“The most significant happening in Pennsylvania witnessed in our lifetime.”  
                                                                                               The Pennsylvania State University

“The biggest boon ever for western Pennsylvania.”                                       
                                                                      U.S. Department of Commerce
                                                                               
“Nothing like Terra Cor exists in the world.”                                                   
                                                        The National Science Foundation

“A project of planetary scale that could affect the world throughout the next century.”
                                                                                                                          French Minister of Energy and Environment

“An institution with the scientific and educational significance for the next century that The Smithsonian was to the last.” 
                                                                                                                  Craver, Mathews, Smith & Co., Washington, D.C.
                                                                               
“Terra Cor International Park will attract up to 14 million annual visitors from throughout America and the world; create 20,000 new jobs at the Park, 30,000 new regional indirect jobs, and tens-of-thousands of additional jobs from the influx of new industry;  generate up to $3 billion of annual regional  economic stimulation; attract new businesses and industries to the region; and halt and reverse the outmigration of our youth.” 
                                                                                                                    The Pennsylvania State University
 

The nonprofit Terra Cor Institution is developing the world’s first truly international park -- a world-class cultural institution that is dedicated: (1) toward addressing domestic problems that will face America in coming generations (especially in the areas of education, science and  technology, space science and exploration, energy independence, environment and the conservation of natural resources, and economic security and international competitiveness; and (2) toward solving current and long-range problems of Pennsylvania regarding economy, education (especially in the sciences and mathematics), science and technology, and the outmigration of the state’s productive citizens. Founded by John Eveland, project development includes two major current initiatives:  (1) the immediate development in western Pennsylvania of Terra Cor International Park, projected to attract 14 million annual visitors from throughout America and the world; and (2) Terra Cor National Laboratory, designed to conduct research of national importance regarding science, energy, and environment, and to outreach education programs to schools and universities, and families and communities throughout America. 

Project Description.  Terra Cor is a state-of-the-art project to create in America the world’s first  international park -- introducing to the world the first in a next generation of interactive cultural theme parks in science, education, environment, and the performing arts.  It is designed as a next generation of cultural institution and entertainment theme park that combines the scientific and educational value of the Smithsonian with the entertainment dynamics of Disney World, the natural ambience of a national park with the cultural significance of Carnegie Hall and Tanglewood, and the romance of San Antonio’s Riverwalk with the international appeal of the Olympics.  It is labeled in Washington as “the Smithsonian of the 21st century” and “a cultural Disney World”.  Terra Cor (Latin meaning ‘heart of earth’) is a strategic shaping of earth and space sciences, humanities, and music and performing arts into the entertainment adventure of a lifetime.  The sum of these elements will result in the most dynamic and interactive cultural institution on Earth. 
    
Terra Cor will serve America and the world as a perpetual gathering place of nations in celebration of mankind and nature through science and the arts.  It is for all ages, for all people, and for all nations to enjoy and learn about science and the arts, about our planet and ourselves.  It is a place of spacemen and moonwalks, of dinosaurs and saber-tooths, of Indians and Eskimos, of wolves and whales, and of music and dance.  Terra Cor will serve Pennsylvania, America, and the world throughout the next century as a unique concept that is good for science and education, good for energy and environment, and good for our economy.

Terra Cor National Laboratory.  Terra Cor National Laboratory (for education, science and technology, and environment) is perhaps the country’s most comprehensive attempt to address science,  the state-of-education in America, and the  health of our global environment.  It represents a grand private/public research and development partnership among Terra Cor and government, universities, industry, and concerned Americans.  The lab will serve as both a research center for scientific discovery and technology, and as a national educational outreach center. 

Location. Terra Cor is to be sited at the demographically best location in America  -- epicentered in western Pennsylvania within 100 miles of 8.3 million people and accessible to over half of the populations of  the U.S. and Canada (170 million people) who reside within 500 miles (a 10-hour drive) of the Park.
Many of our national and international visitors  will fly into Pittsburgh International Airport and travel via mass transit from the airport to downtown and then on to Terra Cor.  A planned mass transit system will also make Terra Cor readily accessible to the cities of Cleveland, Erie, and Buffalo.  Terra Cor International Park represents Pennsylvania’s greatest tourism destination and only major international attraction, and is an unparalleled tourism opportunity not duplicated anywhere else in America.

