Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a relatively new technique for oil development. If you would like to read up on fracking, consult the transcript of today’s Land Use Report at kusp.org/landuse. Fracking is already underway in the southern part of Monterey County, and the Aromas area may soon become a target for oil development, using fracking or related techniques. A group called Aromas Cares For Our Environment has established a Facebook page, and is getting organized!

One of the problems with fracking (not counting the global warming impacts of burning more hydrocarbon fuels) is the fact that it is largely unregulated. That may change. The California State Department of Conservation has released a set of proposed regulations. I have put a link to these proposed regulations in today’s transcript. The link will get you to a discussion draft of the regulations, and to a set of frequently asked questions. You can also “subscribe” to email bulletins about the regulatory approval process.

Environmental groups think that the proposed regulations are not very strong, and are specifically concerned about water quality and water supply impacts. If you are enjoying the holidays, that is good! But think about getting involved in this issue next year! The Department’s goal is to begin the formal rulemaking process in early 2013. 

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• What Is Fracking?
• Wikipedia - Fracking
• Aromas Cares For Our Environment Facebook Page

Happy Holidays in general, and Merry Christmas in particular! Those who live on California’s Central Coast have a lot to celebrate. From Big Sur to Año Nuevo, this part of the coast is pretty spectacular, in terms of the natural environment. It is also pretty spectacular where self-government and political involvement are concerned.

I routinely invite KUSP listeners to check out the Land Use Report blog I prepare each week. This blog is found at kusp.org/landuse. It is basically a compilation of the transcripts of each of the Land Use Report segments that air on KUSP, plus links to additional information. One of the links is a link to my personal blog, which I call “Two Worlds.” We live, most immediately, in a world that we actually create ourselves, since our policy or “political” decisions really determine exactly how we configure this world that we create. Ultimately, though, we live in a natural world, a world we sometimes call “the environment,” and it is upon this natural world that we ultimately depend.

We are particularly blessed by the natural world, here on the Central Coast, but we have also been particularly successful in creating a “political” process that has helped preserve and protect that natural world. Today, in other words, we have two reasons to celebrate!

More Information:

Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog

I have been waxing rather philosophical during this holiday season. Of course, there aren’t too many governmental meetings to announce during the time between Christmas and New Year’s. That definitely helps account for the more philosophical tone of this week’s Land Use Report. Today also happens to be my birthday, and while it’s not one of those birthdays with a “zero” at end, it’s getting there! Age and reflection tend to go together. Today, I am thinking birthday thoughts on land use.

I first became involved in public life as part of an effort to “Save Lighthouse Field,” which is located right at the northernmost point of Monterey Bay. In 1972, this was the last undeveloped piece of the coast within the city limits of the City of Santa Cruz. And it still is. Lighthouse Field is still pretty much the same today as it was back then because of land use choices made by the local community.

We live, first, in a Natural World (the environment) that ultimately sustains all life. But we create another world within the World of Nature. We get to choose the kind of world we build. We get to decide whether to defer to Nature, or to pave it over. Out of the choices we make comes the world we inhabit. So, pay attention to land use. It’s important. Take a walk on West Cliff Drive. Think about what we have done, and are doing. And get ready for some personal involvement in the year to come!

More Information:

Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog

Speaking of philosophical thoughts (and given that I can’t direct you to a City Council or Board of Supervisors’ meeting until we get to the New Year), have you ever thought about utopia?

During my last two years as an undergraduate student, I participated in an Honors Program in Social Thought and Institutions. This was a small seminar class, with perhaps twenty or so students. During our junior year, we did directed readings on one single word. In our senior year, each student wrote an honors’ thesis related to the word we studied. The word we studied was “utopia.” I ended up writing an honors’ thesis entitled, “The Future of Change in America.”

My study of “utopia” does relate to my perspectives on land use policy and planning. Our planning efforts can be based on the idea that we need to plan ahead to “accommodate” the growth and development that is happening to us. That is traditionally what planning is all about. But there is another way to think about planning. The utopian way! We can ask ourselves, “What kind of world do we want?” Then, we can base our planning on that vision of what we would like to achieve.

In my opinion, which approach we take is the most important issue in land use planning. Are we just accommodating what is happening to us? Or are we going to decide what we want to make happen, to create the world we think is best?

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog

President Obama has announced that he will add 2,093 square nautical miles to the sanctuary system off California, expanding protection from Bodega Bay in Sonoma County to Point Arena in Mendocino County. Richard Charter, a Senior Fellow at The Ocean Foundation, said that "this is an historic and globally significant piece of protection." It is also something that Richard Charter has been working to accomplish for about 35 years. 

President Obama gets credit for using his executive powers to get around the refusal of the House of Representatives to extend the Sanctuary's boundaries. Great credit should also be given to Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative Lynn Woolsey, who have been working tirelessly in Congress to make this happen. 

But Richard Charter gets a large share of the credit, too! He has been working to protect the California coast for a long time, and whatever his "job title" may have been, he has never ceased to be a "citizen activist" for ocean and coastal protection. The transcript of today’s Land Use Report has a link to a more extensive discussion, but know this: Richard Charter first began working for coastal and ocean protection as a contractor for Santa Cruz County. He, and other local activists, applying our brand of “utopian thinking,” helped create the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary, and have made this latest sanctuary expansion happen, too.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• San Francisco Chronicle Article on Sanctuary Expansion
• Chronicle Article Recognizing Senator Boxer and Representative Woolsey