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Parks Committee Report – Shirley James, Chair
The National Parks Conservation Association tell us the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park is threatened by air pollution. “Air pollution shrouds the views
and poses health risks to visitors and staff at Great Smoky Mountains National
Park, listed as one of NPCA’s Ten Most Endangered National Parks in 2002. NPCA’s
Clean Air Campaign advocates enforcement of the Clean Air Act to clear the air
in parks and across the nation.”
Parks Master Plan: The Parks Department would have liked more public input on
the Parks Master Plan than they received. Remember westsiders—if you don’t
participate in programs meant to inform you, you can’t complain when plans go
awry. If you missed the very informative parks program, you can still make your
needs and ideas known at the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage Advisory Board
meeting on October 17, 2002 at 4:00 p.m. at the C.K. Newsome Center located at
100E Walnut St. in the Parks Conference Rm. downstairs.
Those individuals who cared enough about their parks to help in the planning
stressed MAINTENANCE AND BETTER UTILIZATION OF THE FACILITIES WE HAVE AS BEING
THE MOST IMPORTANT CRITERIA OF A NEW PLAN. WE SHOULD NOT ADD UNTIL WE CAN TAKE
CARE OF THE COMMITMENTS ALREADY MADE.
There’s Gold in Greening of Indiana (taken from Morton Marcus’s column in the
Evansville Courier and Press)
Morton Marcus is an economist at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana
University. The following has been taken in part from his column of 9/17/2002.
“Although as Hoosiers we are aware of many lovely sites in our state, the
general impression of Indiana is of a state where industrial waste, civic
neglect, and nature itself have been most unkind. Our cities and towns have
delightful areas that visitors rarely see. Our forests and hills, fields and
wetlands have spectacular beauty, but they are not an integral part of our
image.
To change Indiana from a national joke and an environmental disgrace, we need a
massive statewide program of environmental remediation. Indiana’s General
Assembly, with full support from our citizens and businesses, needs to enact
laws that put the state at the forefront of environmental protection and
enhancement.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management must be strengthened so that
it becomes a positive force for, rather than an impediment to, economic
development and environmental improvement.
…The environment is a resource for the economy. It is an asset for our
communities that draws new businesses and residents. Today the environment is
one of Indiana’s liabilities. Pollution is a statewide problem. From the sooty
air of northwest Indiana to the litter-strewn streets of our cities and our lack
of enforcement of existing regulations, Indiana is a mockery of its own
aspirations.
We say that our cities and towns are good places to raise children, but the
deterioration of our infrastructure pollutes our waterways. Our streets are too
often ugly byways, devoid of trees and sidewalks. Many buildings identified as
‘historically significant’ are derelict structures deserving demolition.
Most importantly, Indiana needs to clean up its industrial waste.
Every city has its brownfields, properties that are useless, not productive of
tax revenues,, because of prior commercial and industrial activity. A policy
that aims to make Indiana a leader in environmental remediation will be costly.
Are our citizens and businesses willing to pay the price or are we content to be
a brackish backwater.”
Anyone wishing a complete copy of this article, contact Shirley James at
422-0564.
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