Project Development.  To date, nearly $6,000,000 has been invested in completing Stage I of project development, including cooperative agreements, resources, and services from federal, state, and county governments, and significant private support.  Terra Cor has been enthusiastically endorsed by federal agencies, state government, county governments and county commissioners, U.S. congressman, state senators and legislators, the media (Terra Cor has been featured in many newspapers and television news presentations, as well as a PBS television special), and, especially, by the public.  The project enjoys the support of both major labor and  industry.

Project development is now entering Stage II of the four-stage development process.  Terra Cor’s core staff of administrative, professional,  and technical personnel is poised to begin full headquarters operation within 30 days of Stage II funding. Join with the many supporters of Terra Cor toward becoming a partner in creating the world’s first and only truly international park and in establishing a personal and lasting legacy.

Studies conducted by The Pennsylvania State University,  a Pittsburgh-area architectural and engineering firm, and Washington-based fund planners have indicated that Terra Cor International Park  will attract 14,000,000 annual visitors from throughout America and the world (representing the state’s biggest national and only international tourist attraction), create up to 30,000 jobs at the Park and a total of up to 100,000 regional jobs, generate up to $3 billion of annual regional economic stimulation, significantly improve education throughout the region and the state, stimulate new science and technology industries, halt the outmigration of the state’s productive citizens (Pennsylvania’s “brain drain”), and attract new businesses and industries to western Pennsylvania. Terra Cor’s  programs will significantly affect the well-being of America for generations, and create a new foundation for Pennsylvania deemed by Penn State studies to be “the most significant happening in Pennsylvania witnessed in our lifetime”, and by the U.S. Department of Commerce as “the biggest boon ever for  western Pennsylvania.”

Recently  The Pennsylvania State University  updated  a previously-conducted socioeconomic impact study  and presented the report to the Pennsylvania State Senate in Harrisburg.  The economic benefit as reported by Penn State is dramatic, and could, in itself, significantly improve the socioeconomic climate of the region and the state for generations.  The benefits in number of visitors, jobs, and annual economic stimulation are projected to not only eclipse any single tourism, entertainment, science, or performing arts center in the region; but are of the magnitude to exceed the economic development potential of all of these currently-operating regional enterprises combined.  According to a Pittsburgh study, all visitor entertainment attractions and tourism venues in Allegheny County create 40,000 jobs and generate $3 billion of annual economic stimulation. Terra Cor is projected to produce an equal number of jobs and annual economic revenue as all of Allegheny County visitor, entertainment, and tourism venues COMBINED!

As a result, the Pennsylvania Senate Chairman of Appropriations stated:  “As (the) Penn State study indicates, the many benefits of Terra Cor (14,000,000 annual visitors, tens-of-thousands of jobs, over a billion dollars of annual regional economic stimulation, and the ability to attract new industries to the region) are staggering in their magnitude.  The development of Terra Cor within the region would improve the quality of life for the many thousands of people who would construct and operate the Park, and serve the social and cultural needs of millions of citizens from throughout the region and the state who will recreate and learn at Terra Cor.  I applaud your efforts, and endorse the development of Terra Cor in western Pennsylvania.  I encourage all those in private and public service to participate in this visionary project.”

Terra Cor is, however, not just about economy. Terra Cor was designed to also address many other significant problems that will plague America throughout the new century.  Terra Cor is about education, about science and technology, about space science and the space race,  about environment and energy, and about economy and America’s competitiveness in the global marketplace.  If we address these major problems, then the economies of Pennsylvania and America will resolve themselves

Today, western Pennsylvania is searching for ideas and attractions that will create new jobs, stimulate the economy, and halt the outmigration of the region’s young productive work force.  In contrast, Terra Cor is not a concept that was designed to solely address Pennsylvania’s economic ills, but, instead, a state-of-the-art mechanism to develop a global-scale cultural institution so significant that it will affect educational, scientific, social, and environmental problems that will face America throughout the coming century.  In so doing, however, the secondary benefits of Terra Cor will generate an economic prosperity greater than any other Pennsylvania regional project witnessed in our lifetime.

Regarding Education. Terra Cor will create an incentive in children to excel academically, to stay in school and graduate, to attend college, and to develop career goals.  Our education initiative is specifically designed to address projected statewide and national deficits in science, math, and engineering.  Everyday parking lots at the Park will be filled with school buses from around the state, and, in addition, Terra Cor will outreach programs daily to the state’s 500 school districts.  There is no proposed state education initiative that could serve the children of the Commonwealth and the educational goals of state government more effectively than Terra Cor.

Regarding Science and Technology.  Without a spirit of discovery, a society has no way of expanding its base of knowledge.  We are in a scientific and technological race for dominance in the world, a race so critical that only a first-place finish will secure our future.  It has been reported that we will soon experience a deficit of a million homegrown scientists and engineers, and America will increasingly rely on foreign expertise -- even in the development of some of our most strategic  technologies.

Terra Cor’s programs in earth and space science, energy technology, and biomedical research will excite children to enter these career fields, provide a foundation for the creation of new science and technology companies, and attract new scientific industries to the state.  Terra Cor is designed to stimulate an intense interest and motivation in the sciences; to generate a continuing flow of American scientists and engineers; and to develop new technologies from our new scientific discoveries that will solve America’s problems, improve the quality of life for our people, bolster our economy, and keep us not only competitive, but the technological leader of the world.

Regarding Space Science.  As stated in the Star Trek television series, space is ‘the new frontier’.  We are in the infant stages of space exploration, and yet many of our everyday conveniences, necessities, and defense technologies -- from microwave ovens to cell phones -- are products of the space industry.  These new technologies create jobs, stimulate our economy, improve our competitiveness in the global marketplace, and maintain our global technological superiority.

The importance that Terra Cor’s National Space Science Center will have upon the societies and economies of Pennsylvania and America cannot be overstated.  Terra Cor has  the most state-of-the-art space science center in America.  This center, in itself, will have the great public appeal to attract millions of visitors from throughout the nation and from around the world.  It will be a most dynamic educational tool and motivator toward creating a next-generation of American scientists, space explorers, engineers, and mathematicians.  Our  beyond-state-of-the-art designs  will push advanced  technologies to the next level of development.

Regarding Tourism.  As mentioned, Terra Cor represents Pennsylvania’s greatest and only international tourist attraction -- attracting up to 14,000,000 visitors each year from national and international  arenas.  Terra Cor is projected to serve more people than the Carnegie Science Center, Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, Pittsburgh Zoo, Phipps Conservatory, National Aviary, Heinz Hall, PPG Pavilion, David Lawrence Convention Center, and Station Square -- COMBINED!  This represents not just a recycling of local money within the western Pennsylvania regional economy, but a real infusion of hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars annually into the regional system from national and international tourism.

Regarding Economy.  Terra Cor is designed to supply America with a next generation of American scientists, engineers, and mathematicians; to promote the advancement of science and the development of new American technologies; to improve the  competitiveness of America in the world marketplace; and to enhance the long-term economies of Pennsylvania and America.  Terra Cor will be instrumental in creating new industries and new jobs -- not just tens-of-thousands at Terra Cor and within Pennsylvania, but hundreds-of-thousands throughout America.  Studies indicate that in Pennsylvania Terra Cor is projected to create up to 100,000 jobs, attract new industries, and generate up to $3 billion of annual regional economic stimulation.  Terra Cor is projected to create more jobs and generate more annual revenue than all three new sports stadiums, the convention center,  and Carnegie Science Center -- COMBINED --  at a small fraction of the public cost for any one of them!

