One thing that California does well is to consider the environment. At the world’s forefront in many environmental issues, Californians make protecting the environment an obligatory concern. From recycling to gas additives to protection of lands, Californians realize the importance of environmental issues.

However, our practices sometimes conflict with our heartfelt intentions. California is growing at a phenomenal rate, and with the added people comes myriad problems. Our urban areas are expanding rapidly. Smog, now mostly from our vehicles as opposed to industry, blankets our valleys and basins.

An example of a California oddity in environmental policy is San Francisco’s water source—Hetch Hetchy. A dam across the front of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park built in 1923 fills a valley said to be equal in magnificence to neighboring Yosemite Valley. Although scientists have recently speculated San Francisco could draw its waters differently, allowing restoration of the valley, many in San Francisco are steadfast about Hetch Hetchy. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein has said, “Hetch Hetchy is San Francisco’s birthright.” One of the most liberal cities in the world fears a slightly progressive environmental agenda in favor of harkening to a technologically outdated water retention system.

This example serves to illustrate a point. Although Californians know what is right for the environment, we are uncomfortable with a lot of change. This ability to overlook environmental concerns when they are inconvenient has put California in danger of losing one of its most amazing characteristics—our natural heritage. Due to a number of geographical factors, including the presence of a coast, mountain ranges, a desert, the highest point in the lower 48, the lowest point in the lower 48, and volcanic and seismic activity, California has developed some of the most unique organisms on the planet. The California Floristic Province, which includes portions of Oregon and Mexico, has over 2,100 plant species and a great variety of animal species. In 1990, Conservation International named the Province a biodiversity hotspot; meaning 70% of the primary habitat has been lost.

Sometimes at ValleyVue, we lament the loss of farmland to development. We must also consider Central Valley land has not always been utilized for agricultural. In a blog that often discusses the development of land to the greatest possible use, we must realize that sometimes the best use is preservation. Right now, 20% of California’s land has been preserved through legislation or purchase by land trusts. However, much of the land protected is not the habitat of the species needing protection. Unfortunately, some of those areas are not the most picturesque, nor are they worthless in terms of human need. It is easier to preserve a beautiful mountaintop than to preserve a parcel of Valley land that could instead become an auto mall.

Land use decision must increasingly consider regional concerns and environmental impact. The state’s current environmental impact laws are not living up to their intention. Right now, developers and environmental scientist often agree the current air impact rules for development generally result in fewer living units per acre and few mixed-use developments in order to satisfy concerns of too much traffic or pollution. This cannot be the way the state operates, or sprawl will continue to spread. As urban areas expand into formerly agricultural areas and undeveloped land, the ecological impacts are clear. What is California now will be gone forever.
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Thanks to our sources: National Geographic, Sacramento Bee, Photographer Dan Borlik