Greg Nepstad wrote:
>
> 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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