Upgraded from comments, Alison says:
"I want to point out specifically why I find the Marin Agricultural Land Trust so inspiring, and why its existence is pertinent to this blog. The activities of MALT are described in the _Coast and Ocean_ articles like this one.
"All over the Bay Area, developers and environmentalists are fighting over the conversion of ranches and farms into housing. Often these controversies pit ranchers who need the money development would bring against those who oppose any development. The geniuses who founded MALT realized that environmentalists and farm families that want to preserve their way of life are essentially on the same side. These founders realized that if farmers sold the development rights to a land trust that they would be able to stay on their farms. The intellectual breakthrough that occurred with MALT allowed former opponents to unite in a common cause.
"The result is widespread preservation of dairy farms in coastal Marin.
"A very Dovish follow-on question is, what do other bitter enemies want in common? Asking such questions can be a method for finding novel solutions."
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End comment by Alison. Thank you, Alison, for making clear why the Dove posts these topics. The problems in Israel and Palestine could also be solved by asking such questions. Water, development, land use and agriculture are explosive issues in Israel and Palestine, and may be driving some of the worst of the behavior. See Jared Diamond's new book for a discussion of why societies collapse into violence.
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