Let me very kindly but firmly tell you never, as in no manner shape or form, ever intrude on one of my blogs in this way again. I will go to your web site and find out what I can about you and then widely and in no uncertain terms let others know of your behavior. I will do this in a sustainable manner like as in “forever” so that rampant bozo-ism is erased from the hallowed NESEA blog site for all time. Do you understand this?

Sustainably Yours,
Joel N. Gordes

Not offensive…. it really is more what I mention in post 5… we have the answer to the “Engineering” problems (broadest sense of the “E” word”). I believe the issue if you wish, is that the entire monetary driven world only allows change to occur if it has hard verifiable profit, or by accident. I don’t think this is really a big intellectual stretch to make either… most of the reasons we are in this mess to begin with is a result of the very same system. We are like the monkey with our hand in the cookie jar that knows he is going to get nailed if he does not open his hand to release the food, but we still, knowing that, hold on to it. Sometimes the reality is, to see/create a solution you have to go through a total collapse of what created the problem in the first place. This situation is not without precedent… and such is an under lying meaning to the rebirth of the “phoenix”. In our socio-political world, power and money have never given it up willingly, only shifted to a different venue when there can be even more profit. To put it crudely, we have been _hitting all over the place for a long time and now we are complaining that it stinks. None of this denies, that on an individual level a single person can simply “do the right” things, but it does imply extreme difficulties or even impossibility in forming a unilateral mass approach by the numbers.

…..Bill

Bill, I understand the anguish that compels someone to think this, but at the risk of being offensive, let me ask:

Is that your plan? THAT”S what you propose as a solution? We face serious, global problems of sustainability, and our best hope is for a massive die-off of the human race? That’s one heck of an ethical abyss to stare into.

Or perhaps you’re saying that sure, we’ll try to address our problems, but it’s no use, because the vast majority of people (not US of course, but all those OTHER dopes out there) are too stupid, greedy and shortsighted to avert calamity. We can try, but the evil powers that be, and the great ignorant masses, will never let us succeed – so we’re boned.

Well, that’s exactly a way of thinking, believing and acting that will guarantee the outcome. If we want to fail at the monumental tasks before us, that’s exactly the attitude to do the trick.

Sorry to rant, but mindsets are important. They guide our actions. My guess is that you’re responding to the “academic” aspect of Joel’s post, reminding us that in the nitty-gritty real world, things are a lot more complicated. I couldn’t agree more, but heck, let’s stop wringing our hands and start rolling up our sleeves.

No… I am really not beating up on you… I offer all the previous with a bit of “tongue and Cheek” or sarcasm, not sure which…
If you have seen my site you know I am a thermal guy as well, who was around to watch Ronnie basically extinguish the industry in 6 months….
All non sense and the obvious aside, I don’t think their is a lack of understanding AT ALL in knowing what to do. The problem is that a currency based world no matter what the political philosophy, does not reward solutions based on the correct direction but on what makes the most money. All systems, family, theoretical politics, religion, base society, etc