California On My Mind.

I have spent a fair bit of time in Southern California, having made a number of trips there in the last decade.  I love it.  But, one of the things that really strikes me each time I am there is the level of development and the incredibly high density of people who reside on or near the coast, how people mange to co exist like that, I don't know.

I often wonder what it was like before the population explosion, pre mass development, when much of the coast was concreted over? I'll bet the line ups were quieter, that's for sure, probably less polluted too.

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy spending time there, else I wouldn't have been so many times.  It's just that being a nature lover, as I am, I can't help wondering how it would have been say in the fifties, which lets face it, ain't that long ago.  My guess is that it would have been a much more pleasant environment, more open space, more wildlife, less people. 


To be fair while the beaches have seen an awful lot of change, by and large they have survived and remain pretty much unscathed.  But when you look back towards land, that's when you realize that the strip of sand is the only open space around, for there is barely any land that doesn't have stuff built on it.  This is particularly true for Orange County and beyond.  Heading towards San Diego on PCH, it seems that the only break in the mass development can be found at the San Onofre State Park.  Sadly even this sanctuary is under threat due to there being plans to extend the highway, right through the middle of the reserve.  The highway project was shelved in 2008, but I do fear that this stay of execution is temporary and that the powers that be will throw their toys around enough and eventually get their way.

The level change that the Californian Coast witnessed in the latter part of the twentieth century is particularly well documented by the California Coastal Records Project.  This is basically a vast photographic record of the entire coastline, border to border, from Oregon to Mexico.  The first of the photos were taken in 1972, with the latest being from 2013, what is striking is the level of development along the coastline in the intervening years.  The site is well worth looking at.

I have a huge place for California in my heart, I really do, but I am really fearful that the natural beauty of the place is being spoiled by this rampant level of development.  I can understand that people want to live there, I would too, but it does worry me that many of the things which make it so special are being destroyed in the name of 'progress'.  For me, heavy industry, strip malls, and highways are no substitute for open country and coastline. I know that I am by no means alone in thinking this, but I just hope that those of us who value the natural environment have a loud enough voice to stand up against the destruction of nature, on such a massive scale.








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