Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
establishing the biggest US market for hybrid vehicles. Over 60% of Californians admit
that yes, they've actually hugged a tree.
That shouldn't really come as a surprise. It was Californians who helped kick-start the
world's conservation movement in the midst of the 19th-century industrial revolution, with
laws curbing industrial dumping, swaths of prime real estate set aside as urban green
space, and pristine wilderness protected by national and state parks. Today, even conser-
vative California politicians may prioritize environmental issues on their agendas - at least
as much as the state's ongoing economic recovery and worrying drought allow.
Fast Companies & Economic Recovery
You might not get a word in edgewise when it comes to discussing the environment with a
local, but California's technological innovations need no introduction by anyone. Perhaps
you've heard of PCs, iPods, Google and the internet? The home of Silicon Valley and a
burgeoning biotech industry, Northern California is giving Southern California's gargantu-
an entertainment industry a serious run for its money as the state's main economic power-
house.
But even these industries weren't enough to salvage the state's ravaged economy, which
spiraled out of control during the US recession beginning in 2007. California's budget
crisis brought deep cuts to environmental protections, education, social services and other
public programs, including state parks. In the past couple of years, Governor Jerry Brown
(Democrat) and state legislators have reversed many of these austerity measures as the
economy finally begins to bounce back.
Growing Pains
The biggest problem California faces is growth itself. Because of the Golden State's adapt-
ability and charms, the human wave of domestic migration and international immigration
continued to crest until only the last decade. Still, many Americans who heed the
mid-19th-century advice to 'Go West, young man!' find themselves winding up on Cali-
fornia's shores, as do most of the USA's new foreign-born arrivals.
With this burgeoning humanity come almost unbelievably high costs of living and real
estate. Public transportation is often inadequate, so everyone hits the tortured freeways.
Meanwhile, the gap between California's richest and poorest citizens dramatically keeps
widening. Nowhere in the nation is income inequality greater than in San Francisco, where
