic” one can dream up. One of them has engaged in tirades which range from being anti-Semitic to stating that on “911” “someone did something”. Yes,…
IF FUNDED, IT WON’T WORK Where’s $93 Trillion Coming From To Pay Bill For A Green New Deal? I was struck by a news clip showing Elizabeth Warren speaking to a crowd and telling them we need to remove the control over our lives from government and put it back into the hands of the people. This is the same woman who is supporting Bernie in his call for socialism. Socialism is a system based on government control over the…
Until Available 24/7, Renewable Energy Not Ready For Prime Time The Otsego County Chamber board and president deserve a heartfelt “thank you” for having the vision and courage to host the “Energy Summit” Thursday, Jan. 31, at The Otesaga. Speakers from New York and Pennsylvania talked about fossil fuels and renewables, including biomass, ethanol, electric cars, wind, solar and geo-thermal. At the end of the day, it was clear that, although promising for the future, renewables are not currently capable…
Energywise, We Can Have It All: Natural Gas Now, Renewables Later The Otsego County Chamber board and president deserve a heartfelt “thank you” for having the vision and courage to host the “Energy Summit.” Speakers from New York and Pennsylvania talked about fossil fuels and renewables including biomass, ethanol, electric cars, wind, solar and geo-thermal. At the end of the day, it was clear that, although promising for the future, renewables are not currently capable of replacing or offsetting our…
Column by Mike Zagata for December 7, 2018 How Sequoias Were Saved Offers Lesson On Forest Fires Editor’s Note: Among his many credentials, Mike Zagata is currently director of organization development at the New York State Forest Owners Association. The fires burning in California are indeed tragic, but their severity could have been averted. If politicians and environmentalists had bothered to research the ecology of the brushlands and forests in California, they would have discovered that they are fire dominated…
Column by Mike Zagata for October 26, 2018. Science Can Be Political Tool, And Even Worse, Up For Sale I read with interest and admiration the article in last week’s paper about the different kinds of “truth.” Objective truth is the “truth” that is supported by fact. Subjective “truth” is what circumstances point toward or what we want, based on the information we have at our disposal, to believe. The Senate confirmation hearings for judge, now justice, Kavanaugh were used…
Column by Mike Zagata, May 25, 2018 ‘Big Brother’ May Be As Close As Your Next New Automobile If you haven’t read George Orwell’s book “1984”, now would be a good time to read it. In the book, Winston Smith wrestles with oppression in Oceania, a place where the Party (Big Brother) scrutinizes human actions with ever-watchful eyes. Winston chooses to defy a ban on individuality by daring to express his thoughts in a diary and pursues a relationship with…