2010.08.01
NRV Current editorial: Working together for sustainability
A partnership for sustainability
Several New River Valley communities consider working together for smarter development.
Several New River Valley localities are poised to take a step toward better regional cooperation and sustainable growth. Montgomery County, Christiansburg, Blacksburg and Radford are considering banding together to seek federal grants.The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency together are offering $100 million for regional sustainability planning.
“Sustainability” in this case means taking a holistic view of development and growth. It means addressing economic development, housing, energy, the environment and public health together. It means recognizing that each of those affects the others. It is not a zero-sum game.
As pointed out by Prof. Bartlett, there is no such thing as sustainable growth. I hope the people putting this cooperative together take the time to watch the videos at the following link.
In it, Prof. Bartlett explains any growth means we eventually outrun out natural resources. You can have managed growth, but not sustainable growth.
http://blogs.roanoke.com/roundtable/2010/07/31/weekend-open-thread-88/#comment-91864
Comment by Scott M. — August 1, 2010 @ 2:28 pm
Yeah, Scott, the real answer is to stop people from having more useless babies. And, you should stay in the house that your parents built, otherwise we have that darned growth thing cropping up again.
Comment by NRJMike — August 1, 2010 @ 7:59 pm
NRJMike, Sadly that’s right. Replacement population which is 0% growth and keep the homestead fixed up.
Comment by Scott M. — August 1, 2010 @ 8:56 pm