Urban Colonialism, like many colonial forms of government, has no place for the native population. Once their initial usefulness is ended – their troublesome existence is eliminated through a series of repressive and marginalizing policies.
Tompkins County’s rural communities are being rapidly destroyed by high taxes, no services, an unhealthy environment, and no representation – and in the County’s recent “vision for the future” — they don’t exist at all.
Radical re-zoning, ruthless reassessments, and rapacious taxes – clear a path for the luxury homes of Cornell’s patrician oligarchy. From their boats on the lake; the rural community can no longer see their summer memories – all they can see is money.
Agricultural farming practices are the biggest contributor of the Methane emissions that are “turbocharging” our planet’s Climate Change – but when the weather that these modern farming practices help create cuts into agricultural profits — we’re taxed to make up the difference. Agriculture is also the greatest polluter of our water and our waterways; and their use of fossil fuels is actually still increasing. Our government is trying to curb agricultural pollution by “voluntary programs” and “incentives” – decades of voluntary programs that have proved completely ineffective; and the incentives are limited to just pouring more tax dollars into Industrial Agriculture’s pockets.
Could there be anything worse? Yes, there could – for those living in our country’s rural areas: where Industrial Agriculture is steamrollering a carpet of poverty, crime, toxic fumes, and impaired water over their communities – and nobody cares.
It’s Urban Colonialism; bringing a self-serving “modern agriculture” to the backwards rural natives — profiting at any cost.
When the rich, Cornell-sponsored agribusinesses decided to take over north Lansing, NY for their sole benefit and profit: Cornell’s planner stated that the existing rural residents “didn’t deserve to live there” – and rather than this being denied – all of the Town of Lansing, Tompkins County, and Cornell officials continued to use this bias statement as the foundation for their every policy decision and regulatory agenda of the last 15 years.
Tompkins County’s rural people are disposable; and in the County’s “vision of the future” Comprehensive Plan: they no longer exist — they’ve been disposed of.
The Town of Lansing is about to turn the rural community into an AG Zoning District for the sole benefit of a handful of rich farmers. Non-farming residents [the poor 95%] have had all their land uses removed except for having a house – this will force them to sell all other land to famers; or face the regressive tax burdens of AG structured assessments. The rural community have had no meaningful participation, representation, or respect from the unilateral planning authorities.
This is how Progressive government works: the rich get richer – and the poor get stepped on . . . and demeaned . . . and disposed of
The farther from the bright urban center – the less your worth. In rural New York no one can hear you scream . . . it’s not important, anyway.
Tompkins County policies are all about following the money – and their policy making is all about finding a usable lens that excuses it.
The Town of Lansing’s AG Zoning District re-zones agricultural activities along the lake to Lakeshore residences: because those areas “are environmentally sensitive” and “potential problems related to steep slopes” [and because rich people want lakeshore houses] – but ignores mile after mile of equally steep slopes of unbuffered agricultural activity along nearby Salmon Creek: one of the major sources of agricultural pollution and impairment of the lake.
Preservation of agriculture is so important that the AG Zoning District radically changes the zoning and allowed activities of a 200 year old rural community: leaving poor non-farming landowners no choice; but to sell out to the rich farming interests – or go under through a regressive tax structure.
And behind it all is Cornell: making lenses for their friends.
Tompkins County: where the rich get richer – and the poor get stepped on — all according to plan.
Non-farming rural residents in New York straddle a line between unborn children: who are not human beings by law – and farmers: who are preferred by law — they are a forced-to-admit-they-are-human classification that is demonized and disposable – the grit in the smoothly oiled Agricultural lobby.
“A hate crime is a crime that is motivated in whole or substantial part by bias against certain personal characteristics.”
Agricultural bias is documented in every policy statement they make, and every regressive zoning law they support – But according to New York State law, there must be an underlying crime in order for an incident to be classified as a hate crime — and if you are disposable: you can’t be a victim – so there can’t be a crime.
In our uncaring society: the line between good and bad is licensable — and Agricultural Law is bought and paid for.
Agricultural interests always talk about regulations; because they never want to talk about the results. Agricultural regulations legitimize polluting by creating worthless standards that legally shield the polluters.
The TDML [Total Daily Maximum Load] paradigm sets the maximum level of pollution possible before environmental disaster – and then requires polluters to “try” to meet it.
Decades of Voluntary Guidelines and Nutrient Plans have proven worthless to curb Agriculture’s destruction of the environment – and the health of the rural communities they politically dominate.
The Agricultural sector is the only sector in the US that is still increasing its polluting; and increasing it across the board – from use of fossil fuels, to methane emissions, to nutrient pollution of our water: they are the fuse for global destruction.
The next time you see one of those “green” farm promotions; realize — it’s the polluting that you don’t see that will kill you.
The foundation of modern animal agriculture is a lot of manure: in both the literal and metaphorical sense.
Industrial farming practices have same relation to traditional manure spreading as the BP oil spill to a grease spot.
Modern farming is a destructive and greedy giant: leaving a toxic print on the rural landscape – a bully trying to sell the image of a much abused victim while getting more perks and privileges than any other interest group.
Take a good look at the feet that our agricultural “progress” is standing on — a shitload of money.