This URL from the NY Times (registration required unless you
can dupe them into feeding you the data...)
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/27/national/27FRON.html?pagewanted=print
documents:
"As Others Abandon Plains, Indians and Bison Come Back"
Quote:
> "Much of North Dakota has a ghostly feel to it: empty homesteads and
> occasional schoolhouses litter the land, with caved-in roofs and grass
> growing where there used to be front porches. The wind blows so hard
> that a cup of coffee brought outside develops whitecaps."
I believe that some of you may recall or have run into my rants
against the people who claim the world is suffering the terminal
illness called "humanity". I found this piece extremely interesting
from a number of perspectives.
a) The exodus of European descendants from environments with low
population density.
b) The influx of native Americans into these vacant ecological niches.
c) The preferential adaptations that may drive individuals back to
specific (pre-programmed?) cultural niches.
d) Possible inherent preferences for tribal densities.
I believe the article supports my perspective that the Earth
is not overpopulated -- it simply has regional density problems.
How one would solve those problems by encouraging population
dispersal into such areas as the "plains" becomes a very
interesting question. (I'm sure Extropians from Australia
could comment on the coastal vs. central continental biases.)
The political ramifications for the U.S. should not go unnoticed.
There will be an increasing concentration of power in the form of
senators from the plains states being controlled for now by corporate
farming interests, but in the long run by native Americans.
Robert
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