
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 26, 1990                   TAG: 9003262175
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: STEPHEN BOTTOMLY
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

POLLUTION COSTLY/ HABITS OF TRAVEL NEED TO CHANGE

THE FRONT page of the Roanoke Times & World-News recently revealed what little insight our local leaders have when confronted with environmental problems. It was somewhat ironic that the highway "link" between Roanoke and Blacksburg was being promoted, as felony charges for the oil spill in Alaska were being filed against Exxon. It is very frustrating when the source of a major problem is right under our nose, and it is consistently ignored by the "powers to be."

It doesn't take a whole lot of insight to see that if we build more roads, more cars will be driven on them. As a result, there will be a need for more oil, mostly foreign, and more spills will occur, as well as more air pollution. This may seem a little simplistic for some people, but the fact of the matter is we are slowly poisoning ourselves.

This society is addicted to petroleum products, and we are risking the fate of our children by not being mature enough to wean ourselves from fossil fuels. The writing has been on the wall for at least 20 years. Our country is on a collision course with the effects of pollution, specifically auto emission. The oil companies and automobile industry have been resisting change, because they feel their short-term profits are more important than the long-term effects on the public's health. These multinational corporations have such a strong influence over the federal government that effective pollution controls have been next to impossible to legislate. In the wake of the Reagan administration's gutting of federal air-pollution regulations and the cutting of the Environmental Protection Agency's budget, industry has been given the wrong signals about what their obligation is to the environment.

It has been left up to the local government to assume this responsibility. We must be creative in our approach when solving these problems. The endless building of roads and bulldozing of green space is not the answer to the problem of urban sprawl and congestion. The proposed road between Blacksburg and Roanoke, as well as the Peter's Creek Road extension, are examples of this shortsightedness.

The development of a public transportation system that is not dangerous or inconvenient is the first step. (The Europeans and Japanese have been doing it for years.)

Secondly, we must stop designing shopping centers and work places that can only be reached by automobile. I live less than a mile from both the Towers and Tanglewood shopping centers. (And, because there are no sidewalks and the traffic is very heavy, I fear for my life when I venture to walk there.) There seems to be a stigma that is attached to anyone who walks or rides a bicycle instead of driving a car. These people, who may be risking their own personal safety, should not be looked down on by the motoring public. By not using their cars they are lessening the demand for gasoline, which will lower the price.

Contrary to what some would like us to believe, we cannot afford not to change our priorities now. The price to reverse these polluting practices will only be higher in the future. Big business has been whining about the expense of cleaning up their mess for years. But, if they had just done the job when the problem was first discovered, instead of dragging their heels and asking for one costly study after another, we would not be facing this seemingly insurmountable task today. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that they're waiting for someone else to pay the price; and we already are, with our health.

by CNB