Green Gettysburg, July 1
Our meeting on July 1 opened with a discussion of the water tower the Gettysburg Municipal Authority (GMA) is proposing to build on a wooded lot on the corner of Herr’s Ridge Road and Red Oak Lane. As it happens, a letter in today’s Gettysburg Times (7/6/22) by Jim Paddock lays out the situation very effectively:
GMA is trying to build a 160 foot water tower 80 feet above the existing tree line at Herr Ridge Road and Red Oak Lane.
It would change the character of the area and be visible from Little Round Top and Lee’s Headquarters and other historically sensitive areas.
“To build it, the GMA is asking Cumberland Township to change the zoning ordinance from a 35-foot maximum height to a 175-foot height for essential services in residential zones.”
There are other options such as a ground level water tank with pumps.
The Adams County Office of Planning and Development reviewed the request and said “175-feet was arbitrary.” They urged Cumberland Township “to prevent any type of essential service from standing out to a large degree from the existing landscape or disturbing the visual integrity of the battlefield landscape.”
A meeting for public comment on the project is scheduled for Tuesday, July 26 at 7:00 PM at the Cumberland Township Office on the Fairfield Road. A Township Planning Commission meeting will take place on July 14 at 5:00 PM at the same location. Opponents of the tower say it is important to “fill that hall with people” on both occasions. It is not necessary to be a Cumberland Township to attend and/or express concerns. Written comments can go to Cumberland County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission at 1370 Fairfield Road, Gettysburg, PA 17325.
Jon and Betsy reported that “No Big Tower” signs paid for by the Battlefield Trust are going up along nearby roads. Is anybody planning to launch a balloon to dramatize just how high the tower would rise? We hope so!
On another front entirely, Jon also reported that chemists are working on a process that can do photosynthesis without light with electrolysis replacing the light and creating acetate which is then fed to plants (so far only algae and mushrooms). The hope is that food can be grow in the dark, and in inhospitable regions supplementing what can be grown on overstressed farmland. More on this is available at www.inverse.com/innovation/horizons-27-06-2022
In response, Joe commented: if only we homo sapiens could just settle down and take our place as part of the food chain. Are we really the center of creation? He also wondered if we will soon be eating three bags a day of human-specific modified dog chow equivalent, no doubt grown in the dark somewhere.
This led to a brief discussion of the human/nature relationship. I asked: is there a middle ground between simply being a creature among creatures eaten by creatures and the nightmare of struggling to be always “in control.” Joe said, “No, there really isn’t.” A discussion to be continued, I suspect.
Rich’s comment: “We really should just think a couple months ahead and make sure to vote in November.” Amen to that!
As the conversation continued, we had a little trouble getting back to “Industry,” the last section we will be reading from Regeneration. The book covers a lot of ground, some of it quite familiar to many of us. It is rich with starting points for further investigation, but never really makes a convincing case for how all the pieces will fit together to “solve the climate crisis in a single generation.” In the end, we decided to move on to something new.
For next time, we decided to tackle a single opinion piece while exploring options for the longer term:
How I Build a Good Day When I’m Full of Despair at the World by Mary Pipher www.nytimes.com/.../coping-climate-war-happiness...
In addition, here are two possible candidates for our next book-length reading:
From Debby and Rich: Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid: the Fraught and Fascinating Biology of Climate Change by Thor Hanson. Here’s a review from the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/.../hurricane-lizards-and...
From me, something I just recently stumbled upon: Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence by James Bridle. A review is available at www.nytimes.com/.../ways-of-being-james-bridle.html
Meanwhile, don’t forget to order trees if you have a place to plant them. The Watershed Alliance and its Planting Partners are accepting orders until August 23, but they say it’s important to order early. Here’s the link to the Watershed homepage: www.adamswatersheds.org