My husband and I want to express our dismay and heartbreak over the widespread destruction of trees and open, green spaces that we witness daily in Vancouver and Clark County, and the apparent lack of government plans to preserve our forests, farmlands, greenbelts, open spaces, wetlands, wildlife habitat, air quality and quality of life for us, the taxpaying residents of Vancouver/Clark County.
Of our city and county council members, we’re honestly asking: Is this wholesale slaughter the best you can do? We urge you to consider factors beyond and greater than developers’ profits and your re-election coffers, factors including:
- Your constituents’ quality of life.
- The survival of wildlife.
- Air and noise pollution and their effects on our physical, mental and spiritual health (think crime, think rates of our children’s and grandchildren’s allergies, asthma and lung cancer).
- Improving the local climate in a time of global climate change.
- Conservation of water and soil.
- Energy savings.
- Last but certainly not least, irreplaceable beauty.
Surely council members can be at the forefront of reimagining our neighborhoods, city and county as places where our health, well-being and green infrastructure are at the forefront of design, planning and investment.
