Rented a car and took a drive around today. Enjoyed getting lost in a Southerly direction and encountered anti-fracking signage in a very picturesque area of small farms, mixed with small industrial factories. Interestingly Bilbao has a lot of public transportation infrastructure (trains, subway, light rail, bus), and the urban density to support its use , but also a very car (less bicycle) oriented culture. Fracking represents a huge "boom" in domestic oil production in North America, so it should not be a surprise that it's here too. What will the costs be and who will pay them?
Drove on to Santander, West on the Atlantic coast. Northern Spain is an industrious land. Freeway infrastructure was very well maintained. As heavy manufacturing has systematically been "off shored" in the U.S. we've shifted to a puzzling "new" economy featuring real estate bubbles, tech booms and a much reduced industrial core. It appears that Spain has kept a strong commitment to an industrial base. I don't have a complete picture, but it's an interesting contrast.
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