Gary Hoover wrote: (snip) > Mr. Johnson has some good visionary ideas available at: > > http://donjohnsonmayor.org/ > (snip) > I'm curious to know what list members think of Mr. Johnson's rather > visionary candidacy as compared to others. > > Does he raise important issues? Could Minneapolis be heading down the > wrong path in terms of ecological and economic development? Could > Minneapolitans choose truly ecological economic development even if we > wanted to do so? Do most Minneapolitans care enough to make sustainable > development an issue?
Randall Replies: I went to Mr. Johnson's web site for the first time today. While he has some interesting ideas, he has few practical proposals for how to accomplish it all. (As an environmentalist I think it great for some of his ideas to be implemented.) I did find it disturbing, however, that while Mr. Johnson says he has been working on environmental issues for 30 years, he showed a surprising ignorance about our urban forest and trees in general. From his web site: "Big bucks are spent trying to cure Dutch elm disease. The Dutch elm is an invasive weed and a nightmare for the gardener and it will survive all too well without our help. Dutch elms tower dangerously over the houses in an era when we will probably see more intense storms and hydro-meteorological disasters such as we are now seeing in the Southeast. We desperately need edible landscapes in our city. Our streets and boulevards could be lined with plum and pear trees, more sugar maples and walnuts. Spend money bringing back the American chestnut. Anything but elms." First, there is no such thing as a "Dutch Elm" we have American Elms (Ulmaceae Ulmus americana L.) on our streets. The common name given to a fungal (Ophiostoma ulmi (syn. Ceratocystis ulmi)) disease killing elm trees is "Dutch Elm Disease." Second, "big bucks" are not spent trying to "cure" the disease. There is however, money being spent to slow the rate of infection and for removal of diseased and dying trees. What would he have us do, leave dead trees where they are? I would be remiss to not mention that a very small amount of money is being spent by private individuals on preventative measures (injection of fungicide...). Third, American Elms are a strong, slow growing tree. Once a tree has grown large enough to "tower" over homes, the tree has withstood numerous strong storms. It will likely continue to standing for a long time. These large trees provide a huge energy savings for the house they are towering over. Does Mr. Johnson think its a bad thing to have energy efficiency? Forth, tree species are selected by the MPRB according to their ability to survive and thrive in the urban environment. Many fruit and nut trees are not well suited to living on urban streets. I suggest that Mr. Johnson leave tree selection to the foresters at MPRB. All that said, I do wish our city would be more agressive in its environmental policies and actions. But I'll be voting for someone who doesn't bill themself as an environmental expert but doesn't even know the correct name of our most common street tree. Randall Cutting Seward REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
