In February MDN brought you the story of the insanity that exists in Planet Ithaca–about a plan to disallow any new supplies of natural gas to flow to the Town of Lansing (Ithaca suburb) and to forever block any new customers from getting natural gas hookups to their homes and businesses in Lansing (see Anti-Fossil Fuel Hatred Metastasizes in Tompkins County, NY). Members of the Tompkins County Energy and Economic Development Task Force object to building seven miles of 10-inch natural gas pipeline in the Lansing area because the pipeline flows a fossil fuel. They have objected to the point that the local utility company wanting to build it, NYSEG (New York State Electric & Gas), floated an alternative plan: Build a compressor station for existing customers, and no new customers are allowed to receive natgas service. Ever. Period. Just one teeny tiny problem with this bizarro plan: Nobody bothered to talk to the duly elected representatives in Lansing–to the people representing the local population. Those representatives went to Albany to tell the Public Service Commission–and NYSEG–that the so-called alternative plan is nuts (our words). The people and businesses of Lansing want more clean-burning natural gas, not less…
