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Month: July 2021

2

Published on 2 Comments on Why are we Building New Gas Stations?
Photo by Simberto Brauserich.

On July 16, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners voted to change the zoning of a portion of the historic Bethesda Academy’s 635-acre tract of rural land to allow for the construction of a gas station. Despite appreciable opposition from neighboring residents, the vote was unanimous. There was no indication that anyone (other than Enmarket and the Bethesda Academy Board of Governors) wants or needs another gas station in this picturesque corner of Chatham County.

There are many reasons to object to the depressingly routine practice of changing zoning for the sole purpose of accommodating a landowner’s speculative attempt to maximize the financial rewards of land ownership – often by proposing unneeded projects. However, I would like to focus on the folly of defacing a treasured landscape with, of all things, a gas station.

In the not-too-distant future, gas stations will become obsolete, and thousands of abandoned stations will blight the country. As hard as it is to imagine the disappearance of this ubiquitous fixture of American life, the writing is on the wall due to the widely anticipated rapid adoption of electric cars.

General Motors recently announced that by 2035 all their vehicle models will be electric. By 2030, VW expects 50% of US sales to be electric vehicles, and Ford says all their cars sold in Europe will be electric. Be ready for more such announcements as car companies scramble for a share of a burgeoning global market for electric vehicles.

Here in Georgia, the Korean automaker, Kia, which produces 340,000 vehicles a year at their Troup County factory, is investing $25 billion to transition their production to electric cars. Encouraged by this development and the in-state presence of several related businesses, Governor Kemp launched a new initiative to boost the expansion of the industry in Georgia.

“Georgia has a proven track record of investing early in the resources and infrastructure needed to connect it to the world and develop jobs of the future,” Kemp said. “The Electric Mobility and Innovation Alliance will ensure that our state is positioned to continue leading the nation in the rapidly growing electric mobility industry.”

...continue reading "Why are we Building New Gas Stations?"

Published on

On June 17, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released its Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) recommending the issuance of a rocket launch site operator’s license to Camden County. The last step in the process is for the FAA to release a Record of Decision (ROD) expected sometime this month. The Center sent the following letter condemning fundamental flaws in the environmental review that the FAA should correct by conducting a Supplemental EIS before making a decision. You can read the entire EIS online at the FAA's website.

Antares rocket failure October 28, 2014.

General Wayne Monteith, FAA Administrator

Associate Administrator FAA/AST

800 Independence Avenue SW

Washington, DC 20591

General Monteith:

I am writing to restate and expand upon concerns previously conveyed in our comments, and others, expressing well-justified alarm about glaring deficiencies in FAA’s review of Spaceport Camden.

For the sake of brevity, in these comments, I will limit remarks to four prominent areas of factual negligence and faulty assumptions related to the EIS that are both careless and misleading.

1.       Launch trajectory and hypothetical rocket characteristics – According to the most qualified opinions available, the launch trajectory proposed is implausible if not impossible to deliver payload in achieving a viable orbital mission. It appears that the manipulated launch-angle used in the EIS, and consequentially applied in the state’s consistency review, was improperly assumed for the convenience of attempting to reduce the hazard-zone for a launch failure during the initial stages immediately after launch. The misguided nature of this proposal is revealed by the absence of any precedent for small rockets using such an angle of trajectory to support the attainment of an orbital mission. Please clarify if and when such a small-rocket orbital launch has ever been done successfully, or if the notion is just theoretical conjecture.

Regarding the small size of the hypothetical rocket, why does the EIS describe storage at the site for what amounts to some 28 years of small-rocket fuel supply? This strongly suggests the hidden intention to transition to the use of larger rockets that require far more fuel, once licensing is obtained for a site approved based on a fantasized small rocket allegedly having smaller risks.

...continue reading "Letter to FAA Outlining Defects in Review of Spaceport Camden"

Published on

In observance of Independence Day, we are posting this letter to the editor by Center Co-Director, David Kyler. It was originally published in the Savannah Morning News in July 2020.

Photo by Fabian Fauth on Unsplash

In the barrage of recent events, Independence Day invites self-reflection on the history and values associated with this hallowed holiday.

Diverse expressions of dissent related to COVID-19, racial issues, and national interest have exposed contentious rifts in America’s identity. Ironically, these conflicting viewpoints are commonly derived from aspirations embedded in the nation’s origins – foremost, individual liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Americans are renowned for independent thinking, articulated in the landmark 1841 essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance.” Resisting conformity and following one’s instincts as perceived in an “every-man-for-himself” world have been espoused for much of our history.

Related residual views still predominate among various divisive groups, serving as a vaguely understood basis of self-respect. Yet, intertwined social, economic, and technological changes that have occurred since these tenets of American identity were formulated require that we adapt them to new circumstances.

Personal liberty in the 21st century depends on a respectful society that requires tempering the excesses of a “frontier ethic” whose practitioners are often skeptical of science and hostile toward others – including racial minorities and migrants.

Abandoning fantasized freedoms is essential if we hope to restrain COVID and other diseases, restore our ravaged global environment, and establish lasting social justice.

Achieving an equitable, interdependent society with mutually beneficial opportunities requires that past prejudices and antagonisms be cast aside. A revitalized sense of the common good must inspire our vision.

To honor America’s ideals, we must struggle for independence from the oppressive dogmatism that degrades our country’s worthy prospects.