Earthpark Questions

Nicholas Johnson is full of obvious and important questions concerning the proposed Rainforest and the impact it might have on residents of Riverside, IA (pop. 961):

This representation by Oman can most charitabily be characterized as "misleading."

(a) He, and the casino, have represented -- without involving the City -- that a hotel/motel tax will be enacted, the money from which will go to the rain forest.

(b) They've also suggested that the casino's Foundation, which is supposed to provide a share of casino profits to local projects, such as schools, libraries or swimming pools, will, instead, divert those moneys to the rain forest.

(c) There will, presumably, be additional infrastructure costs required by the rain forest (such as roads, water and sewer lines) borne by the City.

(d) Speaking of water, has anyone in Riverside explored the potential impact on Riverside's water table, or other sources of water, required by a rain forest (that must be kept humid) and aquarium (that uses 600,000 to 1 million gallons of water)?

And that's not all. There's more. Read the whole thing. Especially the part that speculates about what happens to the rainforest and Riverside if the project fails to meet projections and cannot sustain itself over the long haul.