Kleine Zeitung online “Austria’s largest cities more sealed than expected”, 13. 8., and “Carinthia is way ahead with asphalt deserts”, 15. 8.
There is now a “ranking” of the best sealing professionals. Carinthia is in the top group (we have to be good at something). For years, people have been criticizing the fact that too much concrete is being used. The fact that this is true is not denied – only in this case, no one seems to want a place on the podium. This would certainly fit into the positive narrative of the “business location”. A lot of business needs a lot of commercial space.
But the devil is in the details: we not only concrete over too much, what is not yet dead is being made dead. More than forty “down-to-earth” citizens of St. Veit have had an extensive soil test carried out in the town. The result of the court-appointed expert: In some locations, the green spaces in the St. Veit area have concentrations of the elements arsenic, lead, chromium, nickel and zinc that are classified as high compared to background pollution. In a direct comparison, the testing laboratory found that the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and polychlorinated dibenzodioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF) in the sample results are consistently higher than the official results published. The reaction of the state authority to this: No problem, that’s normal.
Against this background, one inevitably asks oneself why contaminated soil should be protected. And why should one not be allowed to seal soil that is already “normally” heavily contaminated? In any case, the latest decision by the state governor fits into the picture: in future, garbage – or more precisely “substitute raw materials” – can also be mixed into cement. “Zombie cement” for “zombie soil” – that fits.
Peter Baumgartner, St. Veit
More readers’ letters on the topic
Bleak prospects
The development of nature and environmental protection is currently determined exclusively by economic interests. The so-called “Green Deal” has been and continues to be torpedoed, with farmers being incited with lies and half-truths. In Carinthia, large areas of valuable land are sealed every day for senseless road projects, buildings, parking lots and the like. State Councilor Gruber is in no way fulfilling his obligation as the person responsible for soil protection; on the contrary, land claims are already being made by businesses along the Koralmbahn.
Another grim chapter is the state of the forests in Carinthia, which are poor in many areas. Decades of incorrect management (monocultures, etc.) and the overexploitation of the forest ecosystem, excessive road construction, alpine villages (chalets), wind turbines, supply and disposal lines are causing lasting damage to the forest. Ski slopes and artificial snowmaking are additional burdens.
It is regrettable that the politicians responsible have not learned anything from the past. In addition to the so-called rezoning legacy of the past, the rezoning of the present is added as future legacy! Bleak prospects!
Viktor Lang, Villach
Useless statistics
Statistics form the basis for a professional interpretation with experts, from which usable suggestions and conclusions can be drawn and implemented. This was neglected here; conclusions were drawn that were wrong and only led to headlines. Greenpeace and WWF compared the soil sealing in Villach (221 m2/capita) with Vienna (79 m2/capita); if Hong Kong or New York had been included, the figure would have been less than 20. So a totally dubious comparison that says nothing about the real unnecessary soil sealing. The only thing that can be deduced from this is that less soil sealing is required with higher buildings (skyscrapers).
The authors could have saved themselves this press release, it is useless. Greenpeace and WWF would be better advised to think about proposals for reducing soil sealing in the future and to propose measures that the population can discuss. Suggestions would include: building upwards instead of outwards, requiring underground parking for all large buildings, and only allowing grocery stores to have underground parking and parks above them (as seen at the Karawanks Autobahn exit and the Bled exit). Many constructive approaches could be developed, but simply criticizing and denouncing is not enough.
Fritz Schabkar, Völkermarkt
