This is excellent news anyone who cares about the mid-Atlantic Appalachian Highlands:
Va. Governor Tim Kaine, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, Maryland Governor Martin OMalley, and Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell have signed the Highlands Action Program Charter. The program is a regional partnership that seeks to preserve the ecological and cultural resources of the Mid-Atlantic Appalachian Highlands.Kaine calls the Appalachian Highlands region "a unique area, both from a cultural and ecological standpoint," with species and landscapes "found no place else in the world."
Combined with his executive order the other day on energy effiency, plus his ambitious land preservation program, this move helps to cement Gov. Kaine's environmental credentials. Now, if we can just get a General Assembly that doesn't only care about protecting the polluters, we might be able to make some serious progress here in Virginia on global warming, the Chesapeake Bay, and other critically important energy, environmental, and conservation issues.
[UPDATE: Unfortunately, Virginia is moving in the wrong direction on carbon dioxide emissions, which "rose about 34 percent from 1990 to 2004, a rate nearly twice the national average." Why? "Environmentalists blamed the increase in part on the state's development patterns, which have produced far-flung suburbs and long commutes." In other words, "sprawl" is killing the environment. Which is why it's long past time to remove incentives that encourage sprawl, and to reverse those incentives to encourage "smart growth."]