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

DATE: TUESDAY, April 12, 1994                   TAG: 9404140018
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TALK IS CHEAP

DOES growth enhance or threaten quality of life in Western Virginia? That depends. What is our definition of ``growth" and ``quality of life"? Growth can be the blossoming of a flower or it can be lung cancer. The definitions of quality of life are probably as numerous as pine trees and pokeweed in Western Virginia.

I was born and raised in New Jersey. It is the most populated, paved and polluted state in the Union. I came to Virginia 19 years ago to escape that. There are many others who have come to the Roanoke area for similar reasons and, of course, there are many native Virginians who have made a deliberate choice to stay when they could have moved elsewhere. We work and have families. We know the importance of having jobs. However, I and many others have made this place our home because we know that our gross pay is not the only thing of real value.

Today, virtually every political and civic leader says that he or she is pro-quality of life. Such statements often come after a rousing speech in support of vigorous economic development. That type of speech leaves me fearful and sometimes angry. The talk about the "smart road" and Interstate 73 is a prime example. Virtually all local leaders (and this newspaper) endorse the construction of these roadways. They also say they support the continuation of our quality of life. What's wrong with this picture?

Everyone would like to see growth in economic opportunity, including me. But the supply of air, land and water is finite, and there are some qualities in life that cannot be bought.

We should be talking about a "sustainable economy" and economic well-being that will last through the 22nd century, not just through 2010 or 2020. Too much of what is being said sounds like the same old "anything for money/boom-town" philosophy in which quality-of-life issues are an afterthought, if thought of at all. If the cornerstones of growth in Western Virginia are to be pavement, power lines and unlimited property rights for developers, then life as we know it now is certainly doomed. There will be no quality; just existence.

|ROBERT K. EGBERT |SALEM

by CNB