Articles in North America
Hearings on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project
Federal Canadian hearings will begin on March 30 to consider the controversial Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project, which would transfer fossil fuels between the tar sands districts of Alberta and the Pacific port of Kitimat in British Columbia. The project is often viewed as an alternative to the equally controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would connect the tar sands with the oil refineries of the Gulf Coast in Texas.
The Political Contradictions of Anti-Urban NIMBY Activism in California
This final entry on Northern California will conclude the series by elaborating on the previously stated thesis that the local drive to protect urban and inner suburban neighborhoods from development is self-contradictory. Although anti-development activists incline to the left, their land-use policies are actually conservative, undermining their own larger agenda. Earlier posts looked at environmental sustainability and class divergence, contending …
Bay Area Rainfall Forecasts—and Results
A recent GeoNote praised the U.S. National Weather Service for its accurate rainfall prediction maps, noting as well the specific forecast that had just been made for northern California’s impending storm. As that storm has passed, it now seems reasonable to ask how well the Weather Service did. The answer: not very, but in a very interesting way. The foreseen …
The Mismatch Between Population and Mass Transit In the San Francisco Bay Area
Recent GeoCurrents posts have stressed the environmental and economic desirability of urban intensification in the San Francisco Bay Area based on high-density, pedestrian-oriented housing developments near public transit stations. Today, such fully urban areas are essentially limited to northeastern San Francisco—a very desirable and expensive place. Elsewhere in the Bay Area, density varies from low to moderate.
A variety of “walkability …
Anti-Urbanization and Economic Irrationality in Silicon Valley
The previous post noted that opposition to urban intensification has negative economic as well as environmental repercussions. Such consequences, are experienced in and around all of the thriving cities of the United States, but nowhere more than in the San Francisco Bay Area. Here, the economic and technological marvel of Silicon Valley is fettered by outrageous housing costs that are …
Exclusivity and Anti-Environmentalism in Palo Alto and Vicinity
The previous GeoCurrents post argued that opponents of urban intensification in wealthy suburban communities such as Palo Alto, California are motivated in part by their desire to protect their property values. Commentator Nick Baldo took issue with that assessment, arguing that increased density actually has the opposite effect. In retrospect, I think that Baldo is correct. Environmentally responsible “smart growth” …
Anti-Environmental Environmentalism in California’s Bay Area, Part II
As the previous post noted, the new environmental consensus calls for urban intensification to reduce of greenhouse gas emissions and preserve rural landscapes. In the San Francisco Bay Area, such an ideal has been widely embraced in principle by both leading environmental groups and regional associations. The 2007 housing report by ABAG, the Association of Bay Area Governments, opens by …
Anti-Environmental Environmentalism in California’s Bay Area
The previous GeoCurrents post ended on a controversial note, contending that although the wealthy suburban communities of the San Francisco Bay Area seem decidedly liberal, they actually embrace highly conservative policies at the local level. Before I attempt to validate this claim, a word of warning is in order. The entire issue is muddied by terminological imprecision, and even more …
Rethinking California’s Political Divide
Recent GeoCurrents posts on Northern California have emphasized the political divide between the left-leaning coast and the right-leaning interior. Such an analysis is reinforced by an incisive new report, David Latterman’s “The California Political Precinct Index,” published by the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good at the University of San Francisco. Based on returns from …
The Hippie Migration to Mendocino and the Establishment of a Cannabis-Based Economy
Although the hippie movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s may seem like a historical curiosity, its consequences were profound. It continues, moreover, to be a contentious topic, often used to score points in political debates. The New Republic, for example, is currently running a slideshow entitled “The Weekly Standard’s Obsession with Hippies Continues,” which pillories the conservative magazine …
Terranova: The Black Petaltail - A Novel
Diversity Amid Globalization: World Regions, Environment, Development (5th Edition)
Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World (3rd Edition)
