>The measure of a civilization could be said to be it's consumption of energy and how it uses resources. >Conspicuous v. sustainable...
At what point was civilization sustainable without depending on unknowable innovations in the future? It would have to be before steel, because blacksmithing almost deforested England before coal was found and used (back around 1000 I think). Going to Africa, and seeing the sustainable organic farming they used to get 5 bushels/acre out of depleted soil reminded me of what my Zambian daughter Neli argued, to no avail, to the government of Uganda. That using natural methods would just have it's people starve, like they have for centuries. Unfortunately, the European Greens were more powerful in their persuasion....and Uganda will remain poor until they stop listening to them. It's hard because the EU policy is dedicated to protecting inefficient EU (mostly French) farmers. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
