Does Los Angeles have the greatest location of any city in the world?

[PragmaticIdealist]

The urbanized areas of southern California mostly have the extremely-rare Mediterranean climate, which can occur only on the West side of a land mass.

Not all of southern California is dependent on external water sources. The clouds from the Pacific travel inland and hit the mountains dumping water into the valleys and recharging groundwater basins as part of the orographic effect.

The San Bernardino Valley, in particular, is capable of sustainably supporting much of southern California's future growth since the City of San Bernardino was sited in 1810 atop an underground aquifer that is estimated to be the size of Lake Tahoe. In the future, this water will have to be extracted and held in control reservoirs in order to mitigate the dangers of liquefaction in an earthquake, which, incidentally, is, by far, the most survivable of all the world's natural disasters.

Additionally, San Diego County has begun using desalination of seawater. And, over time, the coastal regions will increasingly rely on these more expensive techniques to obtain water, whereas desert cities, like Phoenix and Las Vegas, won't have the same options.

Southern California's sustainability issues mostly concern pollution. We just need to summon the political will to fix the problem and end our dependence on oil, once and for all. The solutions are relatively simple, but they require changes in behavior and the overcoming of moneyed interests.

[milquetoast]

yeah!

[klamedia]

Great comment!

[VZN]

Originally Posted by PragmaticIdealist

The urbanized areas of southern California mostly have the extremely-rare Mediterranean climate, which can occur only on the West side of a land mass.

Not all of southern California is dependent on external water sources. The clouds from the Pacific travel inland and hit the mountains dumping water into the valleys and recharging groundwater basins as part of the orographic effect.

The San Bernardino Valley, in particular, is capable of sustainably supporting much of southern California's future growth since the City of San Bernardino was sited in 1810 atop an underground aquifer that is estimated to be the size of Lake Tahoe. In the future, this water will have to be extracted and held in control reservoirs in order to mitigate the dangers of liquefaction in an earthquake, which, incidentally, is, by far, the most survivable of all the world's natural disasters.

Additionally, San Diego County has begun using desalination of seawater. And, over time, the coastal regions will increasingly rely on these more expensive techniques to obtain water, whereas desert cities, like Phoenix and Las Vegas, won't have the same options.

Southern California's sustainability issues mostly concern pollution. We just need to summon the political will to fix the problem and end our dependence on oil, once and for all. The solutions are relatively simple, but they require changes in behavior and the overcoming of moneyed interests.

C/S, +1

[pesto]

I always think of coastal SoCal weather as better than Mediterranean. Mediterranean summers are sweltering hot and humid, even at the coast. SoCal normally has a cool breeze near the coast and tolerable temperatures even 10-15 miles in-land.

Mediterranean evenings are often mild or warm, where SoCal tends to cool off. I think this is the reason we tend to have less outdoor dining in the evening than much of Italy or Spain. The African side of the Mediterranean is just deadly.

[Kenny]

Originally Posted by tanzirian

Still, the rainfall is quite inadequate for the needs of the population...and will be increasingly more so over the course of this century. SoCal is highly dependent on imported water. There's a big National Geographic article this month on water, with a large section on LA...check it out.

Hmm, but isn't that the truth for all major metropolis? Doesn't New York import their water from upstate? San Francisco, Tokyo etc?

Originally Posted by The Urban Politician

I would say LA has one of the best locations you can have, with one exception:

It's naturally in a desert. Therefore, it must artificially obtain its water.



Other than that, party on!

Typical assumption. The desert is miles over the mountain range.

WOW! look at all that green!

[alex3000]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

Yeah, I do wish we got more rainfall here in LA for several reasons:

1) I like the sound and smell of rain.
2) It would help our smog problem.
3) More rain would mean less wildfires, which would mean less mudslides.
4) I like everything to be green, lush, and fresh.

And as much as I love the rain, I wouldn't want to be Seattle (though I love Seattle).

Errr. Actually, in SoCal, more rain during the winter equals more fires during the summer.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by alex3000

Errr. Actually, in SoCal, more rain during the winter equals more fires during the summer.

yes, i was going to point that out. What we need is more rain, but in May and June

[Westsidelife]

^ That's what I meant.

[PragmaticIdealist]

[klamedia]

Great video eventhough it's sort of propaganda-ish. I've been reading up on the progress of SB 375 and I think it's exactly the guide that we need for growth now and in the future. But for these great ideas to work in a place that defined the American Dream at one point which was largely centered around the idea of personal freedom and which included the ownership of an automobile and the detached single family home, their is going to have to be some real teeth put into this bill if their isn't already.

[milquetoast]

Do we have the best location uhhh, yes we do!

STATE OF THE ART

DON'T HATE US BECAUSE WE ARE BE-A-UTIFUHLS ...

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... AND, SCENE!

MARCH/APRIL 2010

LUCAS JANIN

FLICKR

[klamedia]

Originally Posted by milquetoast

.[/COLOR][/RIGHT]

[RIGHT][COLOR="white"] .

This shot is not at all flattering.

[Westsidelife]

This shot says it all...

image hosted on flickr

Source: Unknown

[klamedia]

I'm not a fan of that one either.

[Westsidelife]

^ Really? That's too bad.

[VZN]

Where was that one taken?

[Westsidelife]

^ Somewhere on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

[saiholmes]

Originally Posted by milquetoast

Where was this one taken?

[Dimethyltryptamine]

I heard LA got some new mountains!