Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumThe Nation’s Biggest Mall Slated to Kill One of the Largest Prairie Dog Colonies on Colorado’s Front
Range.
Recently I heard news that our county (Douglas in Colorado) was getting one of the nations biggest malls. The news simultaneously sunk my heart and angered me. Why the hell do we need another mall? To consume the world? Then my mind raced to the location of the mall, and the prairie dogs that live there. I had been worried about this colony before, about the strong possibility that the remaining colonies comprising hundreds of prairie dogs would be destroyed for some kind of development. After all, a Lowes store, an outlet mall, a housing project, and a tire store had occupied their territory and had already killed thousands of these dogs in the name of development. And this was the final solution for the 3,000 to 8,000 remaining burrows: complete annihilation of the prairie dogs for a shopping mall set to cover 170 acres in concrete.
Once the news sunk in, I called the town of Castle Rock, where the new mall is slated to be developed and spoke with the government official in charge of the construction. I was given the contact information of the individual working with Alberta Development (the development company constructing the mall) on the prairie dog problem. She was kind and helpful, as developers are trained to be when it comes to dealing with pesky environmentalists and let me know that the current plan for the prairie dogs was to cage them, kill them, and send them off to the nearest raptor farm to feed the birds. All the dogs. Hundreds of prairie dog families sucked up out of their only homes, caged, killed, and fed to the raptors. She informed me they had tried to find new places for them to be relocated, but had no success, so this was the only possibility left for the prairie dogs. She extended an invitation to help her find relocation areas with assurance that if we found a place, they would cover the costs for the relocation and support us in any way they could to make that transfer happen. All I needed to do was find private land owners in Douglas County who were willing to have prairie dogs on their land. I knew that in our county, it would not be easy to locate such land owners. Ranchers and conservatives have a long history of deep-seated hatred for these animals as they perceive prairie dogs as a nuisance and a threat to their cash herds and crops. Landowners by and large are perfectly willing to accept prairie dog extermination as good business practice.
Much more at link... http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2015/01/31/the-nations-biggest-mall-slated-to-kill-one-of-the-largest-prairie-dog-colonies-on-colorados-front-range/
Yet another reason to stop shopping and take a look around to see what we're destroying at our own peril.
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)Are the mall rats going to be concerned? Doubt it.
Killing an entire city of living creatures far more rare than humans is a criminal act of genocide equally by industry and a consenting consumer.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/26/humanrights.animalwelfare
2naSalit
(86,802 posts)I have never been a fan of shopping or malls ever since they started defacing the landscape. The lie of convenience and the tactics of distraction are leading us into the abyss of extinction... for the environment that supports life, all life.
Glad I'm getting old so I won't have to watch this whole mess continue to accelerate to its conclusion. (In my family, both sides, if one lives past the age of 60 they are likely to live into their 90s. I'm soon approaching 60 and hope I can opt out early. I'm getting sick of all this.)
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)2naSalit
(86,802 posts)that scares me along with those who proclaim that they are not willing to give up all those distractions and that their stance only gives them the power to show tptb who's boss... all while tptb are laughing at them and squeezing us even more.
I am concerned about my beautiful nieces and nephews who are in their prime right now.
williesgirl
(4,033 posts)We sure as hell don't need one more.
MH1
(17,608 posts)I think the deal is, that the really HUGE malls, like Mall of America, become destinations, kinda like Disney World. So while your local and semi-local, run-of-the-mill malls might not do so well, the "destination" malls like this proposed one, can get investors who think people will come for the "experience".
Although I personally don't see why anyone would want that experience. But then there's NASCAR and people go to that...
demigoddess
(6,645 posts)I was just hearing about abandoned malls and that they were being changed into schools and such. Some were abandoned for years. Also I lived in Colorado Springs (close to Castle Rock) in the late 80s and they had a few malls and a strip mall in town that were mostly empty or totally empty. They had been built but nowhere near enough stores to fill them. Those malls were built by Neil Bush, son of George HW, and friends. Sounds like this might be more of the same.
2naSalit
(86,802 posts)but then, who has the money to build such a monstrosity? Somebody who has too much money to burn, perhaps they need a pricey insurance claim when something doesn't go well. Construction issues, fires, tornadoes, lack of business to support it makes for profit losses... maybe some short seller needs something to bet against.
Whatever the reason it is an outright slap in the face to those of us who can see the environmental collapse ahead. (Over here in Montana those who are trying to keep the bison inside the park seem to take some sick pleasure in mistreating these animals while their advocates look on in handcuffs. The abusers sneer at the advocates with utter disdain and actually extend the abuse for the sake of their own sick pleasure in showing the advocates that they can mistreat these majestic animals and get away with it. So there's that...) And I have no doubt that those who insist we need yet another worthless shopping center will find some sick satisfaction in knowing they are trashing the environment while the rest of us look on in disgust and sorrow.
demigoddess
(6,645 posts)not to mention that the air inside malls is practically poisonous and the stores are usually selling unnecessary junk.
Panich52
(5,829 posts)Here are just 2 articles:
Great Plains Restoration Council
Prairie Dogs and Soil Impacts
http://gprc.org/research/prairie-dogs-the-truth/prairie-dogs-and-soil-impacts/
---
Conserve.org, a program of Canisius College, Buffalo, NY
Conservation of prairie dogs is of great importance to the prairie ecosystem. These animals were largely exterminated by farmers who killed the prairie dogs because they worried their cattle would break legs by stepping in the burrows. In reality, however, there are no known cases of any cattle ever being injured by a prairie dog burrow. Hunting prairie dogs for sport and for pest-control has persisted right up to modern times. If such hunting continues, the populations will continue to drop disastrous consequences will ensue for the ecosystem of the Great Plains.
Prairie dogs are considered a keystone species for the prairies. This means that they are a species whose existence adds to a diversity of life. If this keystone species becomes extinct, it would mean the extinction of many other forms of life as well. Over 200 other species have been observed living on or near prairie dog colonies. These colonies contribute to the ecosystem by providing burrows for other animals such as burrowing owls, black-footed ferrets, and snakes; providing a food source for such species as badgers, black-footed ferrets, coyotes, and many birds of prey; and their burrowing churns the soil to enable the earth to better sustain plant life. Without prairie dogs present, many aspects of the prairie life would change or disappear.
http://www.conservenature.org/learn_about_wildlife/prairie/prairie_dog.htm
---
Good luck