If I had to deal with brown bears on a continuing basis around my home, I'd upgrade my shotgun collection... And the Winner Is?????.....Me for sure....Always, I'd hope.

That's one kind of "sustainability" that I can relate to. There are also others that I like.

Almost certainly, my personal solution would be the same for black bears....

Of course, I'm just talking tough here. Not lusting to kill or anything like that...

And these two species are VERY different in their agressiveness and orneriness, NOT LEAST regarding backpacking considerations.

Ought somebody live in brown bear habitat? Well, I certainly don't know, but maybe this in itself isn't totally responsible. I'm certainly not going to condem a quarter million-plus residents of Anchorage on this account.

(MUCH stricter local zoning laws in Anchorage are needed --despite the remarkable strength of right-wing "property rights" advocates in that state.)

I happen to live in a large metro area, NOT particularly by choice. By mere happy coincidence, this doesn't contribute to sprawl and I don't much use a car and am not directly affected by gasoline prices. I'm certainly not battling bears.

I fully expect that for reasons I don't really control, I'll never live in bear habitiat. As a visitor, the question is in theory, if not otherwise, different.