# How sustainable is your region? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 29, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098 "2008-12-29T19:12:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/21 "2008-12-29T22:53:57Z")
California as a state would be largely self-sufficient. The liberals in the Bay area would have to migrate to the San Joaquin and pick their own lettuce, but that will put them more in touch with Mother Earth. Without imported drugs, the crackheads and creative types in LA would all die off, either of scarcity-induced bloodshed or terminal ennui. This would ease the population a mite, and give us a reasonable surplus on foodstuffs. With no neighbors, we can suck the Colorado River dry without having to worry about Mexico. The fishing fleets would provide all the sushi we could eat, and Humboldt County weed would be the herb of choice for all the smokers who can’t get any tobacco from out of state. We would be a mellow, happy little place. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/22 "2008-12-29T22:54:06Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Yeah you’d have your water as far as your state or country’s border extends on a political map. That’s why in my area we’d still have part of Lake Erie. > > As for vitamin C…you can get it from [loads of plants](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_c#Natural_and_artificial_dietary_sources), including parsley and broccoli. Mmmmm parsley… Nifty! Lots of fish then… lots of yummie fresh fish. Damn, I’d be tired of it in a week ☹ Anyone accepting refugees? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/23 "2008-12-30T02:06:13Z")
How would California be if you cut it in half? Or in thirds? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/24 "2008-12-30T02:44:15Z")
Depends on where you draw the line. If you divide the state in half, roughly through Fresno, both north and south would make out ok. As long as we still have the California Aqueduct, we’re good for water. Divided into thirds, not so well. Central California would do ok, but the third south of Bakersfield would be hurting for water real quick. The third north of Tahoe is the empty third anyway, so who cares what happens to them. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/25 "2008-12-30T02:46:50Z")
The OP has an interesting premise, but many of the answers are forgetting something. You all are assuming that people are going to share. They aren’t. Even if some regions have water and power, pretty soon you’d be cut off from easily obtained supplies of gasoline, oil, and so on. You have a gun? How many bullets do you have? Where, inside the wall, will you get more? Same thing for medicine and clothing. You may have the raw materials but do you have the know-how to process them? Transport of goods will be a problem, and sooner than you think. Me, I’d hide out in the country, while the die-off was going on. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/26 "2008-12-30T03:04:19Z")
Why would transport of goods be a huge problem? I’m being modest with my region’s size…it’d be harder for Iceland and “all of California” There’s horses everywhere in America, aren’t there? Corn, too. We’ll be forced to make use of bio-fuels! As for processing stuff, that’s why I’m glad we have universities. Lots of smart people to tell us how 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/27 "2008-12-30T03:10:31Z")
Heh. We’ve been trying to get them to take down that bridge and wall off Wisconsin for years! Practically, we’d be good on water. And snow. Whitefish and trout, we’d be good on those. We’re good on iron ore and taconite pellets as well. Everything else… not so much. It’d be long, cold winters with not much food. That said, it all might be worth it to keep the trolls out. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/28 "2008-12-30T03:26:30Z")
Dead. Lack of water, power, food, and… just about everything. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/29 "2008-12-30T03:49:25Z")
SE Ohio: We’ve got natural gas, some oil but no refineries, coal, timber, and lots of Amish people to tell us what the hell to do with a horse. The good thing is we’re not heavily populated. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/30 "2008-12-30T04:40:41Z")
Fish–check. Fruits and vegetables–check. Crazy survivalists who know how to use knives and bows–check. Wood–check. Water–check. Bicycle power in our rammed-sod/corn cob houses–check. Giant bookstore–check. Microbreweries–check. Certain medicinal herbs of which I do not partake, some licit, others not–check. I think Oregon’s good to go. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/31 "2008-12-30T04:44:49Z")
we HAVE a wall being built around us. we’ll prolly be ok–we are able to get enough sustenance from the H.E.B. I just feel sorry for the riparian wildlife that is being cut off from the river (rio grande):(:mad: ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/32 "2008-12-30T05:14:52Z")
