Urban Sprawl must be Stopped

[Strike For The South]

And now a rant. I live outside of 1604 in San Antonio TEXAS now when I moved here 9 years ago my mum wanted to move in closer becuase she didnt want to live this far out in the country. Me on the other hand loved it I use to be able to explore and find deer snakes and even a coyote now and then (dont worry I ran) Now here I sit and my beatufial hill country is being whored by dirty yankees and captilst pig city planners. I now live in a vitrual zone of suffacation. Not to mention its getting worse. I am now in fear of actually becoming a city slicker. THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN. Orgahs we think of how to stop this.

[Viking]

I have great plans for the place where I live. If you send over a few thousand Texanians, our problems might be solved.

[_Martyr_]

SFTS, the exact same thing happened to us here in Dublin. Sounds like we are both victims of bad planning! It turned out the guy who rezoned our local land from agricultural to residential took massive bribes from the building lobby to do so... now we live in the middle of a runaway sprawl where only 7 years ago it was practically countryside... Sad really!

[Gregoshi]

Thanks for the invite sfts. I'll pack up my family of dirty yankees and head on down to friendly San Antone.

BTW, it is happening up here in dirty Yankylvania too. We breed like rodents apparently.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Well Strike there are still bastions of untouched wildlife, you might have to become a yankee to experience the untouched wildlife of Vermont though. We have very few people, our state capital is the smallest one in the US and does not even have a McDonald's.

So now which is the greater state? The expanding sprawl of Texas or the tiny, yet undespoiled wildnerness of Vermont?

[Crazed Rabbit]

Stupid urbanites moving into the country get into a hissy fit whenever they hear guns or smell manure. I suggest (safely and legally!!!!) go hunting, or shooting, on your property whenever they do house tours. Of course, the urbanites in Texas might not be as wimpy as elsewhere.

Crazed Rabbit

[Kraxis]

And now a rant. I live outside of 1604 in San Antonio TEXAS now when I moved here 9 years ago my mum wanted to move in closer becuase she didnt want to live this far out in the country. Me on the other hand loved it I use to be able to explore and find deer snakes and even a coyote now and then (dont worry I ran) Now here I sit and my beatufial hill country is being whored by dirty yankees and captilst pig city planners. I now live in a vitrual zone of suffacation. Not to mention its getting worse. I am now in fear of actually becoming a city slicker. THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN. Orgahs we think of how to stop this.

Heh... While I can understand your situation, I can't seem to get it out of my head that you at one point in an argument about how cool Texas was compared to another state brought up the point that Texas is where most people move TO.

"Hey it is cool that they do, but damn me if they are going to move in next to me."

[ajaxfetish]

I've got the same thing happening back home in St. George, but I can't seem to work up a proper righteous indignation since my family did pretty much the same thing 16 yrs ago. Those of us who like living outside the city move away from it only to get upset later when others follow our example. We could demand that land be left to its original inhabitants, but then we'd all have to move back to Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Of course, if you're willing to sacrifice your national pride, you could always move to backwoods Montana or Idaho. I think you'd be safe from urban sprawl there for quite some time.

Ajax

[Ironside]

Thanks for the invite sfts. I'll pack up my family of dirty yankees and head on down to friendly San Antone.

BTW, it is happening up here in dirty Yankylvania too. We breed like rodents apparently.

Nope, you're living out the American dream, that's living in a large house with a large garden far away from downtown. That it makes urban sprawl to a large epidemic problem is another issue.

Wiki on Urban Sprawl

But, yeah I know the feeling, suddenly the wild area were you've been into for several years is turned into houses.

[Kanamori]

Same thing has been happening in the area I live in the States. The wonderful hills and vallies have been disappearing to houses. Our township bought enormous amounts of property and turned it into parks in order to stop the development though. And they are wonderful parks with a nice view of the lakes, city, and capital on the horizon. You can do it to, minus the bit about lakes and the capital.

[BigTex]

And now a rant. I live outside of 1604 in San Antonio TEXAS now when I moved here 9 years ago my mum wanted to move in closer becuase she didnt want to live this far out in the country. Me on the other hand loved it I use to be able to explore and find deer snakes and even a coyote now and then (dont worry I ran) Now here I sit and my beatufial hill country is being whored by dirty yankees and captilst pig city planners. I now live in a vitrual zone of suffacation. Not to mention its getting worse. I am now in fear of actually becoming a city slicker. THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN. Orgahs we think of how to stop this.

It's a sad fact this, but Texas is the 2nd most populous state and also takes the #1 slot as the fastest growing state. Even though Texas somehow is the butt of all jokes on the coasts apparently they all want to be a Texan.

You could always take a more zealous approach to your right to protect your property (love that law in Texas.) Buy a 12 gauge and couple hundred rounds and have some fun when someone strays onto your property. I usually go out to a friends down south of Wako on the 4th and its always nothing but wide open fields.

