In this week’s issue of Cardinal Points, managing editor Brian Molongoski reported on the area’s new energy and heating plan that will call on utilizing natural gas.
Town Supervisor Bernie Basset views the new plan as “safe, clean and efficient,” while Environmental Action Committee President Colleen Corrigan said the new plan is “not moving in the right direction I’d like to see.”
Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Studies Curt Gervich brings up the point that while fracking is not the ideal solution, it is certainly easier to manage and less harmful than the current default — foreign oil.
This brings to light a larger issue — why are people so reluctant to make change?
Fracking is simply an example of this. While experts often point to it as an improvement over the current norm, it is often dismissed because it doesn’t solve everything.
This is a close-minded attitude that permeates today’s culture.
With political parties, it is quite common for people to consistenly affiliate themselves with one side. That often serves as a barrier for compromise — black and white takes root and leaves the various in-between grays nowhere to be found.
The reasoning is often similar to that of habits: certain things become ingrained into a person’s personality, routine and outlook on the world.
Cardinal Points encourages the Plattsburgh State community to be open to suggestions, compromise and change. Holding everything up to an idealistic set of expectations won’t get people anywhere, and not just because it isn’t realistic to make such drastic change all at once — everyone’s perception of what is “ideal” can vary greatly.
Following the recent midterm elections, we at Cardinal Points hold out hope that our government can set that example.
Through smaller yet important steps, maybe the world can one day come closer to that “perfect” scenario so many people strive for. But for now, let’s just focus on improving.
