Susan Kraham « Vichy Water

June 23, 2012

Voices From Beyond (Recorded) in a Revolutionary War Cemetery (Scary). Fracking and Charles Dickens: A Middletown, NJ (Scary) Environmental Seminar. Marlboro, NJ: Probably the First Town on Earth to Offer “Property Tax Reward Program” “From Here to Eternity” June 23rd 2012

Filed under: November 2009 — Tags: "From Here to Eternity', Assistant Mayor Larry Rosen, Calvin Schwartz, Charles Dickens, Councilwoman Carol Mazzola, Dr Jan Dash, Dr. Larysa Dyrszka, Ebenezer Scrooge, EVP, Fracking, Jim Walsh, Linda Baum, Marlboro NJ, Mayor Jonathan Hornik, Middletown Library, PhD, Rutgers, Susan Kraham — earthood @ 3:30 pm

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Fracking is the essence of this blog. But first a word on origins.

How’d I start writing this blog? To emote and stir sensibilities, I watched ‘From Here to Eternity’ last night while I pedaled feverishly on the stationary bike. An early scene in this tech noir movie, Montgomery Clift (Robert E. Lee Prewitt) walks into an empty barracks pool room. The screen door slams behind him. Echoes fill the room. Black and white desolation in the scene grips me. I felt December 7^th and World War II coming. 1941: my parents just started dating; so they were here on earth then. How can I get back to spring 1941? I was psyched to write this blog.

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an emotional scene ‘From Here to Eternity’ with Sinatra and Clift

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ah. the famous steamy beach scene ‘From Here to Eternity’

Firstly, before the fracking essence of this blog edition, I need to apologize to all my global readers for my tardiness in getting this blog posted; it’s been too long. Insights: I’ve assumed huge responsibilities with NJ Discover TV as a journalist covering music, art, environmental, and human interest stories here in New Jersey. Even armed with video camera (and learning editing capabilities), I’ve been immersed in a myriad of experiences. This blog has been my baby for nearly three years; in the distance I hear the maternal voice, sensibly uttering “balance and pace yourself.” So I aim to get back to timely entries with you all. The good news; this journalism gig has opened my world to new experiences which I can share here in this blog moving from a pediatric (baby) blog to maturation. A perfect segue: last week and my entrance into a whole new spiritual world.

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scene one from cemetery. a lot of plant growth. and you can see the sun shining.

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me hanging around near a grave marker. seconds before the rain.

Last Saturday, a small team of an intellectual, fellow journalist and little old me journeyed to a Revolutionary War cemetery here in New Jersey. Before I go on, let me say this about that (President Kennedy used to say this phrase all the time). I want to enlighten you all as to my spirituality which is a major portion of my life these past ten years. It’s so involved and complicated but refreshingly haunting and honest, that some people near and dear are moving me down the road to a memoir; it’s that remarkable. Confession; I’ve taken so much for granted these past years but last Saturday was one of those wake-up calls. Something has been in my life for a long time.

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more cemetery scenes

Back to last Saturday. The three of us stood in a small cemetery where many of the grave markers said “departed this life,” mostly before America was born in 1776. It was 7:44 AM and not a cloud in the sky; one of those top ten days. We could faintly hear early morning traffic in the distance; household milk deliveries to rear doors, I humorously thought to myself. Most markers were covered with dense foliage; I hoped no poison ivy and if there was, I figured I was a dead man to the extent I’d be laid up past Rutgers first kick-off in September. Along came a spider that bit me on my right calf. Standing over the grave of a child, the intellectual asked, “Are you a child?” A small tape recorder in hand, the intellectual played back the response (we didn’t hear anything with the naked ear), “Yes I am a child.” By the way, these responses are called ‘electronic voice phenomenon.’

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a marker. circa 1775. before Revolutionary War.

Moments later, we stood in a semi-circle reading the marker of another grave when it started to rain on us. Thing is, there was not a cloud in the sky. I rubbed my arms in disbelief that I felt moisture and rain. The intellectual assured what was happening was not out of the ordinary. Taking things in stride, we continued to query the spirits and recorded more along the way. Interestingly, my associate co- journalist is of the extreme cynical variety so listening to play-backs and the voices recorded transformed her normally effusive smile to one of serious revelation; reminded me of an old vintage song, “I’m a believer.”

