ENVIRONMENTAL ACRONYMS 101

It seems no single discipline, except for the military, relies more on acronyms to communicate than the environmental sector.  As an environmental consultant, I have uttered sentences like this:  “Based on the NJDEP SRRA, we need a RAWP with a CEA to get the RAO for the VOC and PCB contaminated BDA.”  (Translation: “The suits in Trenton require a wordy plan with pretty maps to protect the water supply if we want to get closure for a really messed-up large piece of property.”)    

So, as an homage to environmental and land use acronyms, here’s a list of some of my personal favorites.  Some are probably familiar, others maybe not.  Many are official governmental acronyms, while others are colloquial.  All are at least a tad humorous, I hope.      

• CAVE dweller:  Citizen Against Virtually Everything:  A staple at many municipal meetings, to the CAVE dweller there has never been a good idea, plan, or compromise... ever. 
• NIMBY: Not In My Backyard:  You know the type - these folks would disapprove of a plan for  an organic garden, solar powered children’s library, or injured bald eagle sanctuary if it meant another building in their neighborhood.  The problem with NIMBY, of course, is that the house or place of business that the NIMBY inhabits was probably once the subject of a NIMBY attack too.  According to the theory, a NIMBY should always be the last one allowed in to any particular locale.
• BANANA republic:  Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone.  This is the union for CAVE dwellers and NIMBYs.  Membership requirements include a permanent scowl and a strong pointer finger that can be waved at anyone disagreeing with them.  
• YIMBY: Yes In My Backyard.  Obviously, the antithesis of NIMBY.  Usually applies only when the topic is an in-ground pool or luau themed keg party. 

• DUDE: Developer Under the Delusion of Entitlement.  This type of developer believes his or her project is so vital to the community that it requires tax breaks, repeal of environmental restrictions, and complete disregard of zoning rules in the form of variances. (Note:  in New Jersey, kickbacks may be required from the developer to achieve the preceding).   In reality, the development is most often just another ill-conceived, cookie cutter, sprawling blight on the neighborhood.  
• BANY: Builders Against NimbYs.  If the BANANA republic is a union for the anti-development lot, the BANY is sort of a think tank for DUDES.  BANY research indicates NIMBYs and CAVEs are no-nothing, anti-progress, codgers and radical, agenda-driven, troublemakers, respectively.       

• URHOT:  Unregulated Heating Oil Tank program.  Seriously, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) thought this was a good abbreviation.  It was later contracted to UHOT - better, but still... when steel oil tanks become sexy, it’s time to get out of the business.  
• BUST:  Bureau of Underground Storage Tanks.  More erotic innuendo from the folks at NJDEP that deal with buried petroleum tanks.  Must be pretty lonely in that department.
• CAFE: Corporate Average Fuel Economy. Usually referred to as “CAFE standards,” they provide auto manufacturers with fuel economy averages and mandatory fleet efficiencies.  CAFE standards are also commonly overheard in Starbucks, as in “well, if my beans aren’t fair trade, double roasted, arabica from the Heredia Province of Costa Rica, I wouldn’t even give it to my neighbor’s mangy dog.”
• LD50: Lethal Dose, 50%.  Commonly used in toxicology and research, it’s the dose of any particularly nasty substance required to kill 50 percent of the test population.  Apparently, it’s a little more than LD49 and a little less than LD51.  Regardless, it’s not something you want to pour on your breakfast cereal.     
• PP: Priority Pollutants.  This publication discourages potty humor, so I won’t explain why this acronym makes me giggle.

Okay, that’s all for this post.  If you made it this far, you are SUPERB (So Unusually Patient at Entirely Reading my Blog)!

Note: For further reading about land use planning jargon, see the following Planetizen Op-Ed piece by Ric Stephens (http://www.planetizen.com/node/152).