Economic benefits of protecting natural ecosystems

Protecting forests is not just the right thing to do, it’s good business, says Mike De Souza, Canwest News Service, November 14, 2009, about a recent UN report:

Protecting natural ecosystems and biodiversity is worth trillions of dollars in annual economic benefits around the planet, says a new report released on Friday by the United Nations.

The actual report is TEEB for Policy Makers Report released 13 Nov 2009. The article continues, quoting one of the lead authors of the report:

“The technology of planting trees or replanting forests is thankfully free, and it has no side-effects,” said Sukhdev, who also leads the UN Environment Program’s Green Economy Initiative. “It’s powerful, it’s effective and it’s time tested. We just have to get people’s mindsets changed to start using these natural technologies that are available.”

Or just don’t cut down trees when paving roads.

Thoroughfare Plan for Lowndes County

Lowndes County is proposing to update its Thoroughfare Plan. The current one was approved in 2003. The draft sent Friday by the County Engineer to the Commission for approval today is here. In addition, here is the county’s Road Inventory. The first of these items is available on the Lowndes County web pages. The other two items don’t seem to have been posted there yet. These public documents paid for by tax dollars were obtained through public records requests and are being posted by LAKE as a public service.

In case you haven’t heard of the Thoroughfare Plan, it was described by the County Engineer during the County Commission’s work session yesterday morning as

…works as a guide for development and potential use changes in property.

Here is the Valdosta Daily Times report on that meeting: “Thoroughfare Plan sparks lengthy debate,” By Malynda Fulton, 9 Oct 2009. She writes that:

The Thoroughfare Plan, first adopted in 1983, is used as a guide for road improvement projects, private developments and land use changes.

The “20/30 plan” referred to in that newspaper article is the Greater Lowndes 2030 Comprehensive Plan developed in conjunction by the South Georgia Regional Development Commission, the County Commission, and the Valdosta City Council. Its purpose is:

The Greater Lowndes 2030 Comprehensive Plan is a road map for ensuring growth and development in the Greater Lowndes Communities occurs in a way as to maintain our quality of life and unique community character.

It’s quite interesting that both plans are intended to guide development, yet they recommend opposite outcomes. In particular, the justification given at the meeting for the proposed reclassification of Quarterman Road from local to minor collector was that “if it were developed” within 20 years there would be enough trips to justify such a classification. Yet the Comprehensive plan shows the same area as agricultural through 2030:

Perhaps better coordination is needed. Fortunately, the Chairman and the County Manager appear to be soliciting input.

The scheduled vote on approval of the new Lowndes County Thoroughfare Plan is at the regular Commission meeting at 5PM today, Tuesday 10 November 2009, at 325 West Savannah Avenue (near the water tower).

This blog post by John S. Quarterman.

-jsq

Deforestation Floods Wiped Out the Ancient Nazca of Peru

News in Discover Magazine from ancient Peru:

The new study, published in the journal Latin American Antiquity, found that the pollen in the older layers of soil came almost entirely from huarango trees. But by A.D. 400, pollen from corn and cotton plants had replaced the tree pollen, suggesting that the Nazca people had chopped down the forests to make room for agricultural fields. About AD 500, a major El Niño built up in the Pacific, deluging the nearby Andes with rain. Walls of water and mud washed down the valley and over the denuded landscape, sweeping away food crops, buildings and artifacts. Beresford-Jones compared it with the 1997-98 El Niño, which left the city of Ica 6 feet underwater [Los Angeles Times]. The floods of A.D. 500 were many times worse, the researchers say.

Does this sound at all like the Georgia floods of 2009?

Florida Gets Smart About Solar

While Georgia goes for questionable biomass, WCTV reports that CFO Sink Applauds Opening Of Solar Energy Center, Welcomes $200 million in federal funding for Florida.

Florida CFO Alex Sink welcomed the news that a $200 million grant will go to Energy Smart Florida for the installation of 2.6 million smart meters in homes and the installation of advanced monitoring systems in grid substations.
CFO Sink commended President Obama for his commitment to new energy and his visit for the opening of Florida’s DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, the nation’s largest solar photovoltaic plant. CFO Sink released the following statement:
“Florida has been known as the sunshine state because of our beaches, but today we are taking an important step forward in becoming known as the sunshine state because of our commitment to solar and alternative energy. I commend Florida Power & Light for opening the nation’s largest solar photovoltaic plant here in Southwest Florida, and welcome President Obama to our state to see firsthand how we are working to diversify and modernize Florida’s economy.
“I am also extremely excited that Floridians will benefit from a $200 million grant to modernize our energy grid, one of the largest smart grid grants in the country. As Floridians, we are ready to harness our creativity and entrepreneurial energy to make our state a national leader in the development of a 21st century economy.”

