Traffic Congestion – Kenya
“Building more lanes to cure congestion
is like loosening your belt to cure obesity.”
1) There is now overwhelming evidence, including a nationwide study of 70 metropolitan areas over 15 years (Texas Transportation Institute), and another California specific study (Hansen 1995, which included Monterey County) that when an area is congested – additional lanes or roads do not provide congestion relief.
SilenceSilence is a subject very different from noise.
Noise is unwanted sound, while Silence is a valuable positive phenomena (not a resource) which can and should be protected.
Silence can be mapped as areas enjoying continuous periods where no man-made sounds are apparent (none exceed 35 dBA).
“Global access to knowledge about life on Earth” Biodiversity
Encyclopedia of Life is a vision by E.O Wilson to document the best available science about the diversity of life on our planet.
As of this writing it includes pages on 938,658 separate species.
Working kind of like Wikipedia for Biodiversity you can look up almost any species, and those species where information is lacking – you can add it to help.
So give it a try and look up your favorite animal — or tree. Encyclopedia of Life
Here’s an article published in the gossip column (“Professor Toro” is a pen name) of the local daily November 3, 2007
It could inspire you to see how a single person who is right and speaks out can win against “all the kings men” (Lawyers, Fire Chiefs, Elected officials and bureaucrats and their audience filled with supporters) saying “you’re wrong.”
“Well, that’s one way to prevent forest fires”
by Professor Toro
Last Updated: 11/03/2007 01:39:34 AM PDT
Local fire officials credit environmental activist David Dilworth with catching botched language in a rewrite of rural fire safety rules. Dilworth, executive director of Helping Our Peninsula’s Environment, spotted the blooper in a 24-page ordinance that went before directors of the Pebble Beach Community Services District last week to incorporate new state fire codes. As written, the new law would have required property owners to remove combustible vegetation within 100 feet of their homes or to their property lines — whichever is greater.
The way Dilworth saw it, that would lead to widespread denuding of the natural flora in the Del Monte Forest — Monterey pines, endangered flowers and the like — from property line to property line.
Monterey County’s so-called “Health Department” in 2003 was taking steps to put a rat poison, called fluoride, in our Peninsula’s drinking water supply as directed by a recent and extremely controversial state law that was passed rapidly with little debate.
We want you to be aware of the best available science on Water Fluoridation and have included links to four powerful articles and links to a dozen articles in mainstream media.
They illustrate four important points —
Copyright 2004-2012 David J. Dilworth
Ordinarily California agency planners and staff are allowed to use their personal judgment about whether a project has a “significant environmental impact” under California’s Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Due to a lack of standards and training and pervasive political pressure this results in a wide range of what is or isn’t a significant impact during preparation of CEQA documents. However, legislators in their wisdom kept a few judgments beyond the reach of politics, planners and agency whims.
One of those is decisions about endangered species which has an integer numeric threshold – that is rare in environmental law.
Click here to read remainder of article.
The article is not free, there is a $2 dollar charge.
You may use Paypal – and you will get the login password by email.
Thank you,
-David Dilworth
How Ecological Interdependence Affects You
or Why We Can’t Stop Holding Hands with all our Biota Neighbors
Copyright 2002-2012 David Dilworth
Here are some principles and examples of how very different species need each other to stay alive.
The life of every animal and plant depends upon other biota.1
