Fascinating article by David Owen concerning the impact of more people in one place versus that same amount of people spread out all over the countryside. The knock on Thoreau for setting an example of rural sprawl is an effective way of making this point.

Note that those living in a place like Vermont spend far more time driving and emitting co2 compared to those people who can walk or take public transportation to work. This also factors in to fuel consumption of course.

While many of us conservationists love the outdoors, aren’t we helping destroy our favorite wilderness area when we move to its border? This article raises difficult and important questions.

The key to New York City’s relative environmental benignity is the very thing that, to most Americans, makes it appear to be an ecological nightmare: its extreme compactness. Moving people and their daily destinations close together reduces their need for automobiles, makes efficient public transit possible, and restores walking as a viable form of transportation.

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