South Georgia has just as much sunshine as north Florida. And you can build solar equipment anywhere. For example in a county with I-75 running through it and I-10 nearby. Maybe if Atlanta won’t lead, Valdosta should.

Solar and Georgia Electric Member Corporations

John Oxford writes in the Moultrie Observer about Green energy at Expo:

Although no solar panels have been installed in Colquitt County yet, Park said they and other green power sources are gaining popularity in Georgia. Solar panels have been installed by EMCs across the state , and EMC is looking to more ways to make use of otherwise wasted materials.

Well, maybe not in Colquitt County, but Colquitt EMC has a grid tie to a solar installation in Lowndes County.

PS: The Moultrie Observer has the most annoying online ad on that page that I’ve run into in a long time.

Valdosta Candidates at LCDP, 5 October 2009

All local candidates were invited to speak at the Lowndes County Democratic Party meeting on 5 October 2009. Here are videos of the ones who appeared:

Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE). ~~More are still uploading.~~ All the local candidate videos that LAKE took on 5 Oct 2009 are now in the playlist, as of 10PM 25 Oct 2009.

Videos taken at the 15 Sep 2009 political forum are already online.

RSVP Today for Federal Grants Workshop in Savannah, Oct 26th

Federal Grants Workshop Flyer, Savannah, 2009

Both Georgia Senators are holding a workshop in Savannah Monday October 26th about federal grants. To attend, you must register today, October 22nd. I called Isakson’s office, and the woman who answered the phone said they hold one of these a year. Last year it was in Atlanta, next year she thinks probably Macon. So this year this is the only one.

Hm, I wonder how much of this is stimulus money that these two senators voted against?

Anyway, here’s the text of the press release of 7 October:

Isakson, Chambliss to Host Federal Grants Workshop on October 26 in Savannah

Continue reading →

Hahira Discovers Planning Overlays

Hahira just put a three week moratorium on development from its only stoplight west along U.S. 122 to Interstate 75:

The new development regulations were proposed in light of plans for the Gateway to Hahira project, which include a Harveys Supermarket. While the developer for the project has promised that its design will match the integrity of the small town, downtown atmosphere, there are no regulatory provisions in place to ensure this.
“During a previous work session, council members learned that there could be design overlay guidelines adopted along that corridor,” Sumner said. “Therefore, regulations are being developed and will go to the planning commission before they are presented to the council for consideration. This moratorium (or hold) just ensures that we have time to adopt the guidelines at the November meeting before anything is done along the gateway corridor.”

Or they could just trust the developers of a project bigger than downtown Hahira that it will preserve the Mayberry character of Hahira. The Lowndes County Real Estate database shows that Hahira Gateway LLC owns much more land north of 122 than it does in the angle south of 122.

As the developers say, Continue reading →

Rally for president Obama, 17 Oct 2009

More than fifty people listened in a cold wind Saturday to a dozen speakers on the courthouse steps saying “I support president Obama”. Speakers included Gretchen Quarterman (MC), Tony Daniels, Marcus Rhone, Ruth Council, Mrs. Annie Fisher (on the Valdosta School Board), Gladys Lee (from Brooks County), Betty Marini (from Lanier County), Jim Parker, RJ Hadley (from Rockdale County, running for U.S. Senate against Johnny Isakson), Freeman Rivers, Lee Touchton, Gale Eger, John S. Quarterman, and others whose names I didn’t get.

In this example, Gladys Lee asks us all to think for ourselves: Continue reading →

Price of Doing Nothing Could Be High

I’m not sure this is what the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce wanted to hear, but it’s something that could benefit all of us:

Bruce Bailey, energy conservation advisor for Colquitt EMC, said, “Conserving energy and making things more energy efficient is much more cost effective than having to build a new power plant to supply more power, so we are recommending that as a leading public policy. If our future does include more and more conversions to renewable energy sources, it’s going to be very important that we don’t short-circuit our economy in the short term.”
Bailey said it’s important that any policies implemented utilize proven and effective technologies, and he warned that the price for doing nothing could be high.

Story by Matt Flumerfelt in the VDT, 15 Oct 2009.

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange