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I found this video while perusing the internet. It's really fascinating to see how much our World has changed, but it also captures Earth's beauty at its finest. While watching this video, I was inspired to help save this planet, even if it's just a small contribution, I hope it will do the same for you because everyone's small action will add up!

Earth- Official Movie Trailer (watch in HD!)

What Can You Do?

Clearly urban sprawl is a huge predicament. So what can you do? We may not be able to stop urban sprawl, but we can counter some of its negative effects. The key is for developers and modern-age settlers to include nature in development plans.
If you are thinking about moving to the country, consider alternatives. Sometimes the country lifestyle has more charm from a distance than it does up close. Do you really want to leave behind the services and conveniences of urban living? Do you really want to commute to work every day? The commute distance becomes even more important as gas prices soar.
If you are already or will be contributing to urban sprawl, soften your effect on nature by managing your yard or acreage for wildlife. Can you increase natural habitat by having less lawn? Plant native grasses, flowers, trees and shrubs. Encourage your neighbors to cooperate on a community project to establish larger blocks of natural habitat. Free advice is available from the Conservation Department.
Promote development patterns that encourage housing density in some places while leaving larger blocks of open space nearby. It's good conservation to subdivide an area so that houses with smaller yards are grouped together and all the neighbors, as well as wildlife, share large blocks of common space. This "natural commons" approach increases the amount of property available for the enjoyment of residents, while it leaves wildlife habitat intact
Support efforts to protect key tracts of land in developing areas. Public land ownership, whether through state, city or county efforts, can help protect key blocks of natural resources from development. However, the government is not the only answer. Private efforts, such as land trusts or conservation easements, can effectively protect critical areas.
Lastly, GET INVOLVED! You don't necessarily have to oppose development, but you can advocate for streams, forests and grasslands. Make certain city and county ordinances allow for more environmentally friendly practices such as conservation subdivisions and native landscaping.

Check out the post above. We need to protect this Earth

Smart Growth

If you have been following this blog you might have seen me write about promoting smart growth, I mean, it is on the top of this website. So I feel that now, since I have successfully presented the facts on urban sprawl, it is in mine and your best interest to promote smart growth.
According to current trends, population growth is inevitable, so if we're going to grow, why not be smart about it?
Smart Growth recognizes that there is a relationship between the way we grow and the quality of our lives. It aims to save our most valuable remaining natural resources before they are forever lost. Smart Growth supports existing communities and neighborhoods by targeting resources to support development in areas where the infrastructure is already in place or planned to support it. It also saves taxpayers millions of dollars in the unnecessary cost of building the infrastructure required to support sprawl.

Check out this official smart growth website for more in-depth coverage on the movement
http://www.smartgrowth.org/

Here's an informative, yet interesting video presented by FEMA

An American Makeover

While perusing youtube, I came across this interesting video entitled "Built to Last". After watching the short 2:55 clip I realized how informative this video segment actually is.
The greatest threat to our planet today is urban sprawl. This video provides a fun and information-packed perspective on urban sprawl and smart growth. Take a look:

Urban Sprawl Pros and Cons

To better present the issue of urban sprawl in a completely non-biased way, I have decided to create a "pros" and "cons" list for you to compare and contrast. First, I will list the benefits of urban sprawl:

• Thanks to less expensive land in outlying areas around cities, people are able to afford larger houses on larger lots. So no more squeezing a large family into a smaller house
• Better school systems are often available in the suburbs. According to the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA), in 1999, 73 percent of suburban New Jersey students scored "at or above" the basic reading level, whereas only 27 percent of urban students in New Jersey achieved the same goal.
• Crime rates tend to be lower in the suburbs than in urban areas, providing further incentive for families in particular to seek the white-picket fence safety of the outlying districts.
• The expansion of our society symbolizes a growing economy
• Sense of Community. An individual in a city can often feel lost in the crowd, while living in a less densely populated area can offer more of a sense of belonging to a community.
• It's the easier route

Now, here's a list of the problems or "cons" of urban sprawl:

• Living outside the city makes having a car almost a requirement. Businesses, schools, services, and recreational areas are all spread out at a distance, not to mention the need to commute to work. The increased use of automobiles contributes to increased pollution.
• The construction of roads and buildings destroys farmland and wildlife habitat. This means that food needs to be transported from farther away. The loss of wildlife habitat is not only an aesthetic loss. These areas also often serve as critical recharge areas for a region's drinking water supply.
• As the population becomes more dispersed, government agencies must also expand to meet the needs of these citizens. This means more government offices and the manpower to staff them. All this, in turn, means high taxes to pay for them.
• As pollution increases, so does respiratory problems.
• Longer travel times and more traffic congestion and more of a risk for more vehicle accidents
  
• Car-based living is also credited in part with obesity.

The video below is of Michael Jackson's song entitled "Earth Song". It was performed by Celine Dion, Usher, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, and Smokey Robinson at the 2010 Grammy Awards. I'm posting it because every once and awhile we need to be reminded of why we love Earth's natural beauty. It's a great song and sung beautifully.

Urban Sprawl Overview

Today, my goal is to educate your fruitful minds on the issue of urban sprawl. As stated in the previous post, urban sprawl is the unchecked spreading of a city or its suburbs.
To visualize this rapid spreading, take a look at this video demonstration I found on youtube. The creator utilizes Sim City 4 to safely show urban sprawl and its effects.



As you can see, sprawl is more in the moment, rather than the future. People begin to settle in other places and in turn create more of a hassle on their own lifestyle as well as the environment.