I have been disappointed in the extreme that people who claim to care
about the environment who have chosen to spend their valuable time
opposing, of all things, the Iowa CHILD project.  The purpose of the
project is to be an thinktank for the purpose of integrating ecological
awareness into public education, K-12,  in the US and beyond. This is an
environmentalists dream come true. The domed Rainforest is a minor part
of the whole concept. As to the heating bill, I guess you haven't heard
about how you can't make an omlet without breaking a few eggs. (If
enough money is raised, the project could have it's own wind generator.)
By the heating bill logic, we wouldn't build ANY building. Schools,
hospitals, museums, affordable housing,---they all have high heating
bills too! Shall we stop building them? The  whiners about the CHILD
project, including the Johnson County Greens & Environmental Advocates,
just can't understand that life is "multiple choice", not "fill in the
blank". There is money around that will be spent ONLY to spur Iowa's
economy. So take your choice: Will it be spent to promote
less-consumptive educational tourism, like the CHILD project, or to
subsidize shopping malls, polluting industries,
CAFOs and meat-packing plants! If you're so worried about saving energy,
let's lobby Congress and the Legislature to implement higher fuel
efficiency standards for cars, or to implement higher mandates for wind
power, or any one of 1,000 other things I can think of off hand.
By the way, the Botanical Center is Iowa's #1 tourist draw, and the
Omaha zoo is the only thing worth beans in the whole state of Nebraska.
Both are beloved by the populace. Critics of the CHILD project remind me
of the people in Paris who hated the Eiffel Tower when it was built.

Glenn Pollock wrote:
>
> For you who think to rain forest in Iowa City is one of the dumbest idea
> that has come along in a long time. The attached news article points just
> how costly it would be to heat a rain forest. The Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo
> has a large in door rain forest.
> Glenn Pollock
>
> Published Wednesday
>                         February 21, 2001
>
>                         Zoo's Heat Bill May Mean Cuts to Projects
>
>                         BY NIZ PROSKOCIL
>
>                         WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
>
> And you thought your heating bills were high.
> Our heating bills this year are up four times what they were last year,"
> said Dr. Lee Simmons,director of Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. "Our usage is up
> 25 percent."
> Consequently, the zoo may have to cut some budgeted projects, such as
> fixing a roof or repairing a driveway, later this year.
> The zoo's natural gas bill was $93,000 for January. A typical January bill
> is about $25,000, Simmons said. December's bill was more than $100,000.
>
> Officials with Metropolitan Utilities District had informed zoo
> administrators about the higher rates,saying the zoo should expect to see
> their energy bills double.
> We budgeted, but even they (MUD) didn't think it was going to be this
> high," Simmons said. "You have to keep the animals warm, and you have to
> keep the people warm.
> By mid-June or early July, zoo officials will be able to assess what, if
> any, improvements or projects will have to be cut.
>
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