NationStates Jolt Archive

*sigh*

I wish I had found this forum before submitting the resolution in order to draft something with the public... oh well, too late.

The proposal is on page four today - if you could read it, that'd be great.

Thanks!
Terrence River

Post your proposal here anyway. Nothing makes it through on the first effort without a massive telegram campaign. Might as well fine-tune it for later.



Besides, I haven't looked at it yet. Might just be deleting it for illegalities. Then you'd need to be here.

Greenspace - Industry Ratio
A resolution to increase the quality of the world's environment, at the expense of industry.


Category: Environmental
Industry Affected: All Businesses
Proposed by: Terrence River

Description: The United Nations,

BELIEVING that the preservation of greenspace and natural features is important to the environment and to all people,

NOTING the pollution reduction rates of greenspace and a consistent increase in the prevalence of industry and the pollution it produces,

CONVINCED that natural forests, wetlands and prairie should be protected to combat pollution emitted through industrial production and the usage of industrial goods, and that greenspace should be set aside based on industrial pollution and land use,

ENACTS the following to ensure that the general environments of Member Nations of the UN remain in good shape:

1. Greenspace is defined as a natural piece of land that is protected, made up of prairie grasses or shrubland, broadleaf or needleleaf trees (evergreen and deciduous), wetlands made up of aquatic plantlife capable of filtering human (residential) or industrial waste, or scrubland/tundra or desert with plantlife.

2. When industry produces non-recycled waste, consumes land in order to construct an industrial institution (i.e. factory, retail outlet, mine, sawmill) or extracts a natural resource for the purpose of industry, the equivalent of fifteen (15) percent of the land used (either to construct industry, extract resources, or process waste) shall be set aside and donated to a government body or institution created to protect land in the interest of environmental preservation at the industry's expense.

3. The United Nations Committee for the Protection of the Environment, a watchdog to monitor environmental compliance, will be established to ensure that protected land will remain so.

4. Defines protected land (in this context of environmental preservation) as land not to have resources extracted from it, built upon or used as landfill.

5. Encourages government through the committee to establish ways for the protected land to be used in tourism or for other economic benefit.


here we are ;)

Well, I don't see anything glaringly illegal here, but this does open up some loopholes:4. Defines protected land (in this context of environmental preservation) as land not to have resources extracted from it, built upon or used as landfill.

5. Encourages government through the committee to establish ways for the protected land to be used in tourism or for other economic benefit.
So, we're going to take all that protected land and open us up a super motocross / 4-wheeler / swamp-buggy race course. No need to build on it, extract from it, or landfill it. We'll just drive hell out of it until it's all a mud wasteland.

That's the way we like our wilderness - economically viable.

So you want pristine land. Unfortunately pristine land tends not to survive, managed land tends to survive much longer. Using wetlands for managed sewage treatment, or setting aside land for managed forestry usually ensures that the land is kept in existence. The problem with pristine land is that people fail to protect it unless there is a specific purpose attached to the land, hiking trails, ecotourism, fishing, etc. Managed does not mean motorcross and other damaging activities.

It becomes a target for those opportunists who want to make a quick buck, to illegally bring in logging or dumping, or if you have starving masses to eat all the animals and carry off all the wood.

Yes, it is the way of the wilderness. The Scandinvans and the Ming have forests because they needed wood, otherwise there would be no wood.

What people can't find a use for they destroy. An unfortunate trait in human nature.

OOC: This is a reference to military doctrine, I think, if you can't use it, then you should destroy it so the enemy can't use it. Military ideas are often extended into business in destructive eways.

OK then.

For every department store we build, we'll forbid anyone from building a department store on a patch of mountain ridge 15,000 feet up, or in Antarctica or something. Knew we could put those damn mountains to a use.

I don't like the idea of permanently protecting the land either. What if someday a new city grows up on the other side of National Wildlife Mountain Range X? We can just never build a highway leading there?

Ought to be a way to change around what land is protected (by substituting for instance).

http://test256.free.fr/UN%20Cards/sofluffy7tp.jpg

Thank you, everybody, for your advice! It has been of much help - I see now how unlikely the proposal is to pass, and will definitely let it go. I'm thinking I will resubmit it after I get the advice and approval of the UN community here at the forum.

I wish I'd known about this sooner. Oh well!

Thank you, everyone.
Terrence River

We are extremely concerned about this proposal.

Forgottenlands is a nation that is, quite unfortunately, extremely overcrowded for our relative size. Indeed, our capital has no fewer than 2.5 billion people within its gigantic borders. As you can imagine, the food production plants, waste management facilities, air recycling factories and multiple other industries have been a monumental project just to try and enable our residents to live within Forgotten City. Our environmental regulations are extraordinary and the amount of effort put in to making the city as green as possible is tremendous. The unfortunate reality, though, is that Forgottenlands is practically without any greenspace anymore due to the fact that nearly 5.3 billion people currently reside within our borders. Nearly every single industrial project that we could begin in the future would violate the text of this proposal simply because of our situation - and this would, very much, include future industries dedicated to the recycling of materials for our citizens so that they can remain productive members of our society.

OOC: Interestingly enough, there are quite a few RL nations that are quite small to the point they've nearly built up their entire territory. There are also nations like the Vatican that is nothing but urban landscape. You may wish to consider that when you look at your proposal.

Yes. I agree... that would make a lot of sense, hmm. Well, I'm going to be resubmitting the proposal in a draft before the UN tomorrow when time runs down. Fortunately, we'll be able to establish some sort of general agreement/consensus toward the goal of environmental preservation.

Thanks for the advice!
Terrence River