Every now and then, a piece of writing about conservation crosses your desk that is so above the ordinary that it deserves special mention. Such is the case with Tom Bailey's most recent column in the newsletter of his organization, the Little Traverse Conservancy, based in Petoskey, Michigan. Tom, a Republican, bypasses and dissipates the partisan fog and policy myopia that is holding the nation back with some truly thoughtful reflections and proposals.
Given the economic challenges of today and the need for “stimulus,” one would think that we would focus on changing our transportation system and dependence on foreign oil...
One would think that great experiments might be attempted: for example, if we’re going to nationalize something how about nationalizing railways on par with our interstate highways, airports and waterways to take advantage of this efficient, inexpensive transportation instead of nationalizing banks and brokerages? We could incorporate trails and greenways into those corridors to save fossil fuels, create jobs, move development away from floodways, and promote tourism, health and exercise in one project. How about a new Civilian Conservation Corps to get young people out and give them jobs? How about redirecting subsidies to encourage land owners to convert from corn and cattle to native grass and buffalo, providing new work for ranchers, producing low-cholesterol meat which prevents heart disease, and encouraging livestock which is more compatible with our land than exotic, imported cattle?
Those would be big changes. For all the talk of “change” I’ve recently heard, the solutions that are being offered for our economic and natural resource problems sound suspiciously like the
same-old same-old. Farm programs are more about money subsidies than healthy food and good management for farm and ranch land. “Health care” centers on payments and insurance, rather
than healthier food and healthier living. And while the idea of reducing fossil fuel consumption and air pollution are discussed quite often, bold conservation concepts usually give way to what we’re
told are economic “realities.”
Well, here’s a news flash: when it comes to reality, nature is the ultimate. Markets aren’t “real,” they are execological processes of our land, air, and water are about as real as it gets. I submit that the term “political realities” is an oxymoron.
Download Tom's column here. The column is on page 14.
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