622: Leon Kolankiewicz on Preserving Quality Farmland.
Working to Protect the Land That Produces Our Food.
In This Podcast:
Leon Kolankiewicz defines the problem of urban sprawl, and he describes the alarming rate at which it is permanently destroying farmland and our future food security. What is driving this sprawl, and what can we do about it? Leon is optimistic that farmland can be saved if long term trends are addressed. Hear the solutions he recommends, based on his decades of research, and the changes he believes can be made at both the individual and government levels.
Our Guest:
Leon is a consulting environmental scientist and planner. He has managed Environmental Impact Statements (EIS’s) on projects ranging from dams and reservoirs to flood control facilities, roads, parks, power plants, oil drilling, and mines. He has assisted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the preparation of management plans at 50 national wildlife refuges in many states. Receiving his B.S. at Virginia Tech and M.Sc. at the University of British Columbia, during his career he has worked for several agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, National Marine Fisheries Service, as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras, and as a consultant.
Listen in and learn about:
- How Leon got his start in nature
- Urban sprawl, defined
- The alarming number of acres per year that are converted from farmland to developed land
- Land consumption per capita as it relates to urban sprawl
- Demands on water resources in Arizona and other western states
- Discovering the driving factors behind urban sprawl
- Addressing long term trends affecting future food security
- Numbers USA
- American Farmland Trust
- Ways consumers can reduce their personal impact on farmland
- The myth of “super abundance”
- A wise saying that may (or may not) be an ancient Chinese proverb
- The length of time it takes to produce one inch of top soil
- How Leon stays positive
- A story of curiosity in Guatemala
As well as:
His failure – Feeling like he wasn’t able to influence his own family with his activism.
His success – Seeing an article in National Geographic, about wildlife conservation corridors in Central America, that showed the natural park whose boundaries he had helped establish.
His drive – The opportunity to feel like he is contributing to environmental sustainability.
His advice – “With a little curiosity, there is never a dull moment.”
written by Leon:
Population Growth and the Diminishing Natural State of Arizona
Leon’s Book recommendations:
Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations by David R. Montgomery
How to Reach Leon:
You can send an email to Leon at podcast@urbanfarm.org and it will be forwarded to him.
UrbanFarm.org/leonk
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Mr. Kolankiewicz is absolutely right. We need to halt population growth. Since immigration is what drives U.S. population growth, we need to reduce immigration to levels that will not cause population growth in the U.S.