Las Vegas would disappear in short order. Actually I like the idea if you let us leave first. This city is probably going to be unable to support anything approaching it’s current population soon anyway. ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/33 "2008-12-30T05:30:30Z")
25 mile radius no problem. Fish, wildlife, timber, coal, ocean, rivers, lakes. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/34 "2008-12-30T05:56:22Z")
Taiwan should be self sufficient, as should Texas when I move back there. Only the latter will sustain automobiles, however. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/35 "2008-12-30T14:03:39Z")
Does the wall end at the coast, so that we can sneak in fishing? Northern Ireland might not be too badly off for a while. Plenty of farmland, fresh water, roads already in place, lignite to dig up to keep a modicum of power going. Two universities to boot to stop us dumbing down. Knock down the wall to keep the entire island of Ireland as one, we’d do fairly nicely. A lot more peat to burn for power, even more agricultural land (the island isn’t that densely populated as it is), more coast. Metal supplies for tool making might be a problem though, I’m not sure what mineral wealth exists within Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/36 "2008-12-30T14:07:48Z")
I think you’d have to consider at what level of living comfort/luxury you can tolerate. In Wisconsin, although it’s pretty rough to get thru a winter, the indians did it OK and in the 1800’s, isolated farmers survived and even thrived. Now, if you want to support a lifestyle that requires a snowmobile in every garage and a computer in every den, that would be quite different. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/37 "2008-12-30T19:32:59Z")
In Central Illinois, we’ve got a river, lakes for fish, plenty of corn fields, and depending how far a radius there’s plenty of cows and pigs. It’s also the world headquarters for Caterpillar. I know a lot of stuff comes from other places, but I think there’s enough material already here to have plenty of heavy machinery. No oil, so everything would have to run on ethanol. There’s a couple power plants, and there is coal under the ground, but I’m pretty sure most of ours gets shipped in from other states. So we’d have to start mining again. We’d be fine as long as everyone doesn’t panic. So we’ll have to use up some of the corn to restart the distilleries (whiskey used to be Peoria’s biggest business) And we have the largest USDA research lab, so that could come in handy. ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/38 "2008-12-31T00:44:04Z")
Ha Ha Ha! _points to location_ Aha ha! We’re dead! Dead, I tell you! But we have a local “Sustainability Coordinator” and a “New Community Coalition” for studying sustainability. Maybe we can eat them for dinner after we cannibalize their little townie electric cars for parts. At least I’ve got elk in the freezer. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/39 "2008-12-31T00:52:49Z")
As sustainable regions go - The Isle of Man is fairly sustainable. I don’t know enough to go into detail and any ‘facts’ I come out with might not be true. One such ‘fact’ is, I believe there is a ban on imported meat here. All the meat available in the shops is reared locally. Exceptions are things like frozen foods (boxes of frozen burgers, packets of frozen fish etc…). It has a few Power stations, but the one that serves my town is a Gas Power station and the Gas is imported. We have a govornment and a system of law. (which largely copies the UK in most respects). ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098/40 "2009-01-06T21:28:40Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Well, New Jersey would first have to suffer a _massive_ die-off of population, but after that, I’d think we could survive quite nicely. We’d just have to turn all those front lawns back into gardens and farms. We’re actually pretty good below the Raritan River. So if we divided New Jersey in half using some arbitrary barrier we have water, woods, energy and farmlands. We’ll have to trade like crazy for raw materials but we could get manufacturing up and running easily. Maybe build an extra Nuke plant and a bunch of wind farms to be safe. I assume we can still do sea trading? Otherwise we will be really short on raw materials and quickly fall into a mainly agricultural society. My area would need to go back to farming or orchards. **Green Bean** , we’ll find room for you and your son (and my brother who is in North Jersey) as North Jersey is hopeless in this scenario. Though you do have all those garbage dumps to start mining. You are short on water, food and power. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sustainable-is-your-region/479098.md?page=1)