One of the conditions for our participation in WMI is that as the Initiative moves forward, it must remain an open-door process a process that actively respects and seeks the contribution of all sectors of the community. We also want to ensure the public has an opportunity to contribute to basin planning and protection. In the past year, SVTC has been a leading advocate of electronic access to pollution data over the Internet. We have also been working to strengthen community monitoring and mapping of local environmental and health conditions. These tools give the public a chance to upload information to policy-makers and affect public decisions.
Local knowledge held by active residents plays a crucial role in reaching sound public decisions.
The voices of our communities must be heard lest green turn to gray and dust return to a Valley shorn of the life we failed to sustain. Michael Stanley-Jones is SVTC Senior Researcher. Carlos Plazola contributed research to this article.