Re: NIMBYs Protest Toll Road Extension

On Feb 12, 2:12 am, robcar <robc...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
On Feb 10, 2:40 pm, "brink" <brinknos...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Scott in SoCal" <scottenazt...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in messagenews:l8psq3pvufaur64qpu51ag3rrmq0o85rm5@xxxxxxxxxx
This is true of nearly any state, esp west of the Mississippi.  Florida has
the Everglades, West Texas is a barren "wasteland," outstate Minnesota,
Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Pennsylvania are a vast plain of (often
frozen) farmlands, etc. etc.  But based on supply and demand it seems to me
that California has the largest amount of liveable and desireable real
estate in the entire US, and the growth sure ain't slowing down.
I happen to think we're going to see not just continued residential
development in the inland areas, but a strong employment development.  It
only makes sense; companies will take advantage of the lower construction
and wage costs in these areas and there will be millions of employees in
those areas who would gladly take the jobs and the better quality of life of
not having to spend 2+ hours in traffic each day.

What will ultimately put the brakes on all development and growth in
CA will be water.  The state's supply is strained at present, and
climate change models show a bleaker future for the state.  Unless the
rate of water transfer from agricultural uses to urban users
accelerates -- which will eventually doom California's invaluable
agricultural sector -- there won't be much more water available to new
urban users in the growing parts of the state.  Californians won't
stand for any new dams to be built -- and state and federal
environmental laws limit the diversion of more water from the state's
rivers.  So California has to essentially make do with what it has.
And it will be getting less from the Colorado River in the near
future.  So unless desalinisation or reuse become economically
feasible or publicly acceptable, growth simply will slow to a crawl
before too long.

I actually think that's a good thing.

And I see a long term resurgence of the Great Lakes states, where
there is plenty of water. There are concerns about drawdown from the
lakes and the inland aquifers, and limitations on what you can do with
lake water. However, when you compare our water issues to the issues
of the western and Pacific Coast states, they seem tiny in
comparison. It's not a common occurence, but occasionally a Chicago
suburb or exurb will abandon its well system and gain a hookup to Lake
Michigan.

And Chicago's western and southwestern suburbs are an anomalous growth
area, one of the few areas of explosive growth not in the west, south
or southern Atlantic seaboard. I look at Milwaukee-Chicago-Michigan
City-Benton Harbor and Detroit-Toledo-Cleveland-Erie as great lands of
opportunity in the next 100 years, rather than worn out rust belt
communities.

RP
.