DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Erie Canal Neighbors Association
HTML https://ecna.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: General ECNA Discussion & Information
*****************************************************
#Post#: 1193--------------------------------------------------
Why does Environmental Activism make some people act
irrationally?
DIR By: Doug K
Date: July 1, 2020, 8:36 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Why does Environmental Activism make some people act
irrationally?
This is the most perplexing question the Erie Canal Neighbors
Association has yet been able to answer after more than two
years. To be exact it’s been two years, six months, and
twenty-nine days since a small group of Pittsford & Perinton
residents formed a group on Facebook called Stop the Canal
Clear-cut (STCC).
[attachimg=1]
That group’s sole mission was supposedly “environmental” in
nature, but has slowly turned into individuals whining about
loss of shade on the Empire Trail and how much the group
distains the new owners of the NYS Canal Corporation, NYPA, or
New York Power Authority. The group has zero credible data to
support their claims that “nothing is wrong with the canal
embankments”
In 2017 NYPA inherited a Canal System with one hundred twenty
miles of “unsafe, unmaintained & uninspected Earthen Embankment
Dams. When they offered to take the NYSCC from the prior owner,
NYS Thruway Authority, they knew this work had to be done and
were up to the challenge. All of these “raised,
water-impounding” embankments would need clearing, across New
York State.
So they announced the work of clearing dams, which meant TREES
would be removed, as it was the TREES causing the problems with
Public Safety he sustainability of the Erie Canal. They were
very clear, the canal system was a danger, and they needed to
fix it by “controlling vegetation”.
They started with a Dam Restoration Project, which has evolved
now into an Embankment Integrity Program for Canal Safety.
You can read about that work here:
HTML http://www.canals.ny.gov/vegetation/index.html
HTML http://www.canals.ny.gov/Earthen_Embankment/index.html
Well, that was it, the NYSCC had mentioned TREE removal which
brought out everyone and anyone who ever wanted to “Save a
Whale” to a new environmental cause, and it was time to save
trees. The Canal Corporation was accused of “clear-cutting” the
embankments for profit at first. Then the reasons for tree
removal were questioned next, some citing that the canal hadn’t
broken from any tree related issues ever. The STCC group
convinced 3 towns to bring an Environmental Concern to Court to
stop the “tragedy” that would occur if trees were removed.
Somehow the only thing this STCC group really managed to do, was
to lie convincingly to the public about the safety issue. They
flatly deny it ever existed and still do to this day believe “If
it’s not broken, don’t fix it”.
So the question here is why do rational people get so perplexed
when the truth is contrary to their own beliefs. Saving trees on
Embankment Dams is UNHEARD of in the Earthen Dam Safety world.
Yet this group, when confronted with that truth, simply chose to
ignore it.
They didn’t want to believe the TREES they wanted to hug, could
be potential deadly killers of a community.
They suddenly acted contrary to human nature, which says “safety
is good”, and instead the group’s leadership acted contrary to
rational thinking, they decided to fight against a Public Safety
project on the Erie Canal that they knew was fixing dams, but
would share their group.
Think of removing trees from Embankment Dams as an insurance
policy, against a potential flood. While earthquakes and terror
plots could take out an earthen dam quite easily, the NEXT
probable cause is Embankment Failure due to improper vegetation.
Having trees on dams where only GRASS is allowed is a recipe for
disaster. Trees cause leaks, or the technical term “piping”
which creates water flow on earthen dams where it is not wanted,
and can cause a slip of the entire dam slope if not corrected.
That has all been documented here on our website
HTML https://ecna.us/eeip/
So do these STCC people also think they don’t need Car Insurance
because they didn’t have an accident last month? Probably not,
as most people are all over insured. We get Life Insurance
because we might die too young. We get Health Insurance in case
the thing that made us die to young was caused by a medical
issue. We get Long-Term Care Insurance in case the medical issue
our Health Insurance paid for causes us to need rehab care to
recover. The list goes on… Homeowners Insurance, Dental, Travel,
Pet.
Do those who subscribe to this STCC philosophy not buy
Homeowners Insurance because their house didn’t catch fire
yesterday or have someone trip on their front steps last week?
We, as humans, do tend to worry ourselves to the point of
poverty, trying to insure against anything that might happen in
our lives, well some of us perhaps. But for an “environmental”
group to take a stand that the Canal System is “just fine the
way it is” is almost impossible to comprehend given the single
fact that the OWNERS & CARETAKERS of the NYS Canal System have
stated it is unsafe, needs repair, and they are prepared to do
just that.
What could be worse for the environment than a flood?
So back to the original question: Why does Environmental
Activism make some people act irrationally?
We all know everyone loves trees, but Erie Canal Neighbors
deserve to feel SAFE in their own homes. They also do NOT
deserve to have UNSAFE embankments in their backyards or
neighborhoods. They should not have to worry if the Canal
Corporation will knock on their door and say they need to buy
Flood Insurance. There’s should be a point where SAFETY matters
more than SHADE… well at least for rational people.
While it may be very easy for some users of the Empire Trail
(who believe they are environmentalist) to point at the trees
along the trail and say they should stay.
The real issue is that those trees also block this groups
LEADERS from seeing the actual condition of the embankment and
the NEIGHBORS living BELOW those embankments who are in danger
EVERY day from that unsafe Erie Canal dam.
But the STCC membership really doesn’t care about any of this,
they are going to “hug those trees” even if it could mean their
neighbors suffer or their Towns & Villages flood.
After all, they are doing it in the name of the “environment”.
*****************************************************
Page 1 of 1