"Now that you're aboard, you just want to pull in the gangplank!" This is a standard censure I have heard numerous times in contests with land-development proponents. And they are correct. Living full for me has included defending two small pieces of territory--Lake Tahoe in the 1970's and '80s, and the San Juan Islands archipelago since then. Perhaps you, too, have a special place you care deeply about. It could be a natural place or a town or city, even a neighborhood. Perhaps you, too, have given a tug on the gangplank rope from time to time. We're kindred spirits.

A few decades back, quality-of-life warriors were considered by many to be fringe citizens, modern-day Luddites railing against progress. Today quality is mainstream as a broadening band of citizens find that more (people) isn't automatically merrier and bigger isn't necessarily better. There are limits to the number of units (people, houses, cars) that special places, natural or man-made, can accommodate before they lose the intrinsic characteristics that made them special.

In the big picture I think we are in something of a race between education and the eradication of unique, natural spots on the planet. My interests over the years have been mostly local. In the past ten years our county's population has grown 40 percent, and residential construction is up 60 percent. Yet we are way short of affordable housing; we're probably over-running our long-term water supply; and essential services are stretched thin. We are urbanizing a splendid rural place at a rapid pace. In the face the pressure, however, there is a continuing lack of public will to resist, and we elect public officials who react accordingly, if we can find people to run for office. The pieces in this section are one writer's attempt to raise awareness. Most were published in 1999 and 2000 in our county's weekly paper.