A lot of Marin right now is being used to graze cows, which have their own greenhouse gas emission profile. Adding 50,000 people to Marin is a heck of a lot better for the climate than grazing cows. It's an aesthetic that we won't add people to Marin. And it's also racial prejudice. I wrote a piece called Green Jim Crow about the use of environmental law to promote racism. Would you rather have more densely populated and in cities like Berkeley or, you know, building out? It's both.
The lack of affordable housing in the U.S. has contributed to a homelessness crisis and has forced people to move farther away from urban centers. Inevitably, that increases car travel and emissions. One solution is to increase density in areas where jobs and infrastructure exist to accommodate more people. But some aren’t comfortable with the idea of their neighborhoods growing, and building multi-story apartments in urban cores usually costs more per square foot than one or two-story houses where land is cheaper. So how do we address both the need for affordable housing and the climate crisis?
Guests:
Scott Wiener, California State Senator
Jennifer Hernandez, Partner, Holland & Knight
Ben Bartlett, Berkeley Vice Mayor
For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org.
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