Siouxland Republican Women

Dear Fellow South Dakotan:

Page three of the Sioux Falls Residential Guide to Sustainability features a quote from the United Nations which reads, “Sustainable Development Is Meeting The Needs Of The Present Without Compromising The Ability Of Future Generations To Meet Their Own Needs.” First of all, that was written by the first woman vice president of the World Communist Party, Gro Harlem Brundtland. Secondly, it is essentially nonsensical as applied to the realities of resources, either economic or environmental. What we regard as a resource today depends on its development and application, thus, we have more resources today than formerly. Tomorrow’s resources depend on what tomorrow’s generations make of our natural abundance, not on what government policy proscribes today.

Consider that environmentalists predicted we would run out of oil by 1989, and the short-sighted club predicted a coal shortage some 70 years prior. What we know as “Sustainability” is a political policy, and not well-defined. What we know for certain is that green programs, based as they are on false premises and political rather than real science, and (some) good intentions, are solutions searching for a problem. We also know that green programs are bad for the economy. The onslaught of invasive regulatory ordinances, no matter their origin, contributes to a growing discontent, and with it, a level of cynicism towards government unseen in years.

There is help on the horizon, at least in regard to draconian land-use policy. The Bonner County, Idaho concept of Property Rights Councils appears to be a kind of ombudsman for property owners. PRCs provide property owners a friendly avenue for redress of grievances. While a PRC calls for an added public employee and a well-vetted citizens’ committee, such measures are necessary where local government integrity is compromised. Information on Property Rights Councils: http/www.co.bonner.id.us/propertyrightscouncil/index.html

Respectfully,

Jerry Erickson Govern Sioux Falls Locally

Lobbyist—SoDak Conservatives