A developer from GK Development in Barrington, IL wants to build a big box store in Chesterton, Indiana.
Naturally, Chesterton opposes the big box store development.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments
Herb Read has my admiration and, though I am not familiar with the details of this specific case, I suspect that the article is somewhat incomplete; there is likely much more to the environmental impact than decorating facades facing Coffee Creek.
ReplyDeleteI am involved with Coosa River Basin Initiative, an environmental group in northwest Georgia fighting a similar battle with a developer in Canton, GA who wants to fill in 5300 feet of perennial streams and a half acre of wetlands for a shopping complex.
Many are unaware of the importance of natural buffers for our waterways. They are essential to biodiversity by providing habitat and preventing erosion of sediment which threatens many aquatic species. While some might scoff at efforts needed to protect a small darter or a shellfish, we should remember that we are at the top of a complex web of life; eroding the foundations of an intricate system we will never be able to fully understand is done at our peril.
Natural buffers are a vital first line of defense for pollution and provide excellent flood mitigation. Stormwater runoff is the leading cause of impaired waterways in Georgia. It chokes the life out of our streams and contaminates our drinking water. Aquatic life depends on natural buffers and, in many ways, we do as well.
To conclude with a somewhat tortuous reference to GKC, I will ask us to remember St Francis as we take stewardship of God’s creation. Let us not be blinded by the cult of progress while the asphalt is poured for another big box store.