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The goal of this research is to understand and evaluate the levels of anthropic transformation on the vegetation cover in the landscapes of Chiapas, Mexico. To achieve this goal, a pressure index was applied to the map of the physical-geographical landscapes of the Chiapas State, in a 1: 250 000 scale. The results indicate that low category occupies 29% of the surface area of the state; the high class 27%, the medium level 26%, the very low category 16%; finally, the very high level covers 2%. The high category is located in plains, piedmonts and valley landscapes in warm humid and subhumid climate. The low class is located in mountains of tectonic-intrusive, tectonic-acumulative and tectonic-karstic origin, in temperate, semiwarm humid to subhumid, and warm humid climates. The trend scenario is worrisome, because the high level could represent in the short term 53% of the surface area of the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although wind power is local, sustainable, affordable, and carbon free, mounting public opposition to the landscape changes it produces threatens its expansion. In an era when many countries are looking to renewable energy as an answer to questions about national security and the risks of climate change, it is important to explain the sources of this reaction. This article looks for similarities in public resistance to wind developments in four diverse settings: Palm Springs, California; Cape Cod, Massachusetts; the Isle of Lewis, Scotland; and Oaxaca State, Mexico. Despite the natural and cultural diversity among these places, there are five common threads in the opposition that has been experienced: immobility, the site specificity of the resource; immutability, an expectation of landscape permanence; solidarity, the close relationship between people and the land; imposition, a sense of marginalization; and place identity, a loss of security. Considering more deeply the relationship between land and life, in advance of the development of renewable energy resources, will help smooth the otherwise bumpy road toward a more sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]