So I was excited when I saw a report in Vermont’s Burlington Free Press today claiming Vermont had banned the practice outright. Chalk one up for the good guys, right?

Not so fast. Yes, the ban was signed into law by Governor Peter Shumlin on Wednesday. But there’s a catch, and it can be found in the sixth paragraph:

Vermont’s ban will have little to no immediate effect here, as there is no drilling taking place, none proposed and no solid information that Vermont has the underground gas to draw interest in fracturing. After signing the bill Wednesday, Shumlin conceded that this made enacting a ban easier here than it would be in states where land has been leased and drilling operations are in place.

Talk about burying the lead!

This issue is of particular concern for me because I grew up in what could be considered the heartland of fracking intent. Western New York and Central Pennsylvania are home to the Marcellus Shale formation, which is believed to house enough natural gas to supply the entire US for two years and create 250,000 new jobs in the process.

That sounds like a panacea in light of our existing unemployment and fossil fuel concerns. But at what expense?

Let’s explore all alternative energies, but let’s do it responsibly. Fracking is not environmentally responsible.

If you want some insight into the process and consequences of fracking I suggest you view Gasland, the excellent HBO documentary by Josh Fox.

If you have covered local sports you can commiserate with this unnamed writer. You can also relate to being short-staffed on the copy editor side.

(via Pete Thamel)

The import of this is that it made it cheaper and easier to bet down the value of a stock, while simultaneously devaluing the same stock by adding fake supply. This makes it easier to make money by destroying value, and is another example of how the over-financialization of the economy makes real, job-creating growth more difficult.

In short, banks were fabricating value where there was none. Sound Familiar?

If you grew up in Rochester, this stings. Kodak was a pillar of the community and Rochester thrived, in part, due to the generous philanthropy of Kodak founder George Eastman and his estate. (Kodak also polluted vast stretches of local neighborhoods and created cancer blooms in and around Kodak Park, but we won’t get into that.)

Despite this development, there is hope for the resilient city and its understated residents. Small businesses seem to be picking up where Kodak and Xerox left off, taking advantage of the highly educated and skilled workforce left standing in the rubble of the two former industrial titans. Total employment has grown substantially in recent years and home values continue to rise despite a housing crash that has crippled the rest of the country.

According to ProPublica, five of Florida’s 27 members of Congress have come out in favor of SOPA. Nobody has voiced an opinion of dissent. Ironically, this polarizing legislation appears to be one of the few issues to garner bi-partisan support during this Congressional session. Not surprisingly, those receiving the largest contributions from the affected industries (movie, music, TV, computers and Internet) seem to be leaning toward a yea vote.

The general consensus among the tech community is that these bills are heavy-handed responses to the issue of software and media piracy, which could potentially limit the freedoms of Internet users while promoting broad powers of censorship for the government. These freedoms, of course, are not confined within the borders of the United States. It’s called the World Wide Web for a reason and consternation is high overseas.

I have mixed feelings about the issue. The bills, as written, reach much too far. But I also believe piracy is a prevalent, worldwide moral issue. Overzealous legislation is the wrong path to follow. Pirating software, music and movies is the wrong thing to do. There is a middle ground somewhere in there. Let us find it.

As an American citizen, let your voice be heard. The [Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)] has a handy page set up that will deliver a pre-fabricated message to your representatives in opposition to these bills.

Interestingly, some major web sites are shuttering operations today to illustrate what the Internet might be like should SOPA and PIPA be passed. Below are some screenshots of those sites’ front pages. I am not sure how effective this course of action is, but it certainly brings attention to the issue.

Google:

Wikipedia:

Boing Boing:

Iconfactory:

Sixgun Productions:

The Senator was more than 3,500 years old and one of the largest Cypress trees in the United States at 127 feet tall and 47 feet in circumference. While it had seen better days — a hurricane lopped 40 feet off the top in 1925 — the tree remained an impressive visage and a primordial reminder of Central Florida’s history.

Once a beacon to Central Florida travelers, The Senator lost some of its appeal when Disney arrived in Central Florida with Sea World and Universal Studios in tow. Indeed, even though Micki and I settled just one mile from its location when we first moved to Central Florida a decade ago, I only made one visit to the secluded site in 2005.

It is humbling to think that something which survived more than three millennia could come to such an unfortunate end and I consider myself fortunate to have witnessed The Senator’s grandeur in person.

I took along a camera on that 2005 visit. Below is a small selection of images from that impromptu shoot: