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“… The stability of the global environment is under threat from human activity, owing largely to unsustainable consumption patterns that reflect extreme inequalities.” (International Day for Biological Diversity 2015 – Sustainable Development). This is one part of the creeping expansion of the darkness spreading from the UNEP Global Biodiversity Assessment Report, 1995, commissioned as part of the UN Agenda for the 21st Century.

The assessment report named a host of items considered to be unsustainable and included technology improvements, power line construction and land use that serves human needs. One chilling thought found is: “Do not learn from the past as it is only wrong and focus only on the possibilities in the future.” As presented in a Wikipedia document one of the three pillars of sustainability is “… a gain in economic development is a loss in environmental balance.”

The proposed moratorium on cellphone towers in Sandpoint, shortly after the formation of its’ sustainability commission, reflects the UN determination mentioned above. The towers are a technology improvement. The American Cancer Society(2013) finds cell tower RF risk no greater than radio station risk, though. The conflict between the City Council and the LPOSD, which wants to provide its’ students with the best means to improve their futures, surely causes a question about the leadership within Sandpoint. Might Aaron Qualls also believe that sewers and drainage systems are unsustainable? The UN Global Biodiversity Assessment does.

JEREMY CONLIN

Cocolalla