The natural world has much to teach us, and at Bucks Audubon we have a particular fondness for looking to the birds for those lessons. We’ve learned, for example, that even the best built nest – a marvel of avian engineering- is at risk if it’s built in a failing tree. It’s a lesson that our county, our state, and our country has been painfully learning for years. We’ve neglected our infrastructure for so long, been so focused on feathering our nests, that the foundation has crumbled beneath our feet.
That foundation is infrastructure, and is made up of built components like roads, bridges, ports and buildings, and natural ones like forests and farmland that capture carbon, meadows that filter out pollution so we have clean water to drink and absorb stormwater to mitigate floods and healthy soil to grow nourishing food. All of it has been neglected for too long and the stress of the past few years, including the pandemic and ever more frequent and damaging storms, has shown us the cracks in our foundation. Our supply chains are struggling and our economy is burdened by ever more expensive natural disasters. Our food, water and health are compromised, in turn putting more and more strain on our healthcare systems.
The infrastructure bill that was recently passed by Congress, and signed into law by President Biden on November 15th, is a much needed step to give us a solid foundation for a healthy future. The legislation will benefit Pennsylvania in many ways including funding improvements for our roads and bridges and addressing climate change by investing in clean energy, sustainable agriculture and well managed forests. Damage from fossil fuel development will be cleaned up and clean drinking water provided by replacing lead pipes and cleaning up PFAS pollution.
This investment in our infrastructure is an investment in a secure future, for our people, our environment, and our economy.
American Robin Nest Image Credit – Tom Warren/Audubon Photography Awards
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