South Coast Rail good for environment

Your article in the winter issue of the normally balanced CommonWealth magazine (“South Coast Rail worries environmentalists”) misses the mark badly. It relies solely on two individuals who have been perennial critics of the plan and does not even attempt to include a more neutral perspective. The fact is that most environmentalists recognize the enormous benefits associated with the project and, therefore, do support it. These benefits include reduction of greenhouse gases, fewer cars on the road, targeted investment in smart growth alternatives, and effective, meaningful mitigation to reverse longstanding environmental issues.

The environmental benefits have been confirmed by six years of exhaustive analysis of every aspect of this project by the independent-minded US Army Corps of Engineers. The review by the Corps resulted in a lengthy, detailed, and favorable final environmental impact statement in September 2013. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs issued its certificate of approval on November 1, 2013. It is ludicrous to claim, as the article does, that “state and federal officials have failed to provide much information on how they plan to reduce damage to wildlife and wetlands habitat…through the Hockomock Swamp.” That’s because the federal and state review did not find evidence of potential damage as the train passes through the Hockomock.

On the contrary, the Hockomock Swamp today is regularly subjected to damage and disturbance by recreational users of this relatively unmonitored resource area. The use of all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes through the rail bed in the swamp has been well-documented in photographs and reports. South Coast Rail’s proposed elevated trestle and numerous critter crossings will serve to protect the area’s natural resources and will discourage the current prohibited abuses of the Hockomock which contribute to resource deterioration.

Moreover, the critics are not even accurate in their description of the impacts. The tracks will be on a berm (not “just a path”) that carried trains until 1958 (not “the 1800s”) and is open (not “overgrown with trees”). And the claim that “globally rare” Atlantic White Cedars would be threatened by the project is undercut by the fact that the old rail line actually helps these trees (which are classified by NatureServe as “apparently secure”) by maintaining the hydrology on the west side of the right-of-way.

What is really disheartening to project supporters is the persistent critique of environmental aspects when there is overwhelming evidence that this project will address important 21st century challenges—climate change, urban sprawl, traffic congestion, and environmental justice. It is important that we move beyond a myopic focus and embrace the major environmental challenges that confront us as a region, Commonwealth, and nation. South Coast Rail meets those challenges.

Stephen C. Smith
Executive Director, Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District

Non-lethal weapons needed

Second guessing (“Clearing the cops,” Winter ’14) the decision-making of police who fire their weapons in tense confrontations will, at best, yield questionable results. Reconstructing a fast-moving, stress-laden event to create a “true” picture is difficult, if not impossible, especially when the shooting ends in death, leaving a vital part of the story untold. Even the best-trained, best-prepared officers are human and, like the rest of us, will make mistakes, cause accidents, or render poor judgment. Basic justice says people deserve their day in court; it’s the job of police to bring them there. Tragic results can be avoided by equipping all Massachusetts law enforcement officers with non-lethal weapons, instead of guns. The non-lethal weapons are capable of immediately disabling people without killing them. If no single tool exists that is effective in all circumstances, then let’s develop it. Surely we have the ingenuity to solve this problem.

Peter Lowy
Publisher, Massnonprofit.org