ABSTRACT
Early uses of the Western deserts focused on removable resources: mining, timber, and large-scale ranching. In particular, the balance of export and local use has changed, with explosive implications for sustainable development in North America's deserts, and throughout the American West. Reliant on a removable resource whose market value is volatile, Farmington's economy has repeatedly suffered plunging tax revenues due to sudden drops in mineral market prices-similar to what states and nations experienced in the 2009 recession. Exporting a removable resource requires transportation, whether haulage by vehicle or transmission through pipes or wires. Regional place-specific products compete on the basis of uniqueness and distinctive quality, in addition to price and availability. Urban consumption can easily exceed the capacity of invisible hinterlands which become depleted, essentially creating new deserts. Regulation, usually aimed at controlling these externalized costs and preventing irreparable harm to place-based resources, is fiercely resisted by the extractive industries.
