Subject:
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Re: Rolling Blackouts
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Fri, 11 May 2001 20:03:02 GMT
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Viewed:
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540 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Scott P. Costello writes:
> > > Perhaps people will start to realize the economic folly of living in the
> > > desert....
> >
> > I'd say that the folly is not so much living in the desert but trying to turn
> > the desert into an oasis capable of supporting millions of people in a manner of
> > living that is more suited to the humid east than to the Mediterranean climate
> > of Southern California (verdant green lawns, unlimited water use, etc., etc.)
> > I've never been to L.A. (though I certainly plan to),
>
> First and foremost, it is incorrect to say that Southern California, or LA
> is a desert. The beauty of So Cal is that we have variety. Parts of the area
> are desert, but other parts are mountainous, swampy, rolling hills, and even
> forested. You err if you try to paint this area with a broad brush.
I concede that I painted the geography of the region with too broad a brush,
though I certainly meant no offense and I apologize if any was taken. I
understand that the variety of landscape, vegetation, and climate, as well as
proximity to ocean and mountains are factors that make So Cal an attractive
place to live, and rightly so. However, I'd offer (from what I've read, and
heard--correct me if I'm wrong) that Los Angelas has exceeded the carrying
capacity of its environment in terms of supporting so many people in such, as
you admit below, such a wealthy manner of living. Didn't LA drain dry the
Central Valley 80 or so years ago? Sure, LA is wet in the winter, and the
mountains force precipitation from the Pacific air, but water resources are
cause for concern.
> Now I
> agree that many golf courses in Palm Springs are a clear waste of resources,
> especially water, but the same could be easily said of Arizona or many other
> areas.
Indeed. The same can be said for much of Texas, where I live. San Antonio and
Austin sit atop the pristine Edwards Aquifer-a water source of immeasurable
value that is dangerously shrinking because everyone wants to enjoy the good
life of sun, water, and a low cost of living. Heck, even San Antonio probably
wouldn't support a lush lawn of St. Augustine grass without a fair amount of
irrigation. The point that everybody is doing it misses the point. Shame on
all of us for doing it. Again, I mean no disparagement toward your home, but it
is a fact that So Cal, conservation measures notwithstanding, is headed for a
real crisis of available resources. All of America is to blame for that; LA is
our promised land. But how many more people can move there and prodigiously
consume resources without a crisis? When is there not enough energy? When is
there not enough water?
It is also not cheap to live here, I believe this area has the third
> highest average home price in the world. So our residents pay a high price
> for great weather and opportunity.
I wonder, what price do the poor residents pay for the great weather and
opportunity? And are not many of them also paying the price of those third-
highest income earners who are living the good life in the hills and driving
everybody's property values up (the dark side of gentrification)? It seems to
me that the people in Compton are breathing dirtier air and paying higher
utility bills so that the wealthy can enjoy the good life in the hills. (Same
thing happens here in Houston-the suburbanites who are chronically afraid of the
city clog up the freeways and foul the air, but yet don't want to help pay the
cost of city infrastructure or state emissions requirements. In effect, I live
with strict emissions laws in Harris County, but none of the hundreds of
thousands of daily suburb commuters who do a great deal towards making our air
dirty pay a red cent.) Anyway, is So Cal the land of opportunity for both the
poor and rich? It seems to me that in LA, like Houston, the rich sometimes ride
on the backs of the poor.
> but my opinion as an
> > outsider is that that city is an archetype of all that is wrong with our
> > consumer culture.
>
> Finally don’t call it the consumer culture, call it capitalism, and that is
> what makes this nation great. True capitalism inspires individuals to
> greater heights. I always laugh at those anti capitalist crowd protesting
> in their Birkenstock sandals, and Levi jeans. If they really hated
> capitalism so much, they would plant, pick, and loom their own cotton and
> make their own clothes, or, heaven forbid, kill an animal for its coat. Any
> anti-capitalist who posts on the internet is the epitome of hypocrisy.
Indeed again. I believe that capatalism is the best system that has yet been
created. But, capitalism is running amuck and our environment and quality of
life is starting to pay the price. You can't have So Cal (or even Houston - we
have urban sprawl that I'd wager is second only to LA's) without a significant
price to pay. We'd all do well to tone the consumerism aspect of our capitalism
down somewhat.
James
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Rolling Blackouts
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| (...) If all the &%$#! New Yorkers would stop moving here, it wouldn't be a problem. :-) Mono Lake is slowly going back up, and the Owens River exists again. Honestly, if the water had been left in the Owens Valley, you'd simply have seen more (...) (24 years ago, 11-May-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Rolling Blackouts
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| (...) First and foremost, it is incorrect to say that Southern California, or LA is a desert. The beauty of So Cal is that we have variety. Parts of the area are desert, but other parts are mountainous, swampy, rolling hills, and even forested. You (...) (24 years ago, 11-May-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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