Though I prefer calivarous county in CA or northern CA/Oregon's rainforest to the wide open fields of Texas, I still find them an amazing site. It will be a sad day if they go the way of the dinasour (unless your a puritan, in which case I mean the way of the dodo).

[Kraxis]

Even though Texas somehow is the butt of all jokes on the coasts apparently they all want to be a Texan.

I don't think you can equate that.
I don't think people are really moving to Texas to become Texans, they are moving there because apparently Texans have the best land. They will take their values with them, and over time Texans might not be the ones that currently suffers jokes at the mouths of these other people.

[Strike For The South]

Heh... While I can understand your situation, I can't seem to get it out of my head that you at one point in an argument about how cool Texas was compared to another state brought up the point that Texas is where most people move TO.

"Hey it is cool that they do, but damn me if they are going to move in next to me."

Pfft Kraxis evidnece is overated

[yesdachi]

I would recommend buying the land so that others cannot “sprawl” into it. If that’s too pricy for ya perhaps you could go to the city council and zoning board meetings.

Often developers will use a local commercial real estate company to “lobby” to the zoning board members for a PUD or some other kind of variance to the current zoning. Usually requests for zoning changes are harmless, like a guy wanting a second curb cut on his property so that he can have a second drive directly to his garage but other requests are way more involved and require some serious “lobbing”. If you are really really concerned try to be elected to the zoning board. It usually doesn’t take many votes, not that many people seem to care. I’ll bet if you convinced all the 18 year olds you know to vote for you, you would win by a landslide. Two thumbs up for Democracy.

[Byzantine Mercenary]

firstly the western world isn't growing ''too'' fast although is is still growing, so the worst problem will be in the rapidly growing ''poor'' countrys like India and China, Secondly when populations get to large or too week diesase comes along and thins things out. (like bird flu prehaps) more prey (humans) means more preditors (diseases)

[Vladimir]

firstly the western world isn't growing ''too'' fast although is is still growing, so the worst problem will be in the rapidly growing ''poor'' countrys like India and China, Secondly when populations get to large or too week diesase comes along and thins things out. (like bird flu prehaps) more prey (humans) means more preditors (diseases)

The Western world is dying. The only reason many of those country’s populations are growing is from immigration. Conservative cultures that don't practice wholesale abortion are spreading their excess population wherever there is room. The US domestic population is growing slowly and many European countries have a negative population growth. However, if the bird flu realizes its full potential we won't hear of overpopulation for a while.

When I was in San Antonio texas I noticed a lot of sprawl; but I think it's better to be spread out into the country than packed in like sardines.

[Kraxis]

I think you overestimate the impact of a pandemic.

How high has the worst pessimists put the bird-flu? A couple hundred millions? Well that is handled in a single year of growth, or somewhere around that. Let's say three years to be on the safe side. Is that a whole lot? Yeah, but it won't have much of an impact around the world. Though of course the Western world might get a harder hit because we don't reproduce as fast.

[Byzantine Mercenary]

I think you overestimate the impact of a pandemic.

How high has the worst pessimists put the bird-flu? A couple hundred millions? Well that is handled in a single year of growth, or somewhere around that. Let's say three years to be on the safe side. Is that a whole lot? Yeah, but it won't have much of an impact around the world. Though of course the Western world might get a harder hit because we don't reproduce as fast.

true but there are the after effects to consider, panick, food supplys could be interupted, political instability and the financial costs, don't forget that some scientists now think that the black death might have been something similar to bird flu

[Byzantine Mercenary]

The Western world is dying. The only reason many of those country’s populations are growing is from immigration. Conservative cultures that don't practice wholesale abortion are spreading their excess population wherever there is room. The US domestic population is growing slowly and many European countries have a negative population growth. However, if the bird flu realizes its full potential we won't hear of overpopulation for a while.

When I was in San Antonio texas I noticed a lot of sprawl; but I think it's better to be spread out into the country than packed in like sardines.

I don't think that the western world is dieng its just reached a stable population, if the western world was dieing, you would know it!

your right, we should be more spread out i think it was the native americans that thought that away from nature you get corrupted and there is a degree of truth in that, people don't realise what their eating and don't know how to make their own food! i think having a good distance from the nearest human makes you more relaxed!

[Dutch_guy]

And now a rant. I live outside of 1604 in San Antonio TEXAS now when I moved here 9 years ago my mum wanted to move in closer becuase she didnt want to live this far out in the country. Me on the other hand loved it I use to be able to explore and find deer snakes and even a coyote now and then (dont worry I ran) Now here I sit and my beatufial hill country is being whored by dirty yankees and captilst pig city planners. I now live in a vitrual zone of suffacation. Not to mention its getting worse. I am now in fear of actually becoming a city slicker. THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN. Orgahs we think of how to stop this.

You know you could always move to Holland

Oh wait, the same thing is happening over here too....

[drone]

I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area, and you multiply, and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet, you are a plague, and we are the cure.

I think this quote sums up this thread very nicely.

[Vladimir]

I've mentioned this before but once we perfect superstructures like Sky Cityhttp://dsc.discovery.com/convergence...teractive.html (dang it, how do you make those custom links?) will reduce the amount of surface area a city takes up. How much they're used will vary for several reasons but I'm amazed by the possibilities.

[Divinus Arma]

So not only are we going to be overpopulated and hungry, but the gene-pool will be full of idiots who should have been killed off by a large animal generations ago. And although the Religious Right hates to hear this stuff, the only answer when it gets to that point will be breeding control.

Agreed. You start. I'm sure you can find a kitchen knife over there somewhere, right? lol. Just kidding Cube, but seriously bro, how do you intend to "regulate" who lives and who does not? Breeding control? I assume you are just talking limited family.

The problem, my gelatinous friend, is that hose breed en masse are those dregs of our society. Some of us try to compensate by filling the gene pool with a few smart fellas. I plan on having at least four children.

I am torn- Am I contributing towards overpopulation? Or am I helping the world by contributing intelligence to an otherwise deficient population base? Probably both.

[Kraxis]

true but there are the after effects to consider, panick, food supplys could be interupted, political instability and the financial costs, don't forget that some scientists now think that the black death might have been something similar to bird flu

I made my point as it was stated that the bird flu would put an end to the overcrowding issue. That is just not right. Economics and social structures are not part of that.
Food supplies won't have to get disrupted that much. Farmers today live seperate from others and are likely to go comparably free. And as long as the food is made, it will get out there in sufficient amounts to keep hunger from killing off enough to make an impact on the total tally. We might see 10-20 million deaths from that, but that is hardly going to halt the speed with which humanity reproduces.

[yesdachi]

I kind of like the idea of a giant sized mouse trap, stick it in front of the mall with a $50 in it and let the “breeding control” begin!

[Vladimir]

Personally I think it would be both unsuccessful and wind up with a botched result if the state tried regulation of any kind. I believe overpopulation will solve itself. Mass famine, and squabbles on both large and small scales over large and small food sources, should send us back to a manageable number once it reaches that point.

Or migration? I'm sorry, is that too Star Trek for most people? More probably those in advanced societies (the ones that can affect this migration) are too content. It’s not like you just pick up your spear and go to the moon when things get too crowded.

[Byzantine Mercenary]

I made my point as it was stated that the bird flu would put an end to the overcrowding issue. That is just not right. Economics and social structures are not part of that.
Food supplies won't have to get disrupted that much. Farmers today live seperate from others and are likely to go comparably free. And as long as the food is made, it will get out there in sufficient amounts to keep hunger from killing off enough to make an impact on the total tally. We might see 10-20 million deaths from that, but that is hardly going to halt the speed with which humanity reproduces.

well i don't think that bird flu will end overcrowding, but if it develops into an epidemic it could damage our infrastructure a lot which in turn could reduce earths population significantly.

[Byzantine Mercenary]

I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area, and you multiply, and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet, you are a plague, and we are the cure.

Well im afraid you don't seem to understand lifeforms very well if this is your conclusion, any species when given the oppertunity would spread like humans have, look at rats and cockroaches as examples. The equilibrium is achieved through increased predation and the other factors that would normally associate an exponential increase in a species's population. Humans have a comparatively small number of preditors and so have been able to spread a lot more effectively, they are powerful enough to deter the efforts of preditors to take advantage of this, think of them as a group of say bulit proof people who can only be destroyed by a tacky ending or by having keyano reeves jump through them, they spread and nothing can stop them but if a more vunerable species was to do this (as they all are trying to) they would be stopped very quickly by a preditor they cant defend themselves from as effectively. so all species of all organisms are a ''disease'' as you have termed it.

Also you are a rather ineffective cure if you are spending your resources in keepin us alive!

Ever consider Geothermal energy?

[rory_20_uk]

And to bend a classification system to that degree is cringeworthy for any Biological scientist.

All animals will thrive as far as they can to the exclusion of all else, as has previously been stated. Most animals have ecological niches, whereas humans have managed to adapt to thrive in many niches.

Oh, and lets not forget the number of different viruses. Yes, many kill the cells they infect, but many don't, and indeed many ancient ones may have helped in such matters as mammalian placentas and the immune system.

Ah, how Hollywood has a talent for taking a complex topic, grab a cluster of facts and then pass it off as gospel.

[Kraxis]

Oh, and lets not forget the number of different viruses. Yes, many kill the cells they infect, but many don't, and indeed many ancient ones may have helped in such matters as mammalian placentas and the immune system.

And the most important one, mitochondrias.