Would California Split from the Union?!

In the NY Times today was a great article about Schwarzenegger considering separating Cal-lee-forn-ya from the rest of the United States. After all, the advances we have been making in universal health care to global warming (See AB32) indicate the path less travelled compared to the Medieval thinking of the rest of the country.

As the article reminds us, "the bigger the nation, the harder it becomes for the government to meet the needs of its dispersed population..."

In one of my favorite books, Ecotopia, that premise is a reality. The book describes a near and probable future where the Pacific Northwest secedes from the United States to form its' own country, Ecotopia.

We had the author, Ernest Callenbach, speak at The Commonwealth Club just last year. He is one of the sweetest people you can imagine, and spoke about the 20th anniversary of the book. I compare him to Wells, Huxley and Orwell (also favorites!).

A few years later, Callenbach wrote a prequel entitled, Ecotopia Emerging, which is even better as it shows HOW the transition was made. Right now, the HOW is just what is needed.