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Looking Ahead to a Sustainable Future |
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by Pat Veesart
Pat Veesart, an Enforcement Supervisor with the CA Coastal Commission, spoke at a fundraiser for a local group who is suing the county over Measure J. He spoke with passion and urgency.
(Adapted from a speech given at a Citizens for Planning Responsibility fundraiser in San Luis Obispo)
I have been thinking a lot about sustainability and my community lately and trying to see into the future. I’m afraid that there is good news and bad news: The good news is that we, as a community, are finally going to embrace sustainability in the not-too-distant future. The bad news is that there is probably going to be a period of uncomfortable adjustment associated with that. What I see in my crystal ball are two events coming together to form a “perfect storm” of change: The first is global climate change; the second is Peak Oil. What will these events will look like in San Luis Obispo County and what we can be doing to prepare ourselves for the changes they will bring?
Contrary to popular belief, Al Gore did not invent global warming. Many credible voices have been raising the issue of global climate change for decades. And while I am grateful that Mr. Gore has made it his mission to spread the word about global warming, I still have not forgiven him and Bill Clinton for occupying space in the White House for eight years and doing essentially nothing about it. Like Mr. Gore and Mr. Clinton, we as a society have also chosen to ignore the warning signals until now when it is too late to fully avoid the impacts. Even now, in the face of the disappearing ice cap and daily predictions of hundreds of millions of humans being displaced by sea level rise and the lack of food and water, we are doing almost nothing. The longer we wait, the more we will regret having waited…
One recent article suggests, rather cynically, that with global warming upon us, it is not a very good idea to be poor and to live in a hot climate. While there is no doubt that our unsustainable lifestyle has greatly contributed to the pending global disaster, those of us fortunate enough to live in SLO County are neither poor nor do we live in an equatorial region. However, if you are still so shameless as to be smug about that, be aware that there will also be severe impacts locally. Global warming will likely mean hotter summers, drier winters, more droughts, longer droughts, and reduced water supplies. Sea level rise will affect development along the coast and coastal economies. California’s traditional water sources will be greatly impacted. The Sierra Nevada will have less snow pack; reservoirs will dry up. The lack of reliable water will negatively affect California’s multi-billion dollar agricultural industry and impact food supplies across the nation. Many Californians are likely to be unemployed as a result.
In our county, like everywhere, a sustainable future will depend upon protecting and conserving our water supplies and our ability to grow food. That means not using our limited water supplies and storage capacity to water more McMansions; that means conserving our productive agricultural lands and not covering them with housing tracts and shopping centers; that means implementing strong conservation measures now to slow or halt groundwater overdraft.
I know that some of my friends in the conservation community will disagree with me, but I now think it is critical that we look at ways to increase water storage and local supply in SLO County. But, it is equally critical that we do not allow increased water supply (in the short term) to result in the development of “Paso Maria” along the Highway 101 corridor or any other sprawl development. We will need extra water to weather the inevitable droughts, not to make profits for the building/real estate industry. Communities that have water will survive; those that do not won’t. And for those of you who think that desal will save our bacon, think again. Rising energy costs are likely to make desal, at least on a large scale, a non-starter in the future.
Global warming is already affecting native plant and animal species in SLO County. Major changes are inevitable, and California’s incredible diversity will suffer. What we must do, however, is continue efforts to protect and preserve natural landscapes and habitat so as to give wildlife a fighting chance to survive. Preserving watersheds will benefit both humans and non-humans. Preserving our native oak woodlands slows global warming, provides critical habitat, and conserves water. Water is essential to all species, not just big-brained mammals.
Probably sometime in 2005, the world hit peak oil production. What that means is that the majority of the world’s exploitable oil resources have been found and tapped. And while we may hit a gusher or two in the years to come, world oil production is going to steadily decline while world oil demand is increasing. Growing economies in Asia and other parts of the “Third World” are fueling demand for oil and will further drive global warming. We can only hope that the supply of the nasty stuff will run out before we destroy the planet. In any event, there is going to be less oil for us, and the cost will be high. Gasoline prices are going to rise and keep on rising. You will pine for the days of $3-a-gallon gasoline. We have been living large on cheap oil for far too long, but the party is about to end.
The implications of Peak Oil are huge and potentially very dangerous. More wars will be fought over dwindling supplies. The global economy will be affected tremendously. The cost of transporting goods will skyrocket. People will be traveling less and not as far. Local food production and consumption will be critical. We will not be eating Chilean asparagus anymore. Again, fortunately for us, if you draw a 150-mile radius around San Luis Obispo, there is almost nothing that can’t be grown locally. From the Santa Maria Valley to the Central Valley to the green fields of the Salinas Valley, we live in the center of one of the most highly productive agricultural regions in the world. Add to that our proximity to the ocean, and we are in a pretty good place to weather the coming storm.
So what should we be doing locally to prepare for global warming and peak oil? Pretty much what the environmental community has been telling us to do for quite some time: We need to protect agricultural lands, eschew oil-based pesticides and fertilizers, grow organically, buy locally, conserve water, clean up our ocean, be more efficient in how we use energy, build smaller houses and compact communities, live closer to where we work, get out of our automobiles and build alternative transportation systems, protect habitat and watersheds, slow down population growth, build community, and be involved in local government. We need to dump local politicians who continue to value short-term profits over long-term sustainability. We need to do these things now.
We are fortunate in that we do have a good local community. We live in a beautiful place and, for the most part, the members of our community are good people who want to do the right thing. We will survive the hard times ahead the same way our grandparents (or great-grandparents) survived the Great Depression – by pulling together as a community; by helping each other out. We need to take the Golden Rule to heart. We are going to need each other.
Two quotes seem appropriate to this topic: “A pessimism of the intellect, an optimism of the will,” and “A luminous intelligence directed at the heart of darkness.” We must remain optimistic in the face of darkness; we must be that luminous intelligence. The changes may come very quickly. We must prepare ourselves, set a good example, and lay the foundation for survival. If not us, who?
Pat Veesart is Enforcement Supervisor with the CA Coastal Commission, former SLO County Planning Commissioner, and former Director of ECOSLO. He may be reached at HCR 69 Box 3132, California Valley, CA 93453. 805.475.2917 / 805.585.1816 work / q.douglasii@hotmail.com
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