Posts tagged open
Weather grounds biking at Boulder’s Valmont Bike Park
Jan 11th
Valmont Bike Park remains closed until further notice
Parks and Recreation Department requests public cooperation in staying off Valmont Bike Park trails to prevent additional damage
Parks and Recreation Department requests public cooperation in staying off Valmont Bike Park trails to prevent additional damage
The Parks and Recreation Department has closed Valmont Bike Park due to poor trail conditions, and is asking for public cooperation to stay off Valmont Bike Park trails to prevent further damage. Recent running, snowboarding, sledding, dog walking and biking on the trails have caused excessive damage to not only the top surfacing material, but to the base layer as well. The maintenance required to repair this damage is costly and time-consuming and will extend the re-opening date of the park due to the extra surfacing maintenance work.
“Our staff is evaluating trail and feature surfacing daily to determine if any areas of the bike park can be opened, and we will notify the public once those areas open,” said Kirk Kincannon, Parks and Recreation Department director. “However, due to moisture deep in the soil and surfacing material, no areas of the park will be opened within the next few days.”
The Boulder Mountainbike Alliance (BMA) also urged the public to refrain from using the trails at this time.
“We need your cooperation to protect the coolest bike park on Planet Earth,” said Jason Vogel, BMA president. “Warm weather does not mean Valmont Bike Park is ready to ride. We are contending with upwelling groundwater freezing subsurface as well as snowcover and snowmelt. These conditions are a perfect storm for destroying the park we’ve all worked so hard to make a reality. BMA urges all park users to respect park closures.”
UN report: Industrial agriculture feeds starvation trends
Jan 9th
UN says only sustainable agriculture will feed the world’s hungry
by Cameron Scott
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food has put out a new report on how best to feed the world’s exploding population. Of the report, the Special Rapporteur Olivier De Schutter remarks, “To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques available.”
So far it sounds like what you’d expect from a bureaucrat whose mandate is essentially to find more food. But the report concludes that “Today’s scientific evidence demonstrates that agroecological methods outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production where the hungry live — especially in unfavorable environments.”
Agroecology is most similar to biodynamic agriculture, but it’s also a pretty good synonym for “sustainable” or “organic.”
In other words, where big corporations, the influential Gates Foundation and, arguably, the United States government insist that industrial agriculture and even genetically modified crops are needed to feed the hungry, the UN has found quite the contrary — that knowledge-based, environmentally sustainable farming will produce more food for more people.
This stance represents a sea change, in which eco-friendly methods are not being advocated for their own sake, but rather on health and human rights grounds.
Of course “agroecology” also makes a lesser contribution to climate change than conventional agriculture — and climate change will, as readers of this blog know, also erode health outcomes around the world. But the UN report also makes the case that sustainable farming methods offer a better model for making agriculture able to adapt to climate change. Dr. De Schutter said in the press release, “Conventional farming relies on expensive inputs, fuels climate change and is not resilient to climatic shocks. It simply is not the best choice anymore today.”
The report goes on to make the case for public policies that support agroecological methods, which are “knowledge-intensive.”
Notes Dr. De Schutter: “States and donors have a key role to play here. Private companies will not invest time and money in practices that cannot be rewarded by patents and which don’t open markets for chemical products or improved seeds.”
Unfortunately, that support may hing on still another sea change.
Occupy Boulder hour of doom rapidly approaching
Jan 6th
Boulder police chief visits Occupy Boulder encampment, discusses city park hours
Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner, along with Boulder Police Cmdr. Carey Weinheimer, visited participants at the Occupy Boulder encampment outside the Municipal Building this afternoon to discuss the new rule that goes into effect tonight, which closes city parks between the hours of 11 p.m and 5 a.m.
The rule prohibits anyone from remaining in city parks, parkways or recreation areas, with the exception of bicyclists and pedestrians who are passing through the areas. Individuals remaining between the hours of 11 p.m and 5 a.m. will be in violation of the city’s trespassing rule and subject to receiving a summons or being arrested. The chief and commander handed out copies of the new regulation as they spoke to individuals at the encampment this afternoon.
Boulder chief of police warms Occupy protestors of deadline
Because Occupy Boulder protestors have been camping overnight on the Sister Cities’ Plaza outside of the Municipal Building for several weeks, Chief Beckner wanted to make sure individuals were aware of the change, which goes into effect tonight.
“Boulder police officers have been engaging in dialogues with Occupy Boulder participants all along. I thought it was important to continue those dialogues so that they understood the new rule, when it goes into effect and what the potential consequences are if they decide to stay,” Beckner said. “The police department intends to enforce the trespassing regulation, but what we are really hoping for is voluntary compliance. We support all people’s First Amendment rights to express their opinions, and hope they will do so during the daytime hours.”
Discussions between the chief and the participants at the encampment were low-key and positive, as most of the interactions have been to date. Many of the protestors are planning to comply with the new rule and some shared with Chief Beckner their plans for packing up their tents and making arrangements to protest during hours that the city parks are open.
Police intend to enforce the park closure rule, although the department has not set a timeline to do so.
