Jeffco Parks PANORAMA, July 2013
In this month’s edition:
- News & Information
- Volunteer Corner
- Nature Notes
- Your Health
- Blasts from the Past
- Events Calendar (Lookout Mountain Nature Center, Hiwan Homestead, Fairgrounds, CSU Extension)
Archive for month: July, 2013
Hot Particle Politics on the Rocky Flats Highway
If you’ve lived in Colorado for any length of time, you know about Rocky Flats and the protests of decades past — protests not just because of what was being manufactured at Rocky Flats (nuclear weapon parts), but because of the dispersal of plutonium in the topsoil and into the atmosphere. Time has passed, and some groups have forgotten that plutonium is 1) always lethal, and 2) never goes away.
In the northwest corner of the metro Denver area there’s a plan to construct a superhighway. Actually, the plan for this “last leg of the beltway around Denver” has been on the books for 50 years or so, and like plutonium, it simply won’t go away. The draft plans today show that the construction zone will pass through what was once part of Rocky Flats.
From the article in our News section: “The parkway is controversial for a number of reasons, including funding, [and] concerns over increased traffic and sprawl and safety. Some worry about the roadway crossing the southeast edge of Rocky Flats – the former government facility that produced plutonium bomb triggers from the 1950s until 1992. Small traces of plutonium still exist on the surface of Rocky Flats soil.”
No amount of plutonium is safe, and plutonium, released into the air, is especially toxic. From Wikipedia: “…calculations show that one pound of plutonium could kill no more than 2 million people by inhalation. This makes the toxicity of plutonium roughly equivalent with that of nerve gas.[96]”
Development is inevitable, but is development at any cost a wise choice? The new highway will bring commerce and new housing to the northwest quadrant (http://www.candelasco.com/), and will most likely release plutonium into the atmosphere during the roadway construction phase. It’ll be a sad day when what is now open lands is converted to suburbs and shopping centers, and when the number of bone and liver cancers escalates in the decades following.
Open Space Strikes Gold with Colorado Lottery
Thirty years ago this summer the Colorado Lottery started distributing monies to Colorado parks, recreation, open space, conservation and public-school construction. When this program started, supporters hoped that it would generate $35 million for these projects and parks. In the first year alone, the Lottery generated $41 million in proceeds – an amazing tribute to Coloradans’ support for their parks and open space recreation.
Or maybe Coloradans just like to gamble? Despite the economic roller-coaster since that time, the Lottery system has distributed more than $2.4 billion. In fiscal 2012 alone, the Lottery posted a record $545.3 million in sales, and directed $123.2 million towards efforts to protect land, water and wildlife, and to promote outdoor recreation, especially for our kids.
I know that, when I step up to the counter and lay my dollar down, I choose the Colorado Lottery, even over the ginormous payouts offered by Powerball. I am pragmatic; I know that my odds in the Lottery are better than those in Powerball, and I know that my tiny contribution will add to the millions of dollars that will be spent on open space, parks, recreation, and better health and mental outcomes for our future citizens. Besides, I think I can get by with a jackpot of a few million, don’t you?
To read more on the article that appeared on last Sunday’s Denver Post, go to http://www.denverpost.com/ci_23662011/colorado-lottery-turns-30-years-old?IADID=Search-www.denverpost.com-www.denverpost.com
And good luck!
~Michelle~
Welcome
Welcome to PLAN Jeffco’s Front Page News section. Follow the PLAN Jeffco blogging team as they keep you up-to-date with news and events related to the Jefferson County Open Space program!
