Two weeks ago, several roads in the southeastern part of upstate New York's Adirondack Park were severely damaged by mudslides provoked by heavy rains. Conservationists are trying to determine how much ecological damage to Lake George was caused by all this.
The chairwoman of the Lake George Fund suggested that better regulations "would have protected the stream banks, our shorelines, the whole stream corridor. And the trees would have stabilized those soils and kept them from eroding the way that we saw them change so drastically."
In other words, she claims that cutting down the trees for commercial or residential development made the destructive mudslides much more likely and more damaging when they did occur. Heavy rains are not unheard in this part of upstate New York. Yet, the level of destruction and devastation was unprecedented; one state Transportation Department official said he'd never seen anything like it in his 25 years.
Some peddle the simplistic dichotomy that environmental and economic concerns are mutually exclusive, but fair-minded people know otherwise. Sometimes environmental and economic considerations are at odds, but more often than most people believe, the two are complimentary. The destroyed roads crippled many businesses in the Warrensburg/Bolton area, a region almost entirely dependent on fresh air tourism like camping and hiking. A tad more concern for the area's environment might've prevented, or at least significantly mitigated, the mudslides as well as the big financial hit many small businesses took as a result.
Adirondack Almanack blog wonders why the mainstream media in the region hasn't explored this question.
No comments:
Post a Comment