Boardwalk pact splinters resort
OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Battered by protests from environmentalists around the globe, and realizing that the cost might be much higher than expected, officials in this seaside resort are having second thoughts about their decision to buy wood from tropical rainforests to repair the boardwalk.
OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Battered by protests from environmentalists around the globe, and realizing that the cost might be much higher than expected, officials in this seaside resort are having second thoughts about their decision to buy wood from tropical rainforests to repair the boardwalk.
Earlier this year, the City Council voted to buy $1.1 million worth of Brazilian ipe to repair a block-long section of its boardwalk. But the outcry from residents and environmentalists reached around the world, and was a factor in the council reversing itself last month and calling for the contract to be scrapped.
Mayor Sal Perillo, however, insisted the wood would be bought and installed as planned, arguing that to break a lawfully approved contract could expose the city to a lawsuit and discourage other vendors from doing business with Ocean City.
That touched off a blizzard of e-mails from environmentalists urging Ocean City to scrap the rainforest-wood plan in favor of plastic composite lumber or domestic wood that is easily replaceable.
In three weeks, nearly 50,000 missives have flooded Perillo's in-box from as far away as Australia.
"I think it's somewhat silly in that it gets in the way of a legitimate discussion of the issue," Perillo said of the e-mail barrage. "What we did was environmentally responsible. The decision has been made." *
