The Long View, to Sustain Us

As living proof that evolution is never-ending, some of Ventura County’s most devout environmentalists are shifting their passion from merely saving the planet to a larger and more complex goal called “sustainability.”

This is a realization that a healthy environment can only be achieved and preserved if two other goals are pursued at the same time: business / economic vitality and social justice. By addressing all three together, society becomes more able to meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

More than 70 Ventura County leaders met last week to discuss ways to measure local progress toward that end. In March, the Sustainability Council of Ventura County will begin working with land use planners from Cal State Northridge to study impacts of urban growth limits on the environment and the quality of life.

Ventura City Council members Brian Brennan and Sandy Smith discussed the dilemma faced by their city, which was the first in the county to limit sprawl by passing a Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources (SOAR) initiative and now is encountering opposition to the higher-density development that everyone predicted would be necessary if SOAR passed.

Others at the session noted a variety of warning signs that Ventura County is not on track toward a better future. Among these:

* A large number of residents feel intimidated by and cut off from the civic process. Too few register to vote and even fewer actually exercise that right. Those who make the effort to speak out at public hearings often feel their comments are ignored, if they are heard at all.

* Many people feel they don’t have time to get involved in efforts to improve their community.

* Our schools seem increasingly oriented toward supplying employers with willing workers rather than challenging children to think independently and dream great dreams.

* Interaction in “community spaces” too often seems limited to rude gestures between freeway drivers.

* The disaffection and alienation of young people seems to rise as the availability of high-quality jobs declines.

* Ventura County, like the rest of the nation, seems to be building in ways that increase the gap between rich and poor.

Many of the problems Ventura County faces today are the result of trying to fix one thing while neglecting, or not foreseeing, the impact on something else. The sustainability movement, sometimes called the second wave of environmentalism, recognizes that a proposal’s effect on the economy and on society are as important as its environmental impact.

It was encouraging to see the majority of the Ventura City Council present at the Sustainability Council’s brainstorming session. We hope elected officials, other community leaders and concerned residents from all over the county will get involved in this effort to steer Ventura County toward a balanced future.