Paul, No offense intended, and I completely understand the appeal of living simply. It's my pleasure as well. Personal choices to consume less can feel great, but because of reverse effects they mostly have negative impact on the sustainability of the system as a whole. I hope this isn't too compressed. If it needs explaining, please ask. 1. consuming less makes individuals think they're doing something about the consumption growth of the whole system, distracting them from finding and doing anything about the real problem. It's intuitive appeal has gotten a lot of people activated, but it actually doesn't restrict the growth of the economies in the slightest. 2. its main effect on the whole systems is to free up resources and stimulate business growth. It's probably a small effect. Business growth really needs no stimulation at all since what drives it is the investment cycle. It's investment that creates the appetites, and multiplying competition for survival, as well as the multiplying products that feed and create the necessities and fantasies of both. The investment cycle works by continually multiplying the exploitation of everyone's creativity. Creativity, necessities and fantasies are all good, but not when multiplied till they overwhelm the earth. The growth choice/control point in the system is hidden in the investment/returns loop, not in the production/consumption loop. *Business* profits are a necessity, to stay in the good graces of investors, but *investor* profits are quite generally a windfall that they could just as easily spend without harm. It's the investor's free choice to not spend returns, and that is what makes investment multiply. People apparently misunderstand where the money comes from, and are so taken by its endless multiplication without any increase in work, that they don't think it appropriate to even ask where it's headed, except to say it 'continues'. If they asked what it multiplies and where that's headed, they'd also consider what it would be like if they (us) spent the returns and the economy was allowed to approach it's natural steady state rather than be driven to overwhelm the earth. They might also realize that the system will not be able to successfully stabilize without it. Both the sustainable design movement, of which I'm a part, that seeks to reverse the growing impacts of development, and the effort to prevent global warming, are relying on improving efficiency in the production/consumption cycle to counteract the effects of the investment cycle. They're shooting at the wrong target. Because efficiency gets prohibitively harder over time, not easier, efficiency can not control the effects of multiplying investments. Both these efforts to solve the problem with improved efficiency are sure to fail, unless they lead us to discovering that something else is the problem. The reason I can sort this out is that I developed a better method of identifying the mechanisms of emergence and so I've been able to watch closely over a long time to see how it happens.
Phil Henshaw ¸¸¸¸.·´ ¯ `·.¸¸¸¸ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 680 Ft. Washington Ave NY NY 10040 tel: 212-795-4844 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] explorations: www.synapse9.com <http://www.synapse9.com/> -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 10:07 AM To: friam@redfish.com Subject: [FRIAM] Our dilemma with global warming etc Below is an article I wrote two years ago in reference to global warming: cheers Paul Paryski Often conscientious people wonder what they can do as individuals in their daily lives to help save our small beautiful, but suffering planet and the myriad life forms its supports. Below is a list of relatively simple things anyone can do to help assure our future: 1. buy only what you need, not to fulfill your imagined desires or fantasies; often once one has purchased a fantasy object after a few short months another fantasy or desire enters our mind; 2. buy things of quality that last and are functional; 3. drive as though there is an egg that you don't want to break under both your accelerator and brake pedals; 4. use public transportation when and if possible 5. don't waste water. Make a xeric garden; install low water use appliances and plumbing; build a cistern and use grey water; 6. vote for local, state and national legislators that have a record of protecting the environment and helping the poor or promise to do so; turn off lights when not used; 7. recycle within your home; re-use bottles, recycle old clothes as rags, repair things; 8. avoid household chemicals or products that contain strong chemicals; use natural products as possible; 9. insulate your home; 10. buy organic food; 11. support local businesses; 12. live near to the center of your municipality and/or workplace if possible; 13. maintain your vehicle; 14. walk & bike as much as possible; 15. learn to enjoy the night sky; 16. cut television viewing; most of what is programmed is nothing more than market or political manipulation; 17. become vegetarian and/or eat less animal proteins (it takes 10X the amount of resources to produce an equivalent amount of animal protein as vegetable protein); 18. travel less; 19. make an effort to be well informed about local, national and global issues; 20. avoid drinking plastic bottled water; 21. participate in activist organizations to protect the environment and natural resources; 22. eat slowly and happily with friends and family (Italian style). Remember that Americans consume a highly disproportionate amount of the worlds resources especially energy, a totally unsustainable and dangerous situation. All scientific, climatic and economic indicators point to a very difficult future if we do not change our ways. _____ See what's free at AOL.com <http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000503> .
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