By Larry Taft and George Nee in RI Future
How would you like to be part of an investment that benefits you
and the economy?
You can help to protect Rhode Island’s open spaces and farmland,
create world class parks and bikeways, prevent stormwater pollution of water
resources, and clean up polluted properties for safe and prosperous development.
Oh, and on top of that, there are partners who will add to the investment and
deliver even more bang for the buck.
Even better, these funds have a proven track record of success
in boosting the state’s economic interests while maximizing the value of Rhode
Island’s natural resources.
You can be part of this special investment scenario by voting to
approve the Green Economy Bond (Question 6) on November’s ballot. It will
provide $35 million dollars to increase and continue many successful ongoing
environmental initiatives, an amount that will be matched by community funding
and grants that will increase its value.
The Green Economy Bond helps the environmental causes that Rhode
Islanders have rallied to support in the past such as protecting Narragansett
Bay and open spaces, upgrading parks in all our cities and towns, providing
enhanced recreational opportunities, and turning polluted former industrial
sites into locations that are ripe for future business growth.
The Green Economy Bond will assure that these enhancements play
into the state’s economic goals.
The Bond will help to create conditions that attract innovative
and tech-savvy businesses, support thriving local food and arts communities,
and enhance public transportation through the creation of pedestrian and
bike-friendly transit routes.
It will also bolster the economic engine of tourism that already
supports nearly 40,000 jobs and generates more than $3.2 million a year from
people who come to enjoy the resources of our historic and beautiful coastal
state.
Statewide, past investments have helped out across the board,
and the Green Economy Bond will support those critical areas of interest into
the years to come.
It provides funding for historic state park development, as well
as land acquisition to fill gaps in our state parks and wildlife management
areas.
It reaches out to communities to provide matching funds for
local recreation development and open space conservation.
The bond will promote bikeway networks that connect businesses
and greenspaces.
And through the ongoing backing of stormwater pollution
prevention initiatives and brownfield clean-ups, local municipalities will
continue to enjoy dramatic benefits from increased economic, environmental and
societal health, and revitalized development in communities on lands once
shunned as unusable.
Rhode Island has a tradition of environmental stewardship
unmatched in the United States. Since the first Open Space and Recreation Bond
was resoundingly passed in 1985, the state’s citizens have passed every
subsequent bond with over a two-thirds majority.
From inner city to rural countryside voters, this is unshakeable
support that would make any individual politician cry with joy. The power of
environmental protection and green projects has been recognized as an
invaluable economic force.
The need for initiatives that enhance those areas of interest
and concern have been folded into any and all short and long-term planning from
every community, right up to the state level. But the state and communities
need the financial backing to carry out those strategies.
Investment in the state’s future through the Green Economy Bond
is a move that is a wise and rock-solid commitment to Rhode Island’s economic
health. It is a commitment to environmental health. It is a commitment to the
health of all residents of Rhode Island. This November please vote “Yes” on
Question #6, the Green Economy Bond. Everyone will enjoy the benefits for years
to come.
Larry Taft is executive director of the Audubon Society of Rhode
Island. George Nee is president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO.