> Any other questions? Nope. Thanks for your willingness to respond.
Jon George Frantz wrote: > > On Thu, 8/14/08, Jon Bosak <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > How do you propose to implement your two billion dollar plan > for Ithaca given the strong likelihood that financial, energy, and > material resources will dramatically decrease over the rest of the > century? > > > It's not a plan. Iit's one person's vision for addressing the fact that we > as a society are using up the worlds' resources at a rate of 6-7 times the > rate that is generally recognized as being environmentally, socially and > economically sustainable. Given the strong likelihood that financial, > energy, and material resources will dramatically decrease over the rest of > the century, as you point out, how can we afford to go on the way we are > going? > > You can take it or leave it. I frankly care less one way or another. > > I have been implementing it on a personal level for almost two decades. I > live in a smaller than average older home in the city within easy walking, > bus or bicycle distance of 90 percent of my destinations, a home that I have > modernized to meet the housing needs of a contemporary 4-person household, > utilizing in the process building materials recycled from the house itself as > well as a dozen different other sources, and in the process making it energy > efficient and soundproof against the 20,000-plus cars and trucks that pass it > in a given day. > > This fall if things fall into place I will further implement the plan with > what may be the first retrofitting of an older home in the city to convert to > geothermal. I'm not doing it because it's going to save me any money, but > because it's the environmentally responsible thing to do. > > The budgets of Tompkins County and the Ithaca City School District will > together amount to over $2 billion over just the next decade, anyway. Why > not divert some of that expense to investment in a more compact sustainable > city? > > Rather than question the investment needed to convert Ithaca to a more > sustainable city I think the more pertinent questions you should be asking > are more along the lines of: 1) how all those commuters I referenced in my > previous post will be able to afford the nearly $300 million they will be > shelling out to Big Oil and Big Auto over the next decade; or 2) how they are > going to be able to afford to maintain their existing homes as all those > modern building materials with 15-20 year lifespans start to fail; or 3) how > are our municipal governments going to be able to maintain close to 200 miles > of streets and roads, and other services and infrastructure required to > support the existing suburban sprawl given, as you've said, the strong > likelihood that financial, energy, and material resources will dramatically > decrease over the rest of the century. > > Finally, it's not my plan to implement anyway. I don't live in the Town of > Ulysses, or the Town of Ithaca, or the Town of Dryden, or the Town of > Caroline, or the Town of Lansing, or the Town of Enfield, or the Town of > Newfield, or the Town of Danby, or the Town of Groton, or the villages of > Trumansburg, Lansing, Cayuga Heights, Groton, Newfield or Dryden, or in > Seneca County, Schuyler County, Tioga County, Chemung County, Cortland County > or Cayuga County. It's their communities, so I'll let them decide whether > they are serious about living in a sustainable society or not. > > Any other questions? > > > George Frantz > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please > visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > > > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please > visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
