Local Push Against Upstate Drilling

As the recent owner of a 65-acre home in the Catskills, Dana DiPrima was dismayed to learn of a plan to mine natural gas in upstate New York. She enjoyed camping and fishing there as a child.

“I said, ‘Drilling for gas, are you kidding me?’” DiPrima recalled.

But as an Upper West Sider, her concern also centered on potential damage to the city’s drinking water.

The Marcellus shale, a rock formation that stretches from Ohio into New York’s southern tier, has more than 100 trillion feet of natural gas, Read more

Blurry Vision? See Your Doc

Q. I’m 70 and I’m starting to see a blurred area in the middle of my vision. Any ideas?

A: Have this checked immediately by an eye care practitioner. What you describe is a symptom of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 years of age and older.

The macula is at the center of the retina in the back of your eye. The retina transmits light from the eye to the brain. The macula allows us to perform tasks that require central vision, such as reading and driving. Read more

Dyes are the Tragedy

To the Editor:
David Schlegel writes that a doggy T-shirt by American Apparel is, “tragically offered in only one color: white with green cuffs” (The Pampered Pet, Sept. 17). I know you were only being cute, but the real tragedy is that humans have gone way too long poisoning the Earth’s waterways with fabric dyes, along with a myriad of other toxins, oblivious to the damage being done, for the sake of indulgence in vanity. Read more