Judging by what this last 100 million people have done to the quality of life in the United States, I prefer less population, and a better life, to learning to adjust to an ever growing, never ending, crush of humanity.
We aren’t farm animals that merely need food, water and shelter, we want to breathe, we want our children to be able to fish, hunt, camp and play within a bicycle ride or short drive of their city home.
Going outdoors shouldn’t be a travel trip. I grew up in a big city, Houston, and now I think of that childhood as almost like living in the country compared to today. Now even traveling from city to city is like commuting on a long urban route of non stop humanity and development.
Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding !
Try driving from Ft. Worth, Texas to Las Vegas, New Mexico. Lots of open country on that trip. Lots of abandoned towns, as well.
I understand your point, but if you live along one of the coasts, and never travel inland, you have a perverted view of the world.
One that the 'population zero' crowd would like for everyone to have.
Comfortable carrying capacity for the land area on this planet is 25-60 Billion. Don't whine because the east coast is packed within 100 miles of the coast. Move somewhere where your nearest neighbor is a half-mile away. Still lots of those places left.
/johnny
Going outdoors shouldn’t be a travel trip.
I'm not sure what you mean by this. You expect to open your front door and see wilderness? You don't want to walk/drive to a park/green space in your town? Move to the Arizona desert area if you like the heat. People tend to clump. There were ancient cities that had as many people as some of our largest cities. If you really want to get away from it all, when President Palin reinstates NASA's real mission, there will be a moon or Mars colony. You can live in the pristine lunar landscape with out being bothered by the rest of us.
You realize why that is, I hope.
Most people, rationally, travel from city to city along the interstate highways.
For equally logical reasons businesses tend to cluster along those highways, while towns and roads away from them tend to stagnate or fall back in population.
Even in our most populous states, such as CA or FL, there are still large areas that are almost deserted. For instance, take the Florida Turnpike north from the coast to Orlando. Almost nothing along the entire 100+ miles but cows.
Similarly I-5 in CA from Stockton to Bakersfield, not even in the real desert, is very much like driving across Wyoming.
If you fly from coast to coast, long stretches across the western US there is nothing to see below except an occasional road. No houses, no towns.
IOW, you choose to live and drive where everybody else chooses to live and drive, then complain that it's too crowded. I agree with you, BTW, but I at least recognize that it's my choice to go where all the people are. You or I have the choice to go where there are very few other people.
Freepmail me and I'll be glad to send you some suggestions.
Get to the proper southwest. There’s tons of room. I’ve never lived anywhere in Tucson that was more than a mile from a park. Fishing might be a bit tough to find this being the desert and all, hunting and camping aren’t tough at all. Lots of room to breath.
Most of the folks who think there’s no room to breath in this country are stuck in the corridors. If you travel from Tucson to any other city except Marana or ail (which are suburbs of ours) you’ll find yourself quite literally in the middle of no where in short order. The hundred miles from Tucson to Phoenix is about 80 miles of pure dull empty desert.
Get off the freeways and highways and this country has huge wide open spaces and farmland.
Get away from the coast and in to flyover country. Learn to breath free again.