LETTER from R. SCOTT DUNCAN
COVID-19, Smoke?
Let’s Try Better Way
To the Editor:
Did you notice the sky was grayish the other day? They say it is smoke from the West Coast fires. That shows us just how interconnected we all are. The virus should have enlightened you to that fact.
It seems nature is not going to stop there. It seems nature is going to pummel us until we realize we are part of, not separate from nature. Everything is interconnected.
It made me stop and think about all the farming that’s done in the West Coast. They supply us, during the winter, with vegetables.
I heard one of the rice farmers on the West Coast say that all his people have evacuated and there is no way to produce rice crackers anymore.
Think about all your produce that comes from the West Coast. Now what are you gonna do if none of that is available during the winter? Are you going to live on venison for the whole winter?
So I decided I was going to make myself a small cold frame. A little wood, some clear plastic sheeting, and some conduit. How hard can that be?
I’m going to try a small one first. I should be able to have lettuce and spinach among other vegetables during the winter. There is a book I’m reading called: “Four-Season Harvest,” by Elliot Coleman. I should get a lot of answers from the book.
Now I am thinking why is it that the powers to be in the county are trying to bring back industry into the county, and use up our natural resources, then they leave.
That is what they usually do. After we have made a lot of changes to accommodate them.
Why not make Otsego County organic. Support greenhouse farming in order to have a longer growing season. New York City would be a lucrative market while protecting our county and creating jobs.
There is really nothing more important than food….water and air also helpful.
Times are changing fast and nature is getting hostile, we had better be ready. There will be no going back to the way it was. We must creatively rethink our relationship with nature.
R. SCOTT DUNCAN
Hartwick Forrest