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a cemetery close to heart.

Later we moved our three folding chairs and cars to a different cemetery; equally as haunting and historic. The word nefarious fits. No need to delve in depth about experiences here, but the intellectual recorded a voice responding to her, saying “I’m glad you are here.” You should’ve seen the somber face of my co-journalist. Good old Calvin takes things in stride. Over lunch, the intellectual and I traded introspective stories of the spirit. She did say to me, perhaps changing my life’s map journey, that I was one of the most unusual persons she ever met; so in tune to the offerings of the universe. The intellectual urged me to write a memoir. I just need a final chapter and away I go; also soon to a special gathering of spiritualists; keep you all posted.

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Marlboro NJ Mayor Jonathan Hornik addressing local business leaders, Assistant Larry Rosen, Councilwoman Carol Mazzola looking on. A Revolutionary tax reward program

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Talk about directional changes and diversity in a life. On Thursday, I went to cover the launch (for business owners) of the ‘Shop Marlboro Property Tax Reward Program.’ In my headline, I alluded to the notion of Marlboro, New Jersey (population 40,000) being (probably) the very first place, town on Earth (therefore the United States as well) offering a reduction of (Marlboro) township property taxes based on a percentage of purchases during the year from (Marlboro) local businesses. I said to myself (a property tax payer in town), ‘Wow.”

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indeed lettuce is lettuce. no matter where.

It’s not within the scope of this blog to talk specifics, but certainly to applaud Mayor Jonathan Hornik and Township Council and the entire Township Council and their Economic Development Committee(David Faust) Jonathan Capp, Business Administrator and Investors Bank for visions and courage way beyond a central Jersey township’s limited reach and place in the universe; a refreshing and uplifting civic prideful thought for their 40,000 residents.

I’m enthused about eating out in Marlboro so much more often now. You see, I’ve got this theory that lettuce is lettuce no matter where ever you go. I might as well eat lettuce close to home and pay less property taxes. It may be that simple.

Now to scary nightmarish thoughts about fracking; here’s my article based on my experiences at a recent seminar. And fracking is fracking important to our children’s future health.

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a seminar flyer. study the pix. quiz tomorrow or day after.

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Charles Dickens. another hero of mine. good old Scrooge and human greed. it hits awful close to home.

This is not going to be a traditional news journalistic article on a seminar on fracking which I recently attended at the Middletown, NJ Library. There should’ve been 20,000 people in attendance. Thing is, I didn’t know a lot about fracking; it’s not necessarily plastered on the news. But I knew it was an environmental issue. I also now know that most of our species, especially those living in the United States of America have no clue whatsoever about what fracking is and the dangers thereof. Do we applaud the natural gas industry that stand to make billions for perhaps keeping the issues away from the public? I do applaud the Democratic Executive Committee, Middletown (and Linda Baum for being the human energy behind this seminar) for sponsoring this Public Service Event. And I have no political party affiliations; a lifelong purist who votes for the best candidate. So what’s the purpose of this article? Well, to inform my blog readership that there are serious environmental problems than can or will arise from this procedure to allow natural gas to escape and flow out of wells and make the gas companies rich.

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a collection pool. not pretty.

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Jim Walsh speaking at Middletown Fracking seminar

Now, what does Charles Dickens have to do with the title of this article? Yes, sometimes I’m a dramatic writer, especially when I’m emotionally concerned. I’m also tired of taking my 26 year old son aside and repeatedly apologizing to him that my generation has really messed things up; can’t find a way to sign the Kyoto Protocol and agree on greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change and witnessing animal and fish extinctions daily. You all know the rest. For me as an impartial journalist, this seminar clobbered me. I got that sick feeling in my very sensitive intestinal lining.

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Attorney Susan Kraham speaking.

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a fracking fracking mess site.

