Last week we have received an outpouring of feedback on various issues previously published.
First of all, you should know that from time-to-time we do have someone unsubscribe from Vero Communique because they “get too many emails” or they are “too busy.” But this week we had one person unsubscribe because he “didn’t agree with your views.” That’s a first. But I know this gentleman and when I questioned him about opting out he said it was because he doesn’t believe in climate change.
Perhaps the best way to provide you with our feedback and reader responses is to categorize the subject matter and then align it to the feedback and responses. But in the case of climate change and All Aboard Florida they tend to jive together.
Then we have two other readers that sent feedback we will provide in separate articles.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND ALL ABOARD FLORIDA
“The NTSB published a report that officially attributes the recent derailment of Amtrak to climate change.”
“With sea levels rising, I’m not sure why AAF/SEC would expand a railroad along the coast.”
“The only positive impact of expanding rail lines along the coast is that, once submerged, oxidizing rail steel will add nutrients to seawater band thus encourage phytoplankton growth, which, in turn, will mitigate the accumulation of atmospheric carbon. Of course, I am being facetious.”
CLIMATE CHANGE
“Yo T, great article on climate change, that new contributor knows the topic.”
“Thanks Tom. Excellent Communique. I found it all intriguing. I can’t believe the ‘global warming/climate change’ deniers. Three months ago National Geographic ran an issue on it and what Florida will look like in 2050. That’s in only 35 years. All of the Keys, most of the Everglades and Miami along with the barrier islands will be under water.”
“God gave dominion over the earth.”
“I was reading your latest and greatest on climate change this morning and hit some button on my iPhone and it vanished. I thought I would be able to read it later on my computer: wrong! I can’t find it anywhere now… I was hoping you wouldn’t mind too much having to send it to me again? It was interesting!”
ALL ABOARD FLORIDA
“The EPA’s silence on the AAF project and the FRA’s refusal to mitigate the Draft Environmental Statement before the FDFC issues the Private Activity Bonds is proof that nothing matters but money and greed. It is NOT about the environment.”
“The City of Palm Beach has already closed two road crossings and the All Aboard folks are doing track work outside my City Hall window now. We have agreed to fund some track access road construction to get better connectivity to the station. There will be a certain amount of development around the station that All Aboard, or a single use entity controlled by All Aboard, will potentially construct, in their other role as a land development company.”
Here is a hand-sketched cartoon sent to us about “all the money.” Can you believe a reader created this cartoon just for us as an exclusive to publish? 
TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT
“It’s all about real estate: Transit Oriented Development, the housing and transportation plan that is Seven50. The development occurring in Palm Beach has been euphemized as ‘transfer of development rights.’ It is in fact, a bypassing of local planning and zoning laws. The Regional Planning Councils are helping to facilitate the re-engineering of how and where we live.”
“My big push is ownership. I don’t have an issue with higher density if the property is owned. The example I use is Singapore. Singapore is densely populated, but has a 90% homeownership rate. This compares to Miami which has become the city with the lowest homeownership rate in the nation at 32%. It is embarrassing.”
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY 2015- 2016 BUDGET OUTLOOK
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review this information (last week’s article). As always I appreciate your efforts to ensure that your stories are factually accurate. Please see below for my comments.”
Jason E. Brown, Director – Office of Management and Budget – Indian River County Board of Commissioners
RADICAL ENVIRONMENTALISTS
In a previous Communique we wrote about a recent article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Slaking California’s Thirst – if Politics Allows,” where a Boston-based company, Posiedon, spent six years battling 14 environmental lawsuits before they could begin construction of a $ 1 billion desalination plant slated to open this fall in Carlsbad, north of San Diego, which when completed will be the largest in North America capable of producing 54 millions of gallons per day.
According to the Wall Street Journal Article, “Mr. Riva, (CEO of Posiedon) says he considers himself an environmentalist. “But I think the concept of environmentalism has been hijacked by extreme views. We’re bending over backward to protect the environment here.”
Then we wrote that perhaps that’s why Kendall Breitman in his April 6 article in Politico, wrote that “Carly Fiorina blames liberal environmentalists for California’s man-made drought.”
Against this backdrop, we received this feedback from a well-known environmentalist.
“And the progressives fired back,” referring to a April 9, 2015 article by Ari Phillips in CLIMATEPROGRESS entitled “Republicans are saying environmentalists caused California’s drought. Here’s why they’re wrong.” Here is the link:
Another reader: “Water is money from heaven.”
GENERAL
“Very interesting and useful knowledge.”
“Keep up the quality work. Build it and they will come.”
Vero Communiqué 