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First you think, then you vote.
Photo by John Byrne Barry

by John Holtzclaw
Direction Setting

At the first direction-setting session, some frustrated delegates vented that some of the priorities outlined were too broad, others very specific, and the overlap between them makes prioritizing them difficult. That same opportunity to vent was not available to the groups, chapters and national entities during the sessions leading up to this.

Even though Carl Pope explained that sprawl is included in the “Build Vibrant, Healthy Communities” approach, I don't think that most delegates understood that this approach has impacts on so many other campaigns we work on.

For example, stopping sprawl can:

•reduce land consumption by 90 percent or more, saving natural areas and forests.

•reduce road and driveway pavement by a similar amount.

•cut household water consumption by five times.

•cut heating and cooling energy by sharing walls and floor-ceilings.

•reduce incentives to have lots of children by having fewer bedrooms than the McMansions out in the sprawling burbs.

•cut pressures on tropical and subtropical forests because fewer and smaller rooms per residence, means less furniture and other stuff to fill them.

•vastly reduce trip lengths to reach destinations because more stores, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. are nearby.

•reduce auto ownership and driving by having much more nearby public transit.

•reduce mining and petroleum production, with their threats to natural areas and species.

•reduce air pollution and global gas emissions.

All these benefits and a wonderful, attractive neighborhood to live in. Want to know more? Go to www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/density, and click on the Healthy Growth Calculator.

-- 09/08/2005 Thu
4pm