The history of environmental protection is Marin County’s defining pride. Outside narrow strips of development along the highways, rolling green hills rise and fall (mostly undisturbed by development) before meeting the brooding beauty of miles of untouched coastline. Compare this image with the “concrete jungle” of San Francisco, and it seemingly only serves to prove that Marin is a rare ecological steward in the modern age.
Yet, as green as the landscape appears, this impression is false: The development practices are fundamentally anti-environmental. While protecting our open spaces is the right choice, Marin’s lack of reasonable housing density along our suburban corridors is not; it results in excess greenhouse gases pouring into the atmosphere and it pushes sprawl elsewhere. According to data presented by the Association of Bay Area Governments, Marin actually produces 40% more emissions per capita annually than San Francisco.
In fact, there is no debate among scientists: One of the most effective ways cities can combat climate change is by increasing urban density. Clearly, climate change is the environmental battle of our lifetimes. Millions of lives, countless coastal regions and an inconceivable number of species, as well as ecosystems, are on the line.
While Marin doesn’t need to replicate San Francisco, it cannot consider itself pro-environmental while doing nothing. As a place that will face rising sea levels and increasingly common wildfires head-on, t.