Mountain Laurel

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There is a small colony of Mountain Laurel near Fawn Lake. You don't see much Mountain Laurel this far north -- it might have been planted -- but it has survived on this relatively sheltered south-west slope overlooking Fawn Lake.

Taken on Saturday April 25, 2020 at Partridge Run Game Management Area.

Been clicking through to those ads for Smarter New York Energy

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Been clicking through to those ads for Smarter New York Energy, a website put together by the the Warm Thoughts Communications firm, a communications organization out of New Jersey that has been contracted by NYS Propane Gas Organization to oppose the Climate Leadership and Communication Act.

I did a little more digging using the property tax records and the listing for the NYS Propane Gas Organization’s address on their website (5315 Perry City Rd, Trumansburg, NY 14886) is the home address of Bill Overbaugh, Vice President, of Ehrhart Propane in Trumansburg. Nice 50 acre property though with a lake. That said, looking at their website, it looks like they are under new leadership.

The NYS Propane Gas Organization has a webpage asking for contributions:

Donate Now to Fight the CLCPA!

Give your financial support to our CLCPA Battle Fund so we can pay for crucial advocacy efforts that are not fundable with our PERC dollars. We are asking smaller companies to support with $5,000; larger companies $10,000. Make your donation via the form below.

For details on how we plan to spend the money, here is a video presentation. Contact our Executive Director for the password.

Warm Thoughts Communications is an interesting firm, as it looks like they are mostly made up of former heating oil and propane company staffers, and their work is mostly communications for the home heating industry. The CLCPA Battle Fund effort is probably a side job, with most of their work more mundane, putting out marketing websites for local heating oil and propane companies.

It’s interesting how concerned about that heating oil and propane dealers really are about the Climate Leadership and Communication Act to be putting out such a big media effort. It’s not like oil heating or propane heating is going to disappear tomorrow — it will take decades to replace home heating systems with heat pumps. But they have to also see the the writing on the wall. Maybe they have hope they can turn the political tide, but climate change isn’t going away nor is electrification going away.

I’ve never explored the Cascadilla Gorge in Ithaca

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I’ve never explored the Cascadilla Gorge in Ithaca. It’s been on my list of places to explore, but I usually avoid Ithaca when I’m in the Finger Lakes due to the traffic and yuppies plus I can’t park on the Cornell Campus as usually I have one or more firearms in my truck, especially during hunting season. But there is no reason why I couldn’t park on the street and hike up into the gorge.