Here is the bad news about living in New York State right now: we are standing between what’s perceived to be valuable mineral deposits and some of the richest corporations in the world. That’s never a good place to be.

Ask Iraq. Their abundant oil deposits have brought them nothing but misery, from the moment the West determined that they existed. We (ourselves and, early on, the British) saddled them with repressive regimes, bombed them when they weren’t sufficiently compliant, and generally pressed our advantage as the richest and most militarily powerful nations on Earth. Once the home of some of the Arab world’s most learned people – they used to say that, in the Middle East, books are written in Cairo, published in Beirut, and read in Baghdad – the place is now a basket case, wracked by sectarian strife, its infrastructure still in a shambles, waiting for the next chapter in a seemingly endless chain of misfortune.

Make no mistake – this is not an authorless crime. In Iraq and Saudi Arabia, in the Congo, in Indonesia, and in many, many other places, we have used a heavy hand to maintain effective control over valuable resources. And our extractive industries – oil, gas, mining, etc. – have been an integral part of that process. So just understand, if these companies have an eye on all that shale gas, they will use every means available to get to it. I’m not suggesting military force, but everything short of that. They have deep enough pockets to buy politicians, propagandize on a massive scale, and pay off residents enough to divide communities.

The fact is, you can see them working on public opinion every day of the week, twenty-four hours a day. Just surf around the channels and you’ll see them. I can tell you that on MSNBC, generally considered a liberal network, in between panel discussions more progressive than anything you’ll hear outside of Democracy Now! can be seen pricey and persistent advertising by the oil and natural gas industry trade group, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and others. The trade group ads are targeted directly on hydrofracking, tying shale-gas development to economic growth and prosperity, calling their extractive methods “safe” and pro-fracking policies “smart”, etc. Hammering away, hour after hour, day after day, gradually moving that public opinion needle into positive territory.

This past week, the New York Times reported that governor Andrew Cuomo is considering a plan to allow hydrofracking in southern tier counties, along the Pennsylvania border. If you care about this issue, call Cuomo’s office at 518-474-8390 or “like” his facebook page and leave a message opposing this policy.

Don’t let these buggers make a monkey out of us. That’s what they’re best at.

luv u,

jp