Regarding Outmigration. Penn State studies indicate that Terra Cor will stop the outmigration of Pennsylvanians and the state’s “brain drain”, and reverse the trend by creating new businesses and attracting new industries, families, and creative young people.  The Pittsburgh region has lost 400,000 people in the last four decades, and continues to lose citizens at the rate of 10,000 per year.   Terra Cor will revitalize the City of Pittsburgh, considering that many of the 14 million national and international visitors to Terra Cor will fly into and vacation in the City of Pittsburgh during their trips to Terra Cor International Park.  Terra Cor has, in itself, the great potential to solve the most significant problem of the City of Pittsburgh and all of western Pennsylvania -- the outmigration of its citizens -- and will return to their homes those tens-of-thousands of displaced Steelers fans who continue to leave the city and the region at a devastating rate.

Regarding Energy and Environment.  A practical approach is needed in reaching a balance that assures the health of natural systems  without compromising a strong and vibrant economy.  The populations of America and the world are burgeoning and the demands on living space and natural resources unending.  Terra Cor is positioned to dramatically improve the national and global plight of both energy and environment.  Terra Cor takes a responsible approach to energy and environment, and our educational programs, visitor attractions, and scientific research toward assessing impacts to national and global ecosystems, advancing global climate science, and pursuing energy independence will bring acclaim and pride to western Pennsylvania.  Terra Cor’s proposed Energy and Natural Resources Conservation Center will present students and visitors with dynamic energy programs and exhibits in both conventional and alternative energy sources and technologies.  SMART technologies will enlighten visitors to the importance of new technologies and practices in energy and natural resources conservation.  Terra Cor’s environmental programs both at the Park and at the National Lab are state-of-the-art.  An existing official federal cooperative agreement with EPA’s Office of the Administrator determined Terra Cor to be “the single-most effective means at both national and international levels for the long-term protection of our natural environment.”  Paraphrasing, “There is no project that exists in America nor the world that is of more significance to the long-range maintenance of a quality environment than Terra Cor.”

Regarding Global Competitiveness.   A famous sports personality once wrote, “We don’t need to design a game plan to defeat everyone, only our strongest opponent.”  So America must focus on our strongest competitor.  Within 20 years it is estimated that the Far East will exceed America by becoming the world’s number one economy -- the new leader of the world.   America can capitulate, or accept this as an educational, scientific, technological, and economic challenge.  Without action now, we and our children (not nebulous future generations) will be in dire jeopardy.  Terra Cor is designed to address this problem by creating a next-generation of American scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and technicians.  In addition, the Governor of Pennsylvania announced new efforts to attract foreign students (22,000 per year) to Pennsylvania colleges -- representing future business opportunities for the state.  Studies indicate that Terra Cor will attract up to 14,000,000 annual visitors from throughout America and the world.  Our Ambassador Programs are specifically designed to attract foreign visitors, especially foreign students, to Terra Cor (in Pennsylvania), to enlighten them about America and Americans, and to improve our global image by returning the students home as our ambassadors toward influencing their families, friends, and associates regarding dealings with Pennsylvania and America.  Terra Cor can enhance the effectiveness of the governor’s initiative by hundreds-of-times the number of foreign visitors each year at a smaller state investment than the current initiative proposed by the state.

Regarding Homeland Security and Global Stability.  Once again  the Olympics  has occurred. Over two million people from around the world  gathered for a few weeks to rub shoulders, compete, develop friendships, and, most importantly, shed cultural barriers toward  gluing together the fabric of our global society a little stronger than it was the month before.  Then the people of the world  returned home to not again assemble in the spirit of friendly competition for another four years.  The Olympics has represented possibly the world’s  greatest mechanism toward promoting global stability.

