Author name: Peg Johnston

Scientific American has published a lengthy article about the science of hydrofracking by Chris Mullins, “When multiple “fracks” are done in multiple, adjacent wells, however, the risk for contaminating drinking water may rise. If fracking is defined as the entire industrial operation, including drilling and the storage of wastewater, contamination has already been found.” You can see a preview at http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-truth-about-fracking but you must buy the magazine to read the whole thing. Mullins says that “Advanced tests, such as putting tracer chemicals down a well to see if they reappear in drinking water, could ultimately prove whether fracking is safe or not,” but regulators are not waiting for the science to come in.

Elsewhere in the magazine is an editorial saying the “fracking is getting ahead of the science” and the writer is urging New York where it is now under consideration, to “go slow” until the safety issues are resolved.

Cornell had released a narrated PowerPoint presentation on the SGEIS (Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement) on Hydrofracking. They have waded through the lengthy document to brief the public about the report. Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Community and Regional Development Institute at Cornell University has posted a new narrated powerpoint presentation that highlights the latest revisions to the SGEIS. The presentation can be found at http://bit.ly/SGEIS.

9/8/11 Flood stage is at 12 feet but the river is now at 25 feet, give or take a few inches. Downtown Binghamton is deserted and 20,000 residents have been evacuated including those in neighborhoods in the First Ward, Conklin Ave., and the East Side.
The 2006 flood came up over one of the flood walls, which were built after the 1936 floods, and still holding, although several leaks were discovered. There was no repair of them after the 2006 floods. This river is spilling over the flood walls on both of the rivers that define Binghamton, but so far the walls have held and a bigger catastrophe has been avoided.

I walk in Recreation Park on Binghamton’s Westside every day. Lately I have been noticing a outburst of mushrooms in greater variety than I have ever seen in one place. There are 8-10 different kinds of mushrooms or “mycelium” as the scientists refer to it.

I met a Ukrainian woman picking the mushrooms as I was photographing them. “These very good to eat. This one poison. This one not poison, but not so good to eat.” I was in awe of her practical knowledge and her foraging for food, as her ancestors in the Ukraine probably have for centuries. Then she said, “It’s not hard, just look on internet.” OK, I surrender my sterotypes!

What’s most interesting though is what this growth means to the ecology of the Park. Paul Stamets is a passionate environmental advocate and mushroom researcher. You can go to http://www.YouTube.com and search on his name and listen to several of his lectures. One is called “Six Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World.” He explains that mycelium sends out little hair like root systems that can have a healing effect on earth, breaking down toxins, and opening pathways for plants, bugs, healthy bacteria, etc. He has done demonstrations of totally degraded construction soil contaminated by oil that have been restored by introducing mushrooms.

Stamets encourages people to spread mycelium around, especially in vacant lots or poor soil. One technique that I have tried is digging up the roots of the mushrooms to get those little hair like roots, not the mushroom itself, and then growing them for distribution around town. I use damp pieces of cardboard with some roots between each layer. The mushroom sandwich needs to be kept damp for several weeks. When it’s ready you will see streaks of white “running” up the cardboard. Then “infect” a site, which we did at the Laurel Community Garden for instance, so that the mycelium can start running where it’s needed.

Consider the Square. The current show at the Cooperative Gallery assembles diverse artwork in 6, 12 and 24 inch formats into groupings with surprising results. One collection (detail shown) connects different media all done in red.
Curator MaryRose Griffin invited all gallery members to submit works in squares and then created collections, one exploring textures, a concept, or color.
The Exhibit is open for two more weeks at the Cooperative Gallery 213 State St. It is open Fridays 3-6 pm and Saturdays 12-4 pm through July 30th.

A family of ducks snarled traffic on the East Clinton St. Bridge on a recent rainy May afternoon in Binghamton NY. A car stopped suddenly and then attempted to block two lanes and soon a Mallard with her brood were seen crossing the street, a heart-warming sight until they got to the other side. The mother easily hopped the curb but the ducklings were unable to manage the steep curb on the bridge. Run off from a downpour added peril to the scene as the water raced toward the storm sewer.

That’s when Allan Troxler came to the rescue. He ran out and picked each duckling up –all twelve of them—and gently placed them on the sidewalk next to their agitated mother. “I was a little worried that the mother might attack me, or the ducklings might run away, but everyone cooperated.” Troxler, of Durham NC, was in the area to assist in the design of the Jane Freeman exhibit, “Art, Money, Love: Jane Freeman 1871-1963” at the Cooperative Gallery 213 on State St. “It was one of those rare moments in life when you get to interact with Nature and I will never forget those lifting those little downy ducklings.”