Rick Shea's Page

One of the fundamental principles of “Smart Growth” is to increase residential density by infill in existing areas, and by redeveloping existing residential areas more densely. The claim is that this will somehow create livable cities, reduce energy requirements and emissions, save farmland, and protect green space. Or, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency puts it, “density is (an) integral component to the creation of neighborhoods that offer convenience, value and a high quality of life… Continue

It is not racist or misanthropic to try to protect the environment and our children’s natural heritage. Yet that is typically the knee-jerk response to those who point out environmental reasons for halting human population growth. Those reasons cited include the current human-caused “Sixth Great Extinction,” collapse of ocean fish stocks and other sea life, emissions and pollution affecting our oceans and our weather, soil exhaustion and continued loss of arable land to concrete and asphalt, and… Continue

(This is written by, and posted at the request of, Tim Murray)

“We have increased sprawl which is a real problem, it’s related to bad land use planning. It’s related to bad policies that’ll affect where immigrants settle….it’s a problem, but curbing immigration is really focusing on the wrong, and rather trivial aspect of the problem.” Elizabeth May, leader, Green Party of Canada , May 17, 2006.

In the game of population growth,… Continue

From the Shuswap and Salmon Arm "Lakeshore News," January 18, 2008:

Dear Sir:

Peter Clarke claims, in your January 11th edition ("In support of big box stores") that "progress is inevitable."

Many
past civilizations have fallen into what Ronald Wright calls the
"progress trap." Their trail of successes has led inexorably and
inevitably to catastrophic failure. Our own "progress" has led us to
the point where we are rapidly consuming and destroying this… Continue

From the Salmon Arm Observer, January 11, 2008



Dear Sir:


The development boosters in Salmon Arm insist that “growth will occur”
and that we “must plan for growth.”





In that vein, I would like to examine the maximum possible population
size in Salmon Arm, given the current calls for more densification.





The surface area of Salmon Arm is apparently approximately 75 square
kilometers, or approximately 29 square miles. Using a rough
approximation that eve… Continue