Dear Friends--Not only do I think Karl is correct in his assessment of our situation, but I have a feeling that such technological innovations as proposed in the Web article, as encouraging as they are made out to be, probably aren't going to happen since the economic, energy, and environmental crises we are approaching are going to overtake us first. The amount of resources and energy, and the economic climate required to mass-produce such technological innovations will become increasingly infeasible in the time framework bounded by the approaching crises. We are best off developing human community and local resources so that we may support each other to the extent possible in the trying times ahead. My $.02. Tom
At 11:35 AM 9/22/2008 -0400, Karl North wrote, in part: >Again, technological solutions to our predicament, if they succeed in >replacing any large amount of fossil energy with renewables, continue to >ignore a major part of our problem: continued production of energy >production of any kind at anything like current levels will perpetuate >the damaging results of current global excessive energy consumption: >rapid depletion not just of oil and gas but of all sorts of finite >resources, and production of goods and services of kinds that are >destroying the ecological resource base human civilization must depend on >to survive. Greenhouse gas emissions are only one of the many kinds of >destructive pollutants that our high energy consumption permits. It is >true that some of this could be avoided if we made revolutionary, >wrenching changes in the way we use energy - to support truly >regenerative systems of farming, for example - but I see the invention >and massive use of alternative energies goodies like those proposed in >this news article as just making that kind of revolution in cultural >values harder to accomplish. > >Karl North >Northland Sheep Dairy, Freetown, New York USA > www.geocities.com/northsheep/ >"Mother Nature never farms without animals" - Albert Howard >"Pueblo que canta no morira" - Cuban saying > >On Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:50:35 -0400 Elan Shapiro ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > >http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20080919/tc_zd/232218;_ylt=AoBOPkJ70xEZF_FWg7G >GQQQDW7oF Tom Shelley 118 E. Court St. Ithaca, NY 14850 607 342-0864 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.myspace.com/99319958 P I thank you for printing this e-mail only if it is necessary "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The World Commission on Environment and Development, Gro Harlem Brundtland Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, 1987 MY NOTE: Sustainable development does not mean "sustainable growth" as growth per se is not sustainable. And the term "sustainable" has to mean "for a very long time" (A. Bartlett). "The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives." Sioux proverb _______________________________________________ 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
