[Vision2020] The Future

[Phil Nisbet]

Mark

For the very reasons that you state, this community has to stop quibbling 
over the tiny stuff and start organizing to become more politically 
effective in insuring that Micron and the Eagle Mafia do not high grade all 
of our futures.

You and I have had many a politcal disagreement over the years, but I do not 
call you names and you have never done such to me.  We can disagree and 
still discuss, find common ground and accomplish joint goals.

I am not sure that all the people on this list are aware of the things can 
be accomplished when people of varying views set aside anomosity and strive 
together.

When Phil Nisbet of Grassroots for Multiple Use and Mark Solomon of the ICL 
put aside their differences, the first Habitat Conservation Agreement for 
Endangered Species was born.  That agreement ended up restoring miles of 
spawning grounds for Chinook Salmon and steelhead and at the same time gave 
ranchers in Lemhi and Custer Counties a chance to clean up their acts 
without extreme financial hardship.  We could have just as easily screamed 
at each other and hurled insults, but I still remember the fun of doing 
pledge for pledge of GMU against ICL on Books for Bucks (Candice Donnicht's 
annual Salmon School District fundraiser) on the Salmon Radio instead.

We can make a great community better by practicing some commity  We can make 
a great community better by seeking our common ground and finding ways to 
work together to achieve our common dreams.  If Phil and Mark can do it, 
surely some of the rest of these well educated and well meaning folks can 
find it in themselves to do the same?

Phil Nisbet

>From: Mark Solomon <msolomon at moscow.com>
>To: "Phil Nisbet" <pcnisbet1 at hotmail.com>, vision2020 at moscow.com
>Subject: RE: [Vision2020] The Future
>Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 10:22:21 -0700
>
>Phil,
>
>The shipment of UI jobs to campuses elsewhere has less to do with local 
>real estate and a lot more to do with the parochialism of the Idaho 
>Legislature. The Legislature, for reasons known (Simplot, Micron, the Boise 
>"mafia", etc) and unknown have been doing their best to shave off programs 
>from the UI Moscow campus for over 20 years. The engineering programs have 
>been their largest target. You're right... those programs stand the best 
>chance of receiving grants that focus on technology and they are to a large 
>extent going elsewhere. The University Place project (before it turned into 
>the debacle it now is) was primarily a UI response to that Legislative 
>pressure.
>
>Until the Legislature changes their tune on both program emphasis location 
>and appropriate employee compensation, local Moscow development issues are 
>just about irrelevant to retaining a quality research faculty at the UI.
>
>Mark Solomon
>
>At 9:14 AM -0700 7/1/05, Phil Nisbet wrote:
>>Tom
>>
>>You can have all the little stores in downtown that you dream of and it 
>>will not replace any lose of high paying University Salaries.  And other 
>>Universities are snapping up what this one either turns away or ships to 
>>other locations.
>>
>>Just as an example, the plastics industry is moving to include 
>>nanotechnology into its designs to make nano-composite materials that will 
>>help to improve the life of products.  If a plastic bummer is stronger 
>>than steel and has half the weight, energy savings result.  If a 
>>nano-composite can make a house less flammable, lives are saved and inert 
>>nano-composites can be used to replace more toxic fire retardants.
>>
>>So the plastics industry sees growth in those types of materials going 
>>from less than 1% of their sales to 30-40% of their sales in the next 
>>decade, from a current sales of just under a $100,000,000 to in excess of 
>>4 trillion dollars.
>>
>>University of Alaska Fairbanks just snagged $17,000,000 in a grant to 
>>study just one aspect of nanotech composites.  University of Pennsylvania 
>>picked up some research initially done here in Moscow and got a DOE grant 
>>for about ten million to look at how nano particles could assist in nuke 
>>waste disposal.  Heck, the NIST of the Department of Commerce is handing 
>>away $600,000,000 a year in grants and do we have any active here in 
>>Moscow?
>>
>>You have to sell one heck of a lot of Wild Women Traders dresses or a pot 
>>of Tie Die T-shirts to equal even a fraction of what’s out there in terms 
>>of research money, let alone the potential for spin off technology 
>>businesses that this kind of work could be bringing in.
>>
>>If we keep losing jobs at U of I and refuse to get in touch with the 
>>future of technology, this will end up being nothing more than an admin 
>>center for branch campuses that get all the good jobs and all the Research 
>>Grants.  How many shops can we have in Downtown, Tom, if the University 
>>loses more jobs and payroll?
>>
>>The reason that the non-conforming businesses are siting in downtown is 
>>that the business climate here makes downtown space cheap. Housing costs 
>>are through the roof here and what sort of disposable income do you think 
>>that kids making minimum wage at Wendy’s or Tri-State have once they pay 
>>their landlords?  Half the school year population is living hand to mouth 
>>and we offer no better paying jobs to them.  Want to see non-conforming 
>>uses move?  Increase disposable income by getting some real jobs in here.  
>>If downtown businesses could make more profits, they would of a matter of 
>>course push those other businesses out and expand.
>>
>>How many jobs will beating the CCers up and forcing them to leave bring 
>>in?  How many jobs will turning Wallmart out end up ponying up here in 
>>Moscow?
>>
>>And its not that I concur with Doug Wilson’s ideology or that I am in love 
>>with Wally World’s stores, I just see people chasing their tails and 
>>refusing to deal with real economic development issues.  This area needs 
>>jobs and yet this very list felt free to jump all over Barbara and claim 
>>she was part of an evile conspiracy for even suggesting that we need 
>>economic development.  As the person in charge of Economic Development in 
>>the county, rather than assist her and get some desirable growth, she ends 
>>up fighting an uphill battle to get even a few things going in the Alturas 
>>Park.
>>
>>So stop whining about downtown and tell us, what sort of development 
>>should we be looking at? How should we as a community get with the 
>>University to see that it ships no more jobs out to Boise or CDA?  How 
>>should we go about attracting firms to move here and use our access to a 
>>large intellectual community to increase hob opportunity here?
>>
>>That’s what the FUTURE is about, not NSA or LOGOS or any of the other 
>>piddling issues that absorb your time.
>>
>>Phil Nisbet
>>
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