Local & Green 2: the power of the Prius
Two economists in the US have shown why geography is likely to be key to green activity. Matthew Kahn and Ryan Vaughn, at the University of California at Los Angeles, looked at the patterns of green consumerism in California. As reported in the Economist last month:
They noticed that Berkeley, California, just a few hours up the coast, has lots of Priuses, organic food, solar panels and public transit—and no Hummers.
When extrapolated out to the rest of California’s 349 counties, as the Economist notes, the usual suspects came out top, raising questions of why the “politically green huddle together in the same sorts of locations.”
One of the authors, Dr Kahn, suggess that “small initial differences… such as being close to a beach or public transport, may create the initial seeds of green communities. This in turn attracts ‘green businesses’ such as tofu restaurants and bike shops, and this in turn attracts more greens.” More »