It was so egregious what was happening with fracking (and wow to the 20,000 wells they want to put into Pennsylvania so that the pollutants eventually work their way right here to the Garden State) that I immediately envisioned Charles Dickens character Ebenezer Scrooge saying at the end of the movie starring Alastair Sim in 1951’s ‘A Christmas Carol,’ “Decrease surface population.” My wild imagination, I thought. But fracking can be potentially bad and evil. I thought about somebody out there in imaginary television land, looking for ways to really decrease surface population. Fracking could be efficient beyond wildest dreams (a great song).

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a sign from the Sierra Club, New Jersey headquarters in Trenton

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Dr Jan Dash, PhD speaking. He invited me.

The panelists of the seminar were Larysa Dyrszka, MD, Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy, Susan Kraham, Senior Staff Attorney, Environmental Law Clinic, Columbia University, Jim Walsh, Eastern Region Director, Food and Water Watch Moderator and Jan Dash, PhD. Synchronicity follows me around. After the seminar, I mentioned to Susan Kraham how alarmed I was and that this whole issue reminded me of Scrooge and Dickens as a far-fetched conspiratorial way to decrease the surface population. She laughed. A few days earlier in front of a court room with the natural gas industry as an opponent, Susan observed that their lawyer looked like Scrooge and there I was talking to her about Dickens.

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fracking’s forgotten costs.

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PLEASE READ. TAKE ACTION. there is still time.

What concerns me is that humans make mistakes and rush to judgment. We need decades of studies and analysis before we dump millions of gallons of rare, precious and beautiful water mixed with carcinogenic chemicals and sand into each well to dislodge the trapped natural gas. That mixture can move around and work its way into our food chain. Good old human stupidity. No one on earth can say what can happen to those millions of gallons of water and nasty scary chemicals; where they ultimately end up.

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a concerned citizen talks to Dr. Larysa Dyrszka after seminar.

Here’s an example of folks in high places (politicians) not knowing much and changing our healthy lives. Days after 9-11, the Environmental Protection Agency head (director), said that the air around the World Trade Center was alright to breathe. Back then, I said to myself utilizing the gift of common sense, that anytime you burn two large buildings fully loaded, there isn’t a scientist on earth, that could ever figure out what chemical compounds are created by the combustion and therefore probably would be deleterious to the human body. It surely isn’t going to make us live longer breathing that air. Fracking is the same thing. Nobody can tell where and how and when. We just don’t know. We need more time brother.

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what your fracking water could look like one day.

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seminar panelists

A little primer: Fracking injects a mixture of water, chemicals and sand into wells to create pressure that cracks the rocks, allowing gas to escape and flow out of wells. Yes it’s a mad rush to get gas and make money. Somehow fracking was exempted from provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act and other federal environmental and public health regulations. Some of the chemicals injected into OUR ground contain naphthalene, benzene and acrylamide; known and suspected carcinogens and toxins. I remember the movie ‘Erin Brockovich.’ Nothing changes. I worry about the underground, greenhouse gases, rivers of toxic waste water, mountains of toxic waste, farmers (growers of human food) in Colorado being outbid for water in auctions by natural gas companies, physicians being legislated on what they can report when people get sick, air pollution, children, and my son’s children someday if. And what if, who’s responsible some day? Where have all the flowers gone?

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a sign in waiting at the Sierra Club in Trenton.

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Ebenezer Scrooge. the face of greed. it hits all of us eventually close to home. and of course decreasing surface population.

This is mostly a Paul Revere kind of article. Get thee on a horse and learn about fracking. I’ve made my point. Guess what. I’m in the mood now. I know its June but I’m going to find my VHS copy of a ‘Christmas Carol’ starring Alastair Sim and I’ll watch it now that I’ve finished this article with great anticipation to when Ebenezer proclaims, “Decrease the surface population.”

NOW HERE THIS: a bit of an advertisement. I don’t do those very much here. BUT there’s a very unusual upbeat funny precious 2 minute video involving 102 year old Emily Cook who talks about the life briefly and then invites me back to her room. Not to be missed especially the last 23 seconds. PLEASE check it out and share it.

emily cook video she’s 102 years old.

HooplaHa Videos and Article LINKS $fracking$ Judy Feinstein: Female Pilot: