Growth Management, Isn't

The Growth Management Act was adopted in 1990 because Democrats in the Washington Legislature "found that uncoordinated and unplanned growth posed a threat to the environment, sustainable economic development, and the quality of life in Washington."

As with all pie-in-the-sky social engineering projects liberals adopt, such as telling people where to live, where to shop, what to eat and drink, how much to drive, etc., etc., the GMA has been an unqualified disaster.

In a story Wednesday, the Seattle Times reported that:

In just over three years, Seattle already is halfway to reaching its targeted housing growth for 20 years.

And a few sections of town — Ballard, Eastlake, the Central Area, Greenlake, Lower Queen Anne and downtown — already have exceeded their 20-year targets.

Not surprising really. The Growth Management Act forced densification of core areas by prohibiting development outside "urban growth boundaries." So instead of living in suburbs, as has been the pattern since WWII, people are jamming into Seattle area condos and apartments as fast as developers can build them.

Even stubborn refusal by the Democrats in Olympia to address congestion problems that have resulted in Seattle having the 9th worst traffic in the U.S. has not slowed growth, as prayed for by the treehuggers.

The Growth Management Act should actually have been called the Real Estate Broker and Developers Enrichment Act. Land use regulations, concluded a recent University of Washington study, have added $200,000 to the cost of an average Seattle home. In fact, according to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, housing prices have appreciated significantly statewide since the passage of the GMA. Affordable housing for young families is scarce and growing scarcer.

Silly leftists, Trix are for kids. The Law of Unintended Consequences is immutable. People are like water. They are inexorable, constantly defy expectations, and always find the path of least resistance. God Himself gave us free will. If He cannot control what we choose to do, how can inept bureaucrats in Olympia hope to do so?

TRUE urban planning would account for human choice and behavior and not be based on idealistic and starry-eyed politicans and activists with no knowledge of the real world.

"Some growth is better than none"

One more time, with emphasis. There is no "urban sprawl" on the Palouse. There is no "runaway growth" on the Palouse. The 2006-2007 population data just released from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the Pullman and Moscow micropolitan areas are growing the slowest of any urban area in Washington and Idaho respectively, two very fast-growing states.

Our problem is just the opposite of "sprawl." We cannot "afford to be choosy" as some advocate. We cannot allow unproven concerns over a poorly understood water source be the nails in the coffins of our two towns. We cannot let the Palouse become a social engineering laboratory for academics and students who will be somewhere else in five or ten years. Instead, we had better do everything we can to encourage growth and roll out the red carpet to any business that wants to locate here. As UI prof Jeff Harkins always says, towns grow or they die. This is the conclusion the Daily News editorial board reached in a column published in last Thursday's edition:

Growth has long been a controversial topic in Moscow and Pullman.

Some want it at any expense, others would like the status quo maintained in perpetuity.

We think the correct approach is somewhere in the middle, and that's why recently released statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau are cause for concern.

The Moscow and Pullman "micropolitan" areas - urban cores of 10,000-50,000 people and the surrounding counties - grew 0.5 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively, from mid-2006 to mid-2007.

That's not far from negative 0.5 percent and 1.2 percent, and that's what is most troubling.

Negative growth would cause a downturn in the local economy, resulting in the loss of jobs and local businesses and forcing some residents to leave the area in search of other opportunities.

Stagnation might produce similar results considering the basic cost of living - gas, groceries, energy - is only going to rise. Money to offset that rise is needed in the form of new jobs and residents.

Further complicating matters is declining enrollment at the University of Idaho. There currently are 9,980 students enrolled at the UI's Moscow campus, down 702 students from fall 2006.

UI economist Steve Peterson said there's a direct correlation between the number of students and the number of jobs in the area.

"If you're down 1,000 students, you can figure a loss between 500 and 1,000 jobs anywhere in the region," he said.

Imagine what would happen if Washington State University saw a similar decrease in enrollment.

A number of area business leaders and elected officials are encouraging growth, and residents need to get on board if they want their children and grandchildren to be able to live and work on the Palouse when they grow up, graduate and enter the work force.

The speed and direction in which the area expands might not agreeable to everyone, but growth at any pace is a far cry better than no growth at all.

The Rantings of an Arrogant and Contemptuous Jerk

Your blood will boil when you read what elitist WSU archictecture prof Ayad Rahmani wrote in an op-ed that appeared in the October 27, 2007 issue of WSU Today. Some quotes:

WSU’s claims to “world-class” status, while true, ultimately ring hollow because the reality finds no match with those statements. World-class ambitions cannot be met with low-class ideas. High-class faculty will refuse to live in scattered and inconsequential buildings. [And after all, it's only the "high-class" faculty that matter in this town. The rest of us are just low-class. Oh my God. -tf]

The new housing stock in Pullman sadly represents the worst of the effects of a market economy; it has neither respect for art or the environment — or for that matter the fact that within a short walk there is an architecture school with graduates who have gone on to change the world. [So what's stopping them for developing houses with respect for "art and the enivonment?"? Oh yeah, money. It's much easier to tell someone else how to spend theirs. - tf]

Rather than taking clues from cities such as Portland and Seattle — whose architects and developers have joined forces to create a denser and more community friendly environment [and that obsession with "density and community friendly environment" has added $200,000 to the average price of a Seattle home - tf] — Pullman developers have made more suburbs. These offensive McMansions, with garages looking onto the streets, use materials and planning that are highly wasteful and unsustainable. [You mean like wood, which is a renewable crop? Concrete? Seems to me there is a virtually infinite supply of sand and gravel. Vinyl, which can be recycled? What's wasteful and unsustainable? - tf]

Rather than building inward and promoting walking and bicycling, these suburbs force those who live in them to use their cars. And rather than building with materials that have a low-carbon footprint and reflect an inventive approach to scarcity, these same suburbs persist with a cookie-cutter mentality. [So why did Pullman just get nationally recognized as a "pedestrian-oriented" city? And where in the hell are we going to build "inward" in Pullman??????? College Hill?? Downtown?? There's no room left but at the periphery of town. But in any case, there is no "suburb" in town that is more than two miles from the WSU campus. What a joke to call that "sprawl." And that "cookie-cutter mentality" is otherwise known as "affordable family housing." How dare you insult my home as "cookie-cutter" when that is all I can afford, you snobby asshole. - tf]

The university also cannot rely on the town to resolve this problem; the town is too bogged down in trying to increase tax revenues to worry about the role of architecture in improving matters. The university must lead the way in not only improving its own grounds but in transforming the town. [Oh sure. The poor townies are so plebeian wanting to pay the bills for parks, police, fire and emergency services, schools, etc., etc. Let the highly-educated solons take over. I have read some elitist and snobby crap before, but this takes the cake. - tf]

"Walgreens will make home in north Moscow; Motel to come down, drug chain to go up"

More "smart growth" in Moscow. Despite Queen Nancy's objections to chain retail in the corridor ruining our "small town charm," wasting our water, not providing "living wage" jobs, and destroying local businesses that are sustainable and don't "siphon money out of the community," a third major national retailer has located in Moscow on her watch. This time it's Walgreens. Where are the petitions? Where are the angry pony-tailed mobs? The environmentally friendly torches? The non-aggressive pitchforks? Where is the concern for poor locally-owned Hodgin's Drug? Remember B.J., when one store goes in to Moscow, another goes out.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Moscow is a blip on another corporate radar screen.

Walgreens, the nation's largest drug store chain, is coming to Moscow.

The business will locate at 414 N. Main St. The site was the home of an America's Best Value Inn, formerly the Mark IV Motor Inn.

"We have 24 stores in Idaho now. A year ago we had 20 stores there and two years ago only 17," said Carol Hively, Walgreens corporate spokeswoman. "Our expansion in Idaho has been steady and we're looking for locations in areas where we see increasing demand for prescription drugs, either due to a growing or older population."

The motel closed March 1 and the contents were sold. Demolition will begin soon with the appropriate safety precautions taken during the process.

The new Walgreens will have 14,800 square feet of space and parking for 45 vehicles, including three handicap spaces.

Construction is slated to start after the building permits are issued by the city in a few weeks.

The business is tentatively scheduled to open in the summer of 2009, but "that's just an approximation, so the opening could move up to spring or even back to fall, depending on a number of factors, including weather," Hively said.

Walgreens is a full-line drug store with more than 25,000 items.

The store will feature one-hour and digital photo services and a drive-thru pharmacy window.

Patients will have several options to refill medications including touch-tone service. Touch-tone allows a patient to enter a prescription number and request a time for a refill without having to speak directly to pharmacy staff. Patients may also arrange for automated refills and receive e-mail reminders of refill status.

The cosmetics department will have full-time beauty advisors to help customers.

The Illinois-based Walgreens had $53.8 billion in sales during fiscal year 2007. The company operates more than 6,200 stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. On average, a Walgreens store will have $8.9 million in annual sales.

The Moscow store will employ about 25 people

"Pullman recognized as pedestrian-oriented city"

Daily News editor Doug Bauer wrote in a recent editorial that "'Smart' growth isn't as big a buzzword in Pullman as it is on the other side of the border..."

For that matter, we didn't waste tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on a "New Cities" project that produced absolutely nothing.

You see, we don't need fancy buzzwords or overpriced consultants to be a "pedestrian-friendly" city. History took care of that for us already.

The town's main employer, Washington State University is located roughly in the center of town. Parking, like at any major university, is scarce and expensive. Therefore, many university employees and students walk from nearby College Hill.


Pullman is also landlocked in a sea of wheatfields. Decades of stringent agricultural land-use regulations have prevented the town from growing very far outside its borders, making it very compact (and housing very expensive.) If you have ever seen Pullman from the air, you know what I mean. Virtually any point is within easy walking/biking distance of another. Even the so-called sprawl-creating Wal-Mart will be in close proximity to housing developments on Sunnyside and Pioneer Hills.

"Urban sprawl in Pullman" is a non-sequitur.

From last Saturday's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Paul Funston is one of thousands of Pullman residents who walk to work each day.

"I find it more economical to walk than drive," he said. "It's also an enjoyable time to unwind."

Pullman recently was recognized as one of the top pedestrian-oriented communities in the country by streetsblog.org. The city was ranked No. 10 nationwide among "walk to work" communities containing more than 20,000 and less than 250,000 residents.

Of the approximately 25,000 people who live in Pullman, more than 5,000 walk to their destinations each day.

"The city has developed decent, safe walking paths for people," Funston said.

Planning Director Pete Dickinson credits the acknowledgment to the city's location.

"The fact that we're in a relatively isolated location with students, staff and faculty means that pretty much everyone lives in the community of Pullman," he said.

"We try to provide for a sizeable population to have the ability to walk to work."

The streetsblog Web site is sponsored by the Open Planning Project of New York. The streetsblog obtained its information from the "Bike at Work" database, which used U.S. Census figures to show how many people walk to their jobs in cities across the country.

The top three cities in Pullman's classification bracket were Ithaca, N.Y., Athens, Ohio, and State College, Penn., each of which have more than 40 percent of their residents walking to work.

All of the cities identified in the 20,000-to-250,000 list contain major institutions of higher learning or military installations, which raises the amount of pedestrian traffic.

According to the streetsblog report, it "would seem there are two major factors that influence the walkability of a city or town: institutional presence and pre-auto urban design. The key to both appears to be co-location of housing with the various destinations that people need and desire."

Dickinson said it's an honor for Pullman to be included in the list.

"It's a nice distinction and it shows that we're a pedestrian-oriented city," Dickinson said. "We'd like to maintain that distinction."

"Panel OKs rezone for business park; County commissioners will have final say"

I love this story because it skewers three myths all at once:

1. Big-box stores don't attract small business. STRATA will be located adjacent to the Hawkins development.
2. If we develop retail in the corridor, there will be no room for high-tech businesses that pay living wage jobs.
3. Moscow's "smart growth" policies haven't chased away business.

From yesterday's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

The Whitman County Planning Commission recently approved the rezoning of 15 acres deemed critical to a proposed business park on Airport Road.

The commission's recommendation will be forwarded to Whitman County commissioners, who have the final say in the rezone.

The rezone was proposed by Moscow resident and business owner Travis Wambeke. If approved, it will change the designated use of the property - located at the northwest corner of Airport Road and O'Donnell Road, just east of the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport - from agriculture to heavy industrial.

Assistant County Planner Alan Thomson said the current outline presented to the county calls for the creation of three 5-acre parcels that will be leased to construction-related businesses involved in engineering and other geotechnical work.

Thompson said Wambeke also plans to relocate his company, STRATA, to the business park. The business currently operates in Moscow.

County Commissioner Jerry Finch was not familiar with details of the proposal, but said - as always - he would welcome growth to the corridor.

"Obviously anything we can do out in the county to further economic growth we are happy about," Finch said. "It brings an opportunity to bring jobs into the county and that was our goal when we came in eight years ago."

Thomson said only a few residents showed up to the rezone hearing Wednesday and all said they supported the development. However, one resident voiced concerns over increased traffic on Airport Road and the compatibility of the business parks and nearby homes.

Thomson said traffic increases caused by the park would be minimal and the county's comprehensive plan allows for the rezone.

Planning commission member Guy Williams said the rezone met all of the county's criteria and he is "looking forward to it moving ahead."

Finch said the proposal provides just another indication that Whitman County has shed some of its stereotypes.

"We used to have a reputation of being anti-growth," Finch said. "Well, I think we've changed that and we are starting to reap the rewards."

Finch said the proposed business park likely will be one of many developments in the corridor.

"I think long-term right out along Airport Road will be a great commercial" and industrial area, Finch said.

Wambeke could not be reached for comment.

Thomson said commissioners are likely to make a decision on the rezone later this month.

Quote of the Day

Let's all move to Idaho. Then maybe we can select where we want to live and how we want to get to work.

- State Senator Joe Zarelli (R-Ridgefield) on State Senator Chris Marr's (D-Spokane) SB 6580 which paves the way to requiring that local land-use regulations be based on reduction of "greenhouse gases." The measure passed in the Seante and is now being considered by the House.

Song of My Selfishness

Janet Richards' Town Crier tripe in today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News amply illustrates well why the "progressives" are now in the political wilderness in Moscow. Who can take people this disdainful seriously? It is this same upper class, highly educated drawbridge selfishness that adds $200,000 to the price of Seattle homes.

WARNING: Do not click "Read More" if you are subject to nausea caused by overly florid prose, preening intellectual pretentiousness, tortured logic, asinine allegories, naturalist hyberbole, gratuitous use of adjectives, or haughty classical music references:

Importance of community-shared values

Cows graze behind the supermarket and wheat fields roll for miles in the alley behind our shopping center in Moscow. It's a lonely stretch of road - a soothing respite from the traffic and frenetic animation of the parking lot on the front side of the mall.

Drivers are discouraged from taking this route by a series of lofty speed bumps, installed to assure that only a limited number of cars will clog the delivery lane. The bumpy pavement forces a slower pace and provides a kind of rhythm to the journey, so the occasional jostle is never too much of a surprise. I like knowing what to expect.

The conspicuous evidence of consumption litters this corridor. Stacks of wooden pallets, torn shrink wrap and plastic strapping bands lie discarded - the common refuse of retail operations. Battered Dumpsters, with Smurf-colored paint, bulge with cardboard and packing peanuts resting against drab cinder block walls which form the "backside" of a marketplace filled with glitter and glitz.

The peaceful pasture that lays on the other side of this alley seems out of place. It's a bucolic scene, in stark contrast to the commercial setting that is its backdrop; a metaphor for the clash between the push for development and its opposition.

One day as I began the slow traverse of this undulating path I turned the radio to classical. The music was lilting, and beautiful, but I felt unsettled, my mind troubled by thoughts of the natural landscape on one side of the alley that seems headed for obliteration - threatened by the encroaching ooze of molten asphalt hardening into a permanent tomb and the relentless proliferation of retail outlets that have already scourged the nation.

Countless other towns have been swept up in the now familiar pattern that comes on the winds of progress. A trend favoring a homogeneous market saturated with global franchises housed in immense buildings with the offer of generic predictability. Spewing shrink wrap and clam shell cartons, they operate out of step with the rhythms of the natural world and encourage us to do likewise, causing one to wonder if health of any kind is ever a priority.

Countless towns have seen the destruction of the sense of community that comes in the wake of the big-box phenomena. The marketplace, no longer a meeting place, marches to a global drummer, oblivious to the heartbeat of the community. The anonymous nature of these cart and carry stores only adds to social isolation.

When it comes to the issues of water and Wal-Mart, the residents of Moscow, myself included, are polarized. It's hard to see common ground - the shared soil that is the essence of this community - so near and dear to everyone. But common ground is what we must find to prevent the health of our beautiful natural setting and the relationships that make life so rich and give meaning from falling victim to ideological positions set in stone.

Something rescued me from these somber thoughts that day in the alley. Without warning hundreds of small black birds descended on my car. Swirling, whipping and whirling, they snaked towards me and then away in long symmetrical streams forming layer upon layer of concentric black rings. As if hearing the music, they swept inward and outward, like ribbons in the wind, upward and back around the car in syncopated rhythm. As quickly as they came they vanished, as if sucked by a celestial vacuum.

As I negotiated the last speed bump and turned onto the street to head for home, the radio announcer spoke clearly: "You have been listening to a composition by the French composer Ravel written in 1928. It is titled "Oiseauz Tristes," "The Unhappy Birds."

It was a moment sublime - "coincidental oppositorum." Things that seem separate, even opposed, coincided to reveal an unexpected unity - an unbelievably beautiful experience driving in a littered alley behind a mall illustrating the coming together of two worlds in conflict.

Will our town slide into dissension and mediocrity as so many other towns, unwilling or unable to see the importance of the shared values that will determine its destiny? Is there a way to soar above the staunch opinions and fly together?

Can We Afford "Smart Growth?"

A new UW study of Seattle housing prices says "No":

Between 1989 and 2006, the median inflation-adjusted price of a Seattle house rose from $221,000 to $447,800. Fully $200,000 of that increase was the result of land-use regulations, says Theo Eicher — twice the financial impact that regulation has had on other major U.S. cities.

What land-use regulations you say?

A key regulation is the state's Growth Management Act, enacted in 1990 in response to widespread public concern that sprawl could destroy the area's unique character. To preserve it, the act promoted restrictions on where housing can be built. The result is artificial density that has driven up home prices by limiting supply, Eicher says.

And who is it that pushes for these onerous regulations?

According to the Wharton study, cities such as Seattle that have high median incomes, high home prices and a large percentage of college-educated workers tend to have the most land-use regulations.

Sjoblom says that makes sense: "People with higher incomes want the kind of amenities that regulation provides," he says. "If you're a homeowner and growth controls are imposed and housing prices shoot up, you're grandfathered because you own the place. In theory people will say it's [rising prices] a bad thing, but in practice it's not hurting them."

[...]

In the final analysis, Eicher believes Seattle's regulatory climate exists because its residents want it. "My sense is land-use restrictions are imposed to generate socially desirable outcomes," he says. "We all love parks and green spaces. But we must also be informed about the costs. It's very easy to vote for a park if you think the cost is free."

Ah, now I see. The same old unholy alliance of left-wing no-growthers and selfish NIMBYists.

Pullman suffers from the same sort of problem as Seattle does to a lesser extent: artificially high home prices created by regulations created by snobby eltitists. For example, the PARDners say they want affordable housing while at the same time pressing for even more restrictive land use regulations. And let's not forget Cheryl Morgan and the League of Women Voters who also work to do everything they can to make development more difficult in Pullman.

Perception Becomes Reality

The Perception:

With the denial of a rezone that would have brought a Wal-Mart Supercenter to Moscow and the institution of the Large Retail Establishment Ordinance — aka the big-box ordinance — in February, some people say there is a perception Moscow isn’t welcome to new business, or is too selective on what it allows.

Some are concerned that Moscow will lose its status as “retail base of the Palouse” to Whitman County, while others say they are just trying to protect the Moscow they know and love.

- "Chilly climate for commerce?", Moscow-Pullman Daily News, December 19, 2006

The Reality:

From last Saturday's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Home Depot puts brakes on Moscow store

The Home Depot won't be locating in Moscow anytime soon.

The national home-improvement and garden retail outlet had been working toward an agreement to build a store behind the Palouse Mall in Moscow, but corporate officials have decided to take a step back, said Gerard Billington, real estate officer for the University of Idaho.

"We had been working with Home Depot vigorously and we thought we had an agreement, but they declined," Billington said. "They didn't think the deal worked out for them.

"They were crunching numbers, looking at site numbers, site prep costs, land costs, development costs and potential revenue from sales in smaller markets."

The University of Idaho owns the 600-acre piece of land where Home Depot was looking to build, and any deal between the UI and Home Depot would have been a ground lease.

Billington said as far as he knows, the fact that Lowe's - a national home improvement store planning to locate in a proposed retail development in Whitman County - could be coming to the area had nothing to do with Home Depot's hesitation.

"I'm sure Lowe's would impact a future Home Depot and Home Depot would impact a future Lowe's, but I don't know that it was a decision point," he said.

UI officials have had a couple conversations with Home Depot since last fall in an attempt to work out an agreement, but no commitment has been made.

"They wanted to take another look at the agreement," Billington said.

He said he hasn't heard anything from Home Depot since the UI's last conversation with company officials in December.

"Home Depot continues to review and monitor the market and trade area for a site that will work for us and serve the community well," Home Depot spokeswoman Kathryn Gallagher said. "To date, an economical solution has not been found. However, we are constantly turning over new ideas, leads and solutions."

This is "Selective?"

In August 2007, Queen Nancy proclaimed that "Selective growth means knowing what type of growth is right for Moscow and encouraging it."

Chaney stated that having the focus of development "on the automobile, the strip development with shoulder-to-shoulder big-boxes would encourage homogeneity in the community" and that Moscow needed to maintain its "artsy, quirky edge."

Enter Shari's Restaurant.

According to Saturday's Moscow-Pullman Daily News, a Shari's Restaurant will open off Pullman Road on the west side of Moscow near Applebee's. The 5,000 square-foot will seat 180-185 people and be open 24/7.

What? So you mean that Shari's, on the far-edge of town away from any housing is NOT "automobile development" and NOT "shoulder-to-shoulder" with big-box Wal-Mart a few yards away?

What about sustainability? Where do you think the "half a million cups of coffee, cracks a quarter million eggs, fries over five miles of sausage links and toasts nearly 150,000 pieces of bread" that according to the article the average Shari's serves every year will come from? How many truck trips do you think that will generate? How much gas will be used to ship in those supplies and how much carbon emissions will be generated?

What about "homogeneity?" Shari's already has 98 other stores in six states. In what way does a chain restuarant maintain Moscow's "artsy, quirky edge?"

Don't even get me started on "living wages." I've worked retail and I've worked the early shift at a Shari's type restaurant washing dishes. Restaurant work is worse.

And let's not forget Mayor Moonbat's mantra: water.

According to the Idaho Department of Water Resources Restaurants with bar/lounge, toilet facilities use 9-12 gallons per day per patron. The Southwest Florida Water Management District estimates that resturants use use an average of 5,800 gallons per day (GPD) of water, half of that in the kitchen area (ice machines, dishwasher, etc.) That adds up to a whopping 2,111,700 gallons a year!

Of course, all this folderol about sprawl, homogeneity, sustainability and water ise silly. And I could care less about the hypocrisy of what Chaney states she wants and what is actually allowed to happen in Moscow. BUT THESE SAME ARGUMENTS ARE BEING USED BY MOSCOW TO STOP THE HAWKINS DEVELOPMENT IN WHITMAN COUNTY, JUST A FEW HUNDRED FEET AWAY FROM SHARI'S!!

Darrell Keim, executive director of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce, was quoted in the paper as saying, "I'm excited to see the growth of business at the Warbonnet Plaza. Regardless of what happens with the Hawkins development we'll see growth in that part of town ... it seems to be the natural spot."

Of course it is. Hopefully, the new Moscow City Council will recognize this, drop their water rights transfer appeals and extend utility service to the Hawkins development.

Quote of the Day

[Financial consultant for D.A. Davidson and Co., Jeremy] Nesset asked how Keim would lead the chamber if a business such as Wal-Mart wanted to come in and chamber membership was split in opinion.

- "Keim outlines direction for Moscow Chamber of Commerce," Moscow-Pullman Daily News, November 16, 2007

NEWSFLASH: WAL-MART HAS BEEN IN MOSCOW FOR 15 YEARS!!!

The real question should have been, "What would the chamber's reaction be if a chamber member such as Wal-Mart, or Tri-State, or James Toyota wanted to relocate and/or expand its current facilities?" Oh brother.

No wonder new Moscow Chamber of Commerce executive director Darrell Keim was quoted as "It's been an interesting year at the chamber." It's like being in charge of the East Berlin Chamber of Commerce.

I'm Not a Wingnut, But I Play One on the Internet

"I thought I would stand here like this so you could see if I was really as big a son of a bitch as you think I am."

- George C. Scott as General George S. Patton, Patton, 1970

Like Elmer Gantry, I once again stood behind a podium at the University of Idaho this evening to preach the gospel of corporate America and the free market to poor lost college students who normally don't get to hear it.

UI Economics professor Steve Peterson had me speak to some 75-100 students as part of a "Riddles and Paradoxes" speakers series on economic growth and its interrelationship with environmental issues.

As always, I love to speak anytime (and at length) about growth and development on the Palouse. It was great fun, although the wireless microphone batteries were dead, so I'm a little hoarse after speaking somewhat loudly for over an hour. Thanks to Steve for the invite. I'd post my presentation, "The False Dilemma: Big Boxes, Small Towns," but I'm not quite ready to transfer over to Roadrunner yet and I can't upload anything else to my Adelphia web space (I'm holding on to Adelphia until the bitter end.) If anyone knows of a good, free file hosting site, please let me know.

A real surprise treat was meeting Duane Brelsford's youngest daughter, a UI student, after the presentation. We had a very nice chat. Luckily for me, I had good things to say about her dad, Pullman's biggest developer, in my presentation!

But special thanks to the UI student I spoke with who told me that the Moscow Civic Association/PARD types had warned him that I was a far right wacko. He said after hearing me speak, he could see that I wasn't like that at all. In fact, he stated, my arguments made more sense than theirs. I still remain hopeful that the vast majority of people out there will believe the truth if they could only hear it.

I'm just a person who believes in facts, common sense, the traditional values that made this country great, and calling things like I see them. People can apply whatever label to me that they like.

A Peek Inside the Moonbat Cave

An article titled "Moscow residents concerned about renewal plans" in Friday's Moscow-Pullman Daily News gave us a little peek inside the minds of the no-growth moonbats.

"Smart growth" is generally defined as being "town-centered, is transit and pedestrian oriented, and has a greater mix of housing, commercial and retail uses." The City of Moscow has hired Kendig-Keast, a Texas consulting firm, to incorporate "smart growth" as part of Moscow's comprehensive plan rewrite.

Kendig-Keast proposed two plans for downtown Moscow near the grain silos on Jackson Street. According to the Daily News:

The development would be anchored by a multiplex theatre and a bookstore. Each also would have a parking structure, one with a parking garage, the other with an underground parking area.

Both plans also include residential units along Jackson Street, although they differed in the type of residential units, with one plan calling for lower-density housing and the second for high-density housing consisting of three- to four-story buildings.

Certainly in line with the "smart growth" philosophy. "But wait!," cried Moscow's moonbats.

Bob Green, owner of BookPeople in downtown Moscow, said the plans did not include anything that would set Moscow apart from other cities.

"I think we are missing an opportunity and we need to think innovative," Green said. "We are being bound by the 20th century when we are in the 21st."

What exactly does Green have in mind, cities in the sky a la The Jetsons?

Betsy Dickow, an employee at BookPeople, agreed with Green that the proposed development was not unique and could be found at "anywhere, U.S.A."

"It is a unique town and it needs to remain unique," Dickow said. "This could come out of any design textbook. (The designers) are working from their perspective - which is big-city."

Interesting that someone in the book business talks about "uniqueness." Books, after all, are published by the millions. I'll tell you what is not unique about Moscow: The funky bookstore run by the leftist old hippie. Go to ANY college town in America and you can find one or more of those. My God, every town is unique in its own way.

Another thing that would be unique about Moscow is for a bunch of self-important liberals with no knowledge of business or economics to FINALLY LEAVE all the design solutions to the people who actually have the money to invest and the expertise.

Swanson also expressed concerns about bringing in a multiplex theater and a new bookstore since neither are currently a need for the city. She thought it would be detrimental to already existing businesses.

"In Moscow, if something new comes in, something old goes out," she said.

Yes, B.J., Charles Darwin called that evolution. Adam Smith called it capitalism. If something old didn't go out and something new come in, mankind would still be huddled in caves in the Neander Valley of Germany. Hard to believe Swanson is the vice-president of a bank.

Lane Kendig is going to quickly learn that he has taken on a bunch of crackpots as his client, just as that Kentucky company that was trying to sell the "New Cities" concept learned. The moonbats running Moscow don't want any kind of growth, "smart" or not. And that's very good news for us here in Pullman and Whitman County.

IKEA: Swedish for Hypocrisy

Talk about an ugly box.

Based on all the comments I have been receiving on the blog and in person about IKEA, I thought I would post this roundup of commentary on the Portland IKEA hypocrisy.

First, Ken at Upper Left Coast deconstructs the Willamette Week's elitist tripe the way only a former newspaper reporter can do.

Secondly, national talk radio host Lars Larson (heard on the Palouse in the afternoons on KMAX) examines the differences between IKEA and Wal-Mart and concludes there aren't any.

The Portland Tribune has more on some leftist Portlanders who were made a little queasy by the Swedish meatballs.

Lastly, there is the excellent, How does Portland spell Hypocrite? - I K E A! (Part 1) and Ikea and Portland (Part 2) over at NW Republican. Dare! PDX sums it up well:

What really gets me is the final "Conclusion" analysis by W-Week:

"Ikea seems ahead of the curve on issues people care about."

What, is this a fourth grade book report? Wal-Mart is ahead of the curve on alot of stuff people care about a well. The difference is that Ikea is prefered by gay, single and financially well off City Commissioners and Wal-Mart prefered by east-Multnomah County working class families and Hillsboro Soccer moms. How about the reality - Ikea sells cooler crap that's normally cost a heck of alot more - ya-hooo cheap euro-crap for your overpriced Portland apartments.

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"Moscow mayor shares her vision for city, growth; Some aren't sure city is headed in right direction"

There was an interesting article in today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News on Queen Nancy's rapidly disintegrating reign. There are several conclusions that can be drawn from this story:

1. Arguments about "big box homogeneity" suffer from the logical fallacy of the False Dilemma. Big boxes and quality of life are not mutually exclusive. You CAN have a thriving downtown AND large retail stores. Boone, NC, another small university that was the subject of the movie "Why Wal-Mart Works and Why That Makes Some People C-R-A-Z-Y" is a perfect example. Boone has small eclectic shops downtown and a Wal-Mart.

2. Our efforts to promote Pullman as business-friendly have been wildly successful. PARD is ignored by all and now relegated to irrelevance.

3. A region that is 75 miles from both a major city and an interstate highway and that is almost entirely dependent upon the whims of government funding and a declining agricultural economy for its livelihood is never going to experience "uncontrolled growth." I quote from a Lewistown Tribune article earlier this year, "Latah County has actually lost population. It's the same story across the border where Pullman's population has grown a bit more than Moscow's, but Whitman County has lost even more residents than Latah County."

"Uncontrolled growth" is a ghost story liberals tell each other around the campfire; the Bogeyman that the leftists use to make us behave.

4. Citizens' attitudes about growth ARE reflected at the ballot box.

Pullman, which is embracing big box stores will only have one contested race out of four city council seats and the office of mayor. No anti-big box candidates are running.

Moscow, which has taken a hard line against big box stores, also has four council seats open and it won't surprise me if every single race is contested. Three of the seats belong to the "Gang of Three" councilmen that voted against the Thompson rezone for Wal-Mart. The fourth is liberal Linda Pall. With the balance of power and the future of Moscow business at stake, it's going to be a gut-busting, nasty, expensive election the likes of which we have never seen.

Based on that, you tell me how Palouse voters feel about growth.

5. EVERY town is "unique" or "special" in some way, which has the effect of making all towns the same in that regard. The real differences between towns to businesses are in the demographics of income and spending power. And let's face it, the Palouse ain't that great in that department. Like Jerry advised his Uncle Leo, we had better hold on to any suitors we get like grim death. The Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny will set up shop here before all these mythical green, eco-friendly, living wage paying, high-tech businesses Chaney keeps fantasizing about.

6. Big boxes and national chain stores ARE inevitable because that is what people vote for with their wallets and their feet. We don't live in a vacuum. If Pullman and Moscow don't get them, people will just go elsewhere with their tax dollars and we will be faced with much worse problems than "homogeneity." For example, what did we just read about Old Navy:

Bailey said she made a trip to Spokane to go to Old Navy last weekend.

It will be nice to have Old Navy closer by, she said.

We must accept the inevitable and plan accordingly.

Mayor Nancy Chaney says Moscow isn't anti-growth or anti-business, and it's time for people to stop saying it is.

"That perception, that myth, is injurious to all of us and it has unwittingly been perpetuated," she said. "Let's quit saying it. Let's be optimistic."

At an economic development summit in July, Chaney said Moscow "can afford to be selective" about growth.

Being selective doesn't mean being against growth, she insisted. Chaney said like most people, she is eager to see continued economic growth and diversity in Moscow.

Selective growth means knowing what type of growth is right for Moscow and encouraging it, she said.

"My perception is there are some members of the business community who are fearful of the prospect of change," Chaney said. "People will sometimes say, 'Oh, yikes, that's anti-business,' when it's not, it's just different."

There are qualities of life that Moscow residents want, she said. People want to be close to amenities. They want recreational opportunities like the bike trails. Retirees moving into town want access to restaurants, shopping and health care. Baby boomers are looking for "energy-efficient, affordable spaces."

"Businesses that are supportive of those qualities of life will be the ones that pay attention to what Moscow has to offer," Chaney said.

She said Moscow's strength lies in being different from other cities.

"I think changing the complexion of Moscow so that the focus is on the automobile, the strip development with shoulder-to-shoulder big-boxes" would encourage homogeneity in the community, she said.

She said the city has exercised its ability to be selective through actions like the large retail establishment ordinance, better known as the big-box ordinance. The ordinance provides a design manual for stores between 40,000 and 64,000 square feet, as well as other requirements.

Chaney said Moscow has had success with growth that fits the "selective" bill.

She cited Alturas Technology Park Phase II expansion and the Anderson Group's coming development of the grain elevators at Sixth and Jackson streets as examples.

The Anderson Group project combines entrepreneurship and creativity, she said. The planned adaptive reuse of the elevators fits the "artsy, quirky edge that Moscow has."

Chaney said the city also is working to promote cultural tourism with events like the Moscow Motorcycle Classic and Life on Wheels. These events bring people into town, show them what Moscow has to offer and make them want to bring their businesses here.

Not everybody shares her visions for the city, however.

Another perspective

Shelley Bennett, a Moscow Realtor and developer who manages the Eastside Marketplace and Alturas Technology Park, said the mayor's statement that Moscow can be selective isn't realistic or right for the city.

"I don't think she knows what she's talking about," Bennett said. "I don't think she's looked at the facts of that statement, and that is a bold and arrogant statement."

The resistance against big-box stores is damaging to Latah County's less fortunate, some of whom have to shop at discount stores, Bennett said.

Bennett said if Moscow wants retail growth, it needs to consider allowing a Wal-Mart Supercenter to be built. Other discount retail stores like Target often won't build in a community that doesn't have a super Wal-Mart.

In 2006, Bennett represented the Gene Thompson family, which tried to have a 77-acre parcel of land on South Mountain View Road rezoned for retail commercial development, including a Wal-Mart Supercenter. The City Council rejected the rezone.

"It was not allowed to be rezoned because it was Wal-Mart. The zoning was all about Wal-Mart," Bennett said.

Chaney argues otherwise.

Wal-Mart "may have been knocking at our door, but the question was about the zoning of that property," not specific applicants, she said.

Chaney said it's also a myth that Moscow drove the 700,000-square-foot Hawkins Companies development to Whitman County.

"Those folks said they could not find a piece of ground that suited their needs. If they looked, they didn't ask," she said. "There was no, 'We want to settle in Moscow but you're not friendly to our business.' "

Bennett said Moscow could have cashed in on the Hawkins development by selling water and sewer to it. The money "could have gone straight into the city coffers" and helped pay for projects like connecting sidewalks and improving streets.

She said she once saw Moscow as a unique place that could attract unique businesses, but recognizes now that retailers look at demographics, not individual towns. She believes Moscow needs to deal with its anti-growth image whether or not city leaders think it's true.

"They say they're not anti-growth, but they say no to everything," she said. "That's more than perception. That's reality."

Seeing both sides

Gerard Connelly, owner of Tri-State, said he agrees with Chaney's sentiment that uncontrolled growth isn't right for Moscow, but thinks the city needs to address its image.

"Fairly or unfairly, Moscow city government is perceived as no-growth or anti-business, and that perception needs to be addressed by the mayor and the City Council," he said. "Perception is reality, and if Moscow and the city government don't like the community's reputation ... then they need to do something about it."

The big problem with Moscow's economy is the shrinking market, Connelly said.

Latah County as a whole grew just .3 percent between 2000 and 2006, according to U.S. Census data. Enrollment at the University of Idaho has dropped 7.4 percent in the same period.

"That trend cannot be sustained indefinitely, and that trend is not in the best interest of anyone, whether they're conservative or liberal," Connelly said.

At the same time, Pullman and Whitman County are "welcoming big-box retailers with open arms," pulling even more business away from Moscow, he said.

Connelly said the mayor and City Council should recognize the shrinking-market problem. The city needs to "have a bias for economic growth and at the same time continue to be concerned with quality-of-life issues," he said.

The city also should be sure that building regulations are not "discouraging and burdensome" so developers feel more welcome to submit their proposals, he said.

"The most important thing is not so much that the local government do things as that they just get out of the way and allow things to be done," he said.

Moscow also should try to cooperate with UI and Washington State University as much as possible, Connelly said.

Robin Wood, president of Alturas Analytics and former president of the Latah Economic Development Council, agreed.

"I'm kind of actively working to try to bridge a gap between the university and the community," she said.

One of Wood's goals is to encourage an entrepreneurial leave program for professors so they can start businesses in Moscow. The city could benefit from companies focusing on science and technology, she said, because growth in these industries would bring a tax base to Moscow and provide high-paying jobs.

Wood is on the Idaho Science and Technology Advisory Council, which recently paid for a report on the state's strengths. The report suggested a "stretch" idea, Wood said - building a center for ecological health anchored at the University of Idaho.

Wood said she believes the mayor and city government would support such growth.

"I, for one, have not heard the council or the mayor say no to growth, ever," she said.

People need to see that the city is managing and helping with growth, not thwarting it, she said.

Wood said the arrival of big-box stores is inevitable in Moscow, so the city should plan for it. She believes big retail stores should be out of the center of town in a commercial area.

"There has to be a comprehensive plan," she said. "You start putting stuff up willy-nilly and your town just falls to pieces."

Speaking with the vote

If people are truly concerned about the state of economic development in Moscow, it will become an issue in November's City Council election, Chaney said.

"Citizens speak through their elected officials, and if there are certain things that become campaign issues, then we'll hear about it at the polls," she said.

Bennett, Connelly and Wood said growth absolutely will be an issue in the election.

Bennett, who also is president of the Greater Moscow Political Action Committee, said citizens can change Moscow's direction with their vote.

"Start by replacing City Council members that have voted against things that would be considered growth-oriented," she said.

No matter what happens on election day, Moscow's leaders are going to have to do something to resolve growth issues and perceptions, Wood said.

"There's going to have to be some sort of compromise and coming together," she said.

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"War against Wal-Mart? Not in our name"

For those of you without a subscription to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, this was my final Town Crier II column from Wednesday. You won't have Forbes to kick around anymore.

"Big box retail carries with it some heavy baggage," wrote Dwight Merriam in his paper, "Breaking Big Boxes: Learning from the Horse Whisperers." "Issues of unionization, wage scales, benefits for workers, and adverse effects on existing retail uses are real and important, but must be questioned as a basis for land-use planning and regulation." According to Merriam, most big-box opponents use coercion and an "over-our-dead-bodies" approach that only creates strong feelings that are exacerbated by media attention. This creates an environment where winning is "by attrition, not reason." He recommends that opponents work with big-box retailers instead, for as he puts it, "some of those who rail against big box retail are out of touch with what mainstream America wants."

Who exactly are these big-box opponents and why are they so out of touch with what mainstream America wants?

A Pew poll released in August 2006 found that among Republicans, Democrats, and independents of conservative, moderate and liberal persuasions, only a majority of liberal Democrats (53 percent) held an unfavorable opinion of Wal-Mart. By the same percentage, only a majority of liberals felt that Wal-Mart was a bad place to work.

In a 2005 study, 72 percent of professors at U.S. universities identified themselves as liberals. Predictably, opposition to Wal-Mart in Pullman has come from the ivy-covered halls of academe in the form of the Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development.

One of PARD's many absurdities is that the groups it claims to represent (retail employees, downtown merchants, etc.) are not reflected in PARD's leadership. As Rolling Stone editor Matt Taibbi recently lamented, "Having rich college grads acting as the political representatives of the working class isn't just bad politics. It's also silly."

Indeed, what could be sillier than a Ph.D. associate university dean and a Ph.D. Chinese professor "fighting the good fight" for "wage workers" and "mom-and-pop stores" in Pullman?

PARD's activities could be dismissed as merely a "penchant for revolutionary drama" featuring "oppressed" emeritus professors and suburbanite undergrads with duct tape over their mouths, Australians signing petitions not to shop at Wal-Mart in Pullman, and shriveled deer testicles, if not for the seedy underbelly of elitist bigotry.

According to Pew, only 28 percent of liberals shopped at Wal-Mart regularly, as opposed to 45 percent of conservative and moderate Democrats and similar percentages in other political groups. Not surprising really, as liberals have an average annual income of $71,000, the highest of any political category. In contrast, the average income of a Wal-Mart shopper is $35,000. To paraphrase Moscow Mayor Nancy Chaney, liberals can afford to be selective.

In fact, the lower the annual income, the more popular Wal-Mart becomes. Pew found that 90 percent of people who earned $20,000 or less had a favorable opinion of the retailer. And why not? In 2004, low-income families saved enough on groceries at Wal-Mart to equal a 6.5 percent pay raise.

Debra Saunders of the San Francisco Chronicle once opined, "Vocal Wal-Mart foes believe they have a right to decide who sets up shop in their town, and the right to keep out shops that might attract lower-income shoppers. This is just class warfare. While Wal-Mart haters are free to not shop at Wal-Mart, they want to wield the club of government so that others don't shop at Wal-Mart."

Class warfare seems to be occurring in Pullman, where according to the hearing examiner's report, "Suggestions of the intrusion of undesirable social classes were presented in great detail" by PARD at hearings last year.

Did PARD mean the elderly lady, the immigrant family, the retired couple, the single mom with two small kids, and the cash-strapped student? Those are the people I see while shopping at Wal-Mart in Moscow. If so, many "undesirables" already live here in Pullman.

Portland, that Utopia of "responsible development," has banished Wal-Mart outside city limits for years. Last month, however, an Ikea, the very antithesis of smart growth, opened there. But it's OK. Portland's mayor assured his fellow latte liberals that, "Ikea shares our values." Which values are those? Bald-faced hypocrisy and snobbery to allow a mammoth 280,000-square-foot big-box store that caters to yuppies?

Constructive land use planning is vital. But when Wal-Mart foes talk of "neon big-box discounted culture" and "cheap Chinese crap," they display intolerance for those who shop there. We cannot and will not accept that on the Palouse - not now, not ever.

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Snobmahal

Sorry for the lack of posts in the last week, but my family and I just returned from our annual pilgrimage to the mountains and water at Wallowa Lake, Oregon.

I'll be catching up on several stories I missed in the days to come.

In her Town Crier column last Wednesday, Queen Nancy's Handmaiden Julia Parker informed us that she is leaving the country for a year and made up a little "To Do" list for her fellow moonbats while she is gone.


One of Parker's "To Dos" read:

Elect more good people to city and county government. That means you at least have to vote. Let's move toward smart growth and sustainable economic development and away from blind development like the "Garagmahal" on the Pullman-Moscow Highway and events like the Moscow Motorcycle Rally. (Whose idea was that anyway?)

Let's start with the "Garagemahal." It's a storage unit. When the zoning was being discussed for the Pullman-Moscow corridor 15 years ago, one of the things that (most) everyone agreed on was that the corridor would be best used for things that didn't easily fit within Moscow or Pullman city limits like storage units and car dealerships.

The Brundtland Commission, set up by the United Nations General Assembly, defined "sustainable development" as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

By that definition, you would be hard-pressed to find a development more "sustainable" than mini-storage units. The units are made of metal. Metal is the most sustainable material in the world, as it can be melted down and reused over and over and over again. The mini-storage units will give off no pollution and use no water. Mini-storage units allow people to reuse goods they have purchased versus tossing their old items into overburdened landfills or buying new things that would further deplete natural resources used to manufacture and transport the items.

For that matter, storage is the exact opposite of "crass consumerism" and the "cheap disposable society" so despised by Ms. Parker. Heck, mini-storage is a socialist's dream. Money changes hands with absolutely nothing being produced.

Furthermore, mini-storage units have no traffic impact. They are "mom and pop" businesses that keep local dollars in the community. Storage units are generally not national chains and therefore maintain our "small town charm." And as not many people other than the owner are employed at the storage unit, I'm sure it pays a living wage with good benefits.

No, Ms. Parker's slam on the "Garagemahal" demonstrates the point that I always make about our local elitists. All the talk about sustainability, smart growth, water, etc. is hogwash. They don't take it seriously so neither do I. Ms. Parker doesn't like the "Garagemahal" presumably because she thinks it is ugly and has a tacky name. Ditto with her comments on the Moscow motorcycle rally.

Here's one more "To Do" for Parker and her fellow snobs who leave the Palouse: Don't bother coming back.

More Green Myths Debunked

Michael recently touched on how solar energy, biofuels and wind power are bad for the environment. Much of what environmentalists and "smart growth" advocates have told us is bad, turns out to be good. Take for example, "pedestrian friendly downtowns" versus "urban sprawl." Or walking and biking versus the evil internal combustion engine. The elitists tell us all those trips to Wal-Mart will end up submerging New York City. Uh uh, says a Green activist from Britain. Walking and biking might be better for your heart, but not for the planet.

Of course, all this proves is that "global warming" is not a well understood subject and anyone can use various methods to prevent (or cause) it to promote their personal political agenda.

Walking does more than driving to cause global warming, a leading environmentalist has calculated.

Food production is now so energy-intensive that more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk to the shops than a car would emit over the same distance. The climate could benefit if people avoided exercise, ate less and became couch potatoes. Provided, of course, they remembered to switch off the TV rather than leaving it on standby.

The sums were done by Chris Goodall, campaigning author of How to Live a Low-Carbon Life, based on the greenhouse gases created by intensive beef production. “Driving a typical UK car for 3 miles [4.8km] adds about 0.9 kg [2lb] of CO2 to the atmosphere,” he said, a calculation based on the Government’s official fuel emission figures. “If you walked instead, it would use about 180 calories. You’d need about 100g of beef to replace those calories, resulting in 3.6kg of emissions, or four times as much as driving.

“The troubling fact is that taking a lot of exercise and then eating a bit more food is not good for the global atmosphere. Eating less and driving to save energy would be better.”

Mr Goodall, Green Party parliamentary candidate for Oxford West & Abingdon, is the latest serious thinker to turn popular myths about the environment on their head.

Catching a diesel train is now twice as polluting as travelling by car for an average family, the Rail Safety and Standards Board admitted recently. Paper bags are worse for the environment than plastic because of the extra energy needed to manufacture and transport them, the Government says.

Fresh research published in New Scientistlast month suggested that 1kg of meat cost the Earth 36kg in global warming gases. The figure was based on Japanese methods of industrial beef production but Mr Goodall says that farming techniques are similar throughout the West.

What if, instead of beef, the walker drank a glass of milk? The average person would need to drink 420ml – three quarters of a pint – to recover the calories used in the walk. Modern dairy farming emits the equivalent of 1.2kg of CO2 to produce the milk, still more pollution than the car journey.

Cattle farming is notorious for its perceived damage to the environment, based on what scientists politely call “methane production” from cows. The gas, released during the digestive process, is 21 times more harmful than CO2 . Organic beef is the most damaging because organic cattle emit more methane.

Michael O’Leary, boss of the budget airline Ryanair, has been widely derided after he was reported to have said that global warming could be solved by massacring the world’s cattle. “The way he is running around telling people they should shoot cows,” Lawrence Hunt, head of Silverjet, another budget airline, told the Commons Environmental Audit Committee. “I do not think you can really have debates with somebody with that mentality.”

But according to Mr Goodall, Mr O’Leary may have a point. “Food is more important [to Britain’s greenhouse emissions] than aircraft but there is no publicity,” he said. “Associated British Foods isn’t being questioned by MPs about energy.

“We need to become accustomed to the idea that our food production systems are equally damaging. As the man from Ryanair says, cows generate more emissions than aircraft. Unfortunately, perhaps, he is right. Of course, this doesn’t mean we should always choose to use air or car travel instead of walking. It means we need urgently to work out how to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of our foodstuffs.”

Simply cutting out beef, or even meat, however, would be too modest a change. The food industry is estimated to be responsible for a sixth of an individual’s carbon emissions, and Britain may be the worst culprit.

“This is not just about flying your beans from Kenya in the winter,” Mr Goodall said. “The whole system is stuffed with energy and nitrous oxide emissions. The UK is probably the worst country in the world for this.

“We have industrialised our food production. We use an enormous amount of processed food, like ready meals, compared to most countries. Three quarters of supermarkets’ energy is to refrigerate and freeze food prepared elsewhere.

A chilled ready meal is a perfect example of where the energy is wasted. You make the meal, then use an enormous amount of energy to chill it and keep it chilled through warehousing and storage.”

The ideal diet would consist of cereals and pulses. “This is a route which virtually nobody, apart from a vegan, is going to follow,” Mr Goodall said. But there are other ways to reduce the carbon footprint. “Don’t buy anything from the supermarket,” Mr Goodall said, “or anything that’s travelled too far.”

Shattering the great green myths

— Traditional nappies are as bad as disposables, a study by the Environment Agency found. While throwaway nappies make up 0.1 per cent of landfill waste, the cloth variety are a waste of energy, clean water and detergent

— Paper bags cause more global warming than plastic. They need much more space to store so require extra energy to transport them from manufacturers to shops

— Diesel trains in rural Britain are more polluting than 4x4 vehicles. Douglas Alexander, when Transport Secretary, said: “If ten or fewer people travel in a Sprinter [train], it would be less environmentally damaging to give them each a Land Rover Freelander and tell them to drive”

— Burning wood for fuel is better for the environment than recycling it, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs discovered

— Organic dairy cows are worse for the climate. They produce less milk so their methane emissions per litre are higher

— Someone who installs a “green” lightbulb undoes a year’s worth of energy-saving by buying two bags of imported veg, as so much carbon is wasted flying the food to Britain

— Trees, regarded as shields against global warming because they absorb carbon, were found by German scientists to be major producers of methane, a much more harmful greenhouse gas

Sources: Defra; How to Live a Low-Carbon Life, by Chris Goodall; Absorbent Hygiene Products Manufacturers Association; The Times; BBC

"BREO petition takes aim at Moscow, Chaney"

The story below on the BREO petition to stop Moscow's meddling in the corridor you see a link to above was in today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Thus far, the petition has only been advertised on this blog, the Right Mind blog, and in a guest op-ed I did for the Whitman County Gazette a couple of months back. Ultimately, I would like to see a copy printed off and posted in every business in Pullman, Colfax, Uniontown, Rosalia, etc. Feel free to print off the text of the petition yourself, gather signatures and then contact me at palousitics@adelphia.net to turn them in. This is not strictly an online petition and I'd love to get over a 1000 or more signatures before turning it in to the Moscow City Council. We'll see if Queen Nancy has had heard of BREO by then. Oh, and I will have no comment on yet another of Rerun's whinings in today's paper, here or anywhere else. Terry Day did that better than I could in advance yesterday. But just to annoy Reed, you should sign the BREO petition.

Pullman group says city's stance on development in Whitman County is financially motivated

April Coggins wants everyone to know how she feels about proposed development in the Pullman-Moscow Highway corridor.

A Pullman business owner and member of the Businesses and Residents for Economic Opportunity, Coggins was the second person to add her name to an online petition asking that the city of Moscow stop interfering with potential growth across the state line.

"They are trying to stop development in Whitman County. They're clearly trying to stop economic development," she said. The petition is "for people to be able to express their dissatisfaction with Moscow meddling with affairs that are not in their jurisdiction. We would just like to demonstrate that there are people that don't like Moscow interfering in Whitman County business."

BREO is a Pullman-based group that supports free enterprise, business growth and healthy competition in Whitman County.

The petition, titled "Stop meddling in the Pullman-Moscow corridor," claims that Moscow has long been the business hub of the Palouse, taking a hefty chunk of an estimated $158.4 million a year in retail dollars from Whitman County.

Coggins said the BREO-sponsored petition was stimulated by Moscow's protest to a March application by Boise-based Hawkins Companies to transfer water rights to its proposed development along the Pullman-Moscow Highway, just west of the Idaho border. The company requested the transfer of a water right for 120 acre feet, drawing from Pullman, LaCrosse and the South Fork of the Palouse River near Colfax, along with the transfer of 100 acre feet of another water right to the city of Colton.

Moscow and local activist Mark Solomon filed protests over the proposed water transfers with the Washington State Department of Ecology in April. Their protest claimed that water-right transfers with Colton and the proposed development site do not come from the same body of public water. They also argued that the water would deplete wells and threaten the area's aquifer system.

The four water transfer applications were unanimously approved in a Wednesday meeting of the Whitman County Water Conservancy Board. Hawkins Companies must now get formal approval from the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Coggins said the board's decision is a step in the right direction for Whitman County development, but Moscow officials still need to mind their own business. She added that Pullman is downstream from Moscow, and "whatever water we would use is water that Moscow will be done with."

The petition states that Moscow's protest has strained the relationship between Whitman and Latah counties and that development in the corridor would provide a balance of tax dollars.

The petition has been online for about a month and currently has 33 listings and comments - some of which are anonymous - from people throughout Whitman and Latah counties.

Coggins said the Hawkins development "is clearly in the jurisdiction in Whitman County. All the water they'll use is in Whitman County."

Moscow Mayor Nancy Chaney disagrees.

As neighbors, what happens in Pullman or Whitman County affects Moscow, even if it's in another state, Chaney said. New development will reshape the Palouse region and increased activity on the highway could pose problems with safety, as Moscow emergency crews would be obligated to respond.

"I'm unfamiliar with the BREO group and I haven't seen their petition, but if the gist of it is that they have some suspicion that Moscow's motives are not about retaining our water resource and residents' safety, they are mistaken," she said. "We have issues about our water supply on the Palouse. We have issues about safety. We have issues about sprawl."

Pullman resident Mick Chase added his name to the petition as a way to support the development. He said he knows the state line butts up against Moscow, but is frustrated as to why the city would be so opposed to Whitman County working to retain tax dollars.

"If it was in Moscow, or in Idaho, they would have a right to petition," he said. "I think we need shopping centers. I think we need more places to buy stuff. Now we have a chance to do that (in Whitman County.)

"I'm more for pro-growth," he added. "I think that the corridor is ripe for growth and I think it's the perfect place to grow. I think this place is really ripe to bloom."

Chaney said those who think Moscow's protest efforts are about revenue are wrong.

"Friendly competition is the name of the game," she said. "I don't begrudge Whitman County residents their economic prosperity."

Coggins said protests from Moscow officials are grounded in their desperation to keep money in Moscow.

"We're all supposed to be friends in this - friendly competition," she said. "This (protest) isn't friendly. This is an aggressive move."

Chaney said she has no plans to decrease her efforts, adding that Moscow officials likely will continue to protest the issue with the Department of Ecology until a final decision is made.

'We'll have another time to comment," she said.

The petition can be viewed at www.ipetitions.com/petition/breo/signatures.html.