California S Environmental Movement Works Essay

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Land Conservation or Development

Dear Sirs and Madams,

There is a significant amount of statistical data that supports my notion for the resolution of the problem of land development in California. Again, that situation merely involves governmental entities purchasing land and appropriating it for the sake of conservation. However, the statistical data that I previously mentioned certainly makes this solution all the more viable. One of the most notable statistics about the governmental purchasing of land in California is that such a practice has been employed for the past couple of centuries in this state. At present, approximately 25% of the total land in this state is dedicated exclusively to the purpose of conservation (Santos et al., 2014, p. 1). However, there is statistical data dating from 1800 that indicates that the governmental figures have dedicated land for conservation purposes. Although there was little purposing of land for conservation purposes in the first several decades of the 19th century (partially due to the fact that California was not a state for over half of this century, which makes the fact that some land was still dedicated to conservation purposes during that time), the initial hike in land conservation occurred during the latter decades.

Moreover, this spike in conservation continued on into the first couple decades of the 20th century, during the Progressive era when reform was desired in multiple aspects of life all around. From 1880 to just after 1910 approximately 60,000 square kilometers were dedicated as open areas for land conservation (Santos et al., 2014, p. 3). I tis significant to note that this dedication of land for such purposes during this 30-year stretch represents almost six times the amount of land that was utilized for such purposes during the preceding 80 years. Furthermore, the number of properties allotted for conservation spiked up to 30,000, which is many more than the nearly 5,000 properties dedicated for such usage during the preceding 80 years.

What is most significant about these statistics is that they indicate governmental purchases that reflected the overall political climate of the time (Progressivism). As such, the government was at the forefront of this conservation movement. Therefore, we need the government to spearhead another such movement and play an active role in facilitating the purchasing of land exclusively for conservation purposes. The government's role in this issue is what actually makes it a one that pertains to public service.

References Santos, M.J., Watt, T.

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, Pinceti, S. (2014). The push and pull of land use policy: reconstructing 150 years of development and conservation land acquisition. PLOS One. 9(7), 1-9.

Background and Legislative History

The current status of the issue of land development is that the expansion of the population and the interests of pro-business are rapidly encroaching on land that could instead by conserved. In California, in particular, the conflicting viewpoints of environmentalists and those in favor of business and expansion of land is acute. Although there have been efforts in the past to conserve land in California, there have been just as many if not more efforts to expand the development of land to sate the financial appetites of the powers that be.

There is a fairly lengthy history regarding the conservation of land in California. What is most eminent about it, however, is more contemporary affairs in this history. The need to conserve land is one that has become manifest across countries and national boundaries ever since big business has impinged on land. However, there recently has been a fair amount of interest in this subject since the 20th century as the environmental conservatism in general has occupied a place of prominence in the United States. One of the most recent pieces of legislation that has impacted land conservation efforts in California includes the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009. This piece of legislature encompasses 170 bills and dedicates areas all over the country (not just in California), due to be dedicated for the purposes of land conservation (Eilperrin, 2009). Additionally, this law also established the National Landscape conservation System, which is responsible for protecting historically and environmentally prominent land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management (Eilperrin, 2009). Other important pieces of legislation for this issue include the California Land Conservation Act of 1965, which enables local governments to subsidize the interests of local landowners when those areas are dedicated for agricultural purposes. A similar piece of legislature, the Open Space Subvention Act of 1971, "provided local governments an annual subvention of foregone property tax revenues from the state"(Department of Conservation, 2015).

It is worth noting that although these pieces of legislation represent dedicated efforts for the conservation of land, they are sparse compared to the efforts of big business which do not require lengthy pieces of legislation to be passed in order to cut deals and propagate land development. The aforementioned measures.....

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