Opinions & Editorials
PARTNERSHIP IN PRESERVATION -- THE MESSAGE AND THE PROCESS Authors:
Bob Kirkwood, HP and Dan Taylor, Audubon
Jerry Meral, PCL and Kent Stoddard, Waste Management
What do the following have in common?
The Walt Disney Company, Sierra Club, Southern California Edison, Nature Conservancy, Hewlett Packard, Planning and Conservation League, Bank of America, Trust For Public Land, Pacific Gas And Electric, Audubon Society, ARCO, Earth Island Institute, Northrop Grumman, Union of Concerned Scientists, Lockheed Martin, California EPA, Chevron, U.S. EPA, Waste Management, California Resources Agency, Sustainable Conservation and California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance?
If you know the answer, it means you've probably either seen or heard of the publication "Habitat and Prosperity: Protecting California's Future," published by California Environmental Dialogue, and signed by representatives of all the above organizations.
So what in the world are environmental groups, corporate California and government agencies finding to agree on? Quite simply, the notion that to survive the projected 40 percent growth in population by the year 2020, we must dramatically make a greater (and reliable) commitment of public and private funds to protect and preserve our state's land, air, water and ecosystems.
To quote the CED statement, "We need increased investment in our land, air and water, and the life they support, to sustain a strong agricultural economy, growing tourism and recreational industries, healthy communities, and a quality of life that attracts the work force that underpins a vibrant economy."
With November's elections now behind us, the statement has been sent to every newly-elected or returning legislator and statewide official, in hopes it will influence their thinking for the years that lie ahead.
But the message is not intended only for government ears. We call for a greater and reliable flow of public and private investment in California's natural capital. Not just government -- but all of us.
No other comparably sized region of North America has the enormous wealth of plant and animal life and spectacular natural habitats of California. Because of our unique habitats, over 40% of the species found here exists nowhere else on the Earth. This ecological treasury is vital to maintaining the clean air, clean water, and our celebrated quality of life.
In urging enlightened stewardship of public and private lands, we believe that "California needs to harness its genius for innovation and develop an array of creative tools -- financial tools, like bonds, appropriations, and tax credits; incentives that assure the health of public and private land; and productive collaboration, because we've learned its power."
The power of productive collaboration is evidenced by the two years that California Environmental Dialogue has been bringing old foes from business, environment and government together to develop mutual trust and to learn how to speak and listen, honestly and openly, to find common ground among often-competing interests.
It's a process which has produced, not a cry for help, but a prescription for health -- even in the face of projections that California's population will increase by more than 15 million in about two decades. Our economy and lives depend upon our ability to marshal a reinvestment plan based on foresight and fairness -- fairness to those who may bear some of the burden now, foresight for those who would bear the burden of our failure.