In this regard, Terra Cor will attract 14 million people every year, and will serve as a perpetual gathering place of nations in the true spirit of the  Olympics -- not just once every four years, but every day of every year.  With our large and continuous global market,  our ambassador programs (to be coordinated through cooperative agreements with select federal agencies), and outreach programs, we will instill in millions of international visitors each year a new image of America and her people, and return them home throughout the world as America’s new ambassadors toward improving our global image, ameliorating international tensions, securing our homeland, and enhancing our national security. Terra Cor has the potential to become one of America’s greatest assets toward homeland and national security, and the world’s best chance for long-term future stability.

Regarding  National Security. An international public opinion survey conducted recently by the PEW Foundation indicated that the image of the United States is declining worldwide -- especially in Islamic countries.

On October 11, 2001, one month after 9/11, President Bush stated, “One of the best ways to fight terrorism is to show the people of the world the true spirit and character of America.”.

Terra Cor was designed as an American initiative of global scale that could address our international image and America’s long-term security threat. From our mission statement: “Terra Cor, the world’s first truly International Park, will foster an Olympic spirit of understanding, tolerance, friendship, and cooperation that will serve America and the world as a perpetual gathering place of nations in celebration of mankind and nature through science and the arts.”

To accomplish this goal, Terra Cor has a broad international theme, targets a global market, and implements ambassador programs that are designed to bring foreign individuals and groups to Terra Cor to partake in our programs and witness our way of life, and to learn the true story about America and her people.

Within the past decade, America has been faced with a series of crises -- homeland and national security, environment and climate change, energy, and economy.  Add to these our projected declining stature in world leadership, our deficit of scientists and engineers that adversely impacts our competitiveness in the global marketplace, and our fundamental challenge to adequately educate our youth.  The common element among these national crises is that they remain current, unsolved, and growing.  Terra Cor was designed to address these long-range domestic and national security crises; and as a result of its western Pennsylvania siting, will additionally address many of those serious problems that have plagued the state for decades.

Our unique western Pennsylvania siting and system of connecting interstate highways locate Terra Cor within 500 miles (a 10-hour drive) of over half the citizens of both America and Canada -- over 170,000,000 people.  Many of our national and international visitors will fly into Pittsburgh International Airport and travel via mass transit from the airport to downtown and then on to Terra Cor.  A planned mass transit system will also make Terra Cor readily accessible to the cities of Cleveland, Erie, and Buffalo.  Terra Cor International Park represents Pennsylvania’s greatest tourism destination and only major international attraction, and is an  unparalleled tourism opportunity not duplicated anywhere else in America.

Terra Cor International Park is projected to return up to $3 billion of annual economic stimulation for western Pennsylvania, up to 100,000 jobs, new businesses and industries, and educational, scientific, and technological benefits that are difficult to quantify at this time.  From figures in our Penn State socioeconomic and FMG architectural and engineering studies, the project will return 2,000 times government’s investment funding as economic development each and every year -- an annual return on investment of 200,000%. In addition, studies conducted by The Pennsylvania State University indicate that Terra Cor will generate $450 million of tax revenue for federal, state, and local governments during the construction phase of the Park, and $900 million to over $1 billion of annual tax revenue during operation. The magnitude of project long-term benefits for America toward improving education, the development of science and technology, space science and exploration, energy research and independence, environment and the conservation of natural resources, and economy and our competitiveness in the global marketplace remain, according to studies, too great to predict at this time.

In short, Terra Cor will generate  unparalleled benefits for Pennsylvania and America.  There is no other project that has the great diversity and magnitude of benefits for America and Pennsylvania than the development of Terra Cor International Park.   According to the National Science Foundation, “Nothing like Terra Cor exists in the world.”

There are not many globally-significant target destinations in America for international travelers:  New York City, the Grand Canyon, and Disney World to name a few.  Terra Cor International Park will join this elite group as one of America’s greatest tourism destinations.   It is staggering to fully quantify the great magnitude of multiplicative benefits that would result for the long-term socioeconomic security of citizens in over half of the state’s counties, including the City of Pittsburgh. With but nominal Stage II government partnership funding, Terra Cor is now poised to raise all remaining capital construction funding (96% of total development funding) from private sources, and create a truly American legacy and most significant millennial gift to the world.

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