I just visited Lake Okeechobee on a motorcycle trip across Florida to the east coast. The lake, one of the largest fresh water lakes in the USA, in fact just after the Great Lakes, was substantially rebuilt by the Army Corps of Engineers after two hurricanes caused it to overflow, killing several thousand residents.
Until the rebuild the lake would overflow its banks into the Everglades when too much water dumped into to it from severe storms. The corps essentially built channels, mainly the Saint Lucie boat canal, to drain the lake and end its periodic overflow. This in turn opened the former flood plain to be used for agriculture and it is one of the most productive farm areas in the USA. The rich black soil is similar to that of central Ukraine, the former “bread basket”of Russia.
Lake Okeechobee was rebuilt by the corps in the 1930’s the same time when the Tennessee Valley Authority was building a complex series of dams and hydroelectric facilities to revive an area hard hit the by the Great Depression. Also built in the same period was the Hoover Dam that provided water and electricity for mainly Arizona and California.
These prodigious projects faced significant opposition from those concerned about how they would change the environment of the areas served. And change them they did. Lake Okeechobee and its surroundings developed into Florida’s most important agricultural zone. The TVA area became a much improved agricultural area as well as an industrial hub focused on production that required massive input of electric power such as aluminum and enriched uranium. And the Hoover Dam produced the Imperial Valley, one of California’s richest farm areas.
Believe it or not at this same time the first road links between New Jersey and New York City were built, the George Washington Bridge, the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels. Until then one made the crossing by train or ferry. The road connections also faced considerable opposition from those worried by their affect on the environment. Needless to say one can hardly conceive of this connection being only made by ferry or train in today’s world.
And while New York was being connected by road to its west and south the Golden Gate Bridge was built spanning the most magnificent entry of the sea into the land on the entire West Coast. And believe it, the project had substantial opposition based on it changing the environment, most importantly impinging on the natural beauty of this great wonder of nature.
In spite of the Great Depression, America completed some of the greatest engineering feats of all time while it was suffering its worse economic nightmare.
Compare this to today. We are in the depths of the “Great Recession” but instead of engaging in Promethean tasks. we are hamstrung by regulations that protect the environment at the expense of forgoing undertakings that could make significant improvements in our economic base.
A prime example here is expansion of the Keystone Pipeline. The pipeline would provide not just jobs in its building, as did all of the projects I list completed during the Great Depression, but would also provide a more reliable source of energy needed for reviving our industry.
Where is the vision that we had at the worse economic moment in our history? Then, we did not hestitate to take on major alteration of our land in pursuit of making it more productive. We must take the same bold action we did during the Great Depression to create major motors for our economy, even if these alter the environment.
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Really? I think if you used a little more imagination, you could probably come up with something a little more beneficial for the economy and the environment than the the Keystone Pipeline, which would move dirty oil from Canada to refineries in Texas and would set back our renewable energy efforts for at least two decades. It would ensure we maintain our oil addiction and delay making the tough decisions regarding energy production, management and conservation that we need to start making today.
http://www.usclimatenetwork.org/tar-sands
The only vision that the Republicans have is to make Obama a one term President. Accordingly, they have blocked every effort to even fund plans to repair and maintain the country’s infrastructure.
Scientists are more knowledgeable today than they were 75 years ago about the environment. They understand the ecologically impact and the risk of unintended consequences of major construction projects. Now, we know how the destruction of marsh land left New Orleans far more vulnerable to hurricane surges. We understand the importance of flooding to prevent silt build up. We understand that there still is much we don’t understand. EPA regulations are designed to minimize negative impacts as much as possible. Environmental impact statements are one way to predict such negative consequences so that plans can be made to avoid them.
Out here in the Great American Desert, water is gold. The Keystone Pipeline was originally planned to transverse a major aquifer essential to the West. Any spills of sand tars could endanger this major water supply. To reconsider alternatives is not to”lack vision,” it is to be good stewards. That is the real vision.
Joey
The major infrastructure projects I mentioned were started under Democratic and Repubican administrations. Your concern with oil and gas piplines would have merit if the USA was not already criss-crossed by 200,000 miles of pipelines.
You are complaining about the so-called “lack of vision” during a Democratic administration; hence my response.
Most all construction prior to the 70s used asbestos. Surely you are not suggesting that therefore we should disregard any safety precautions today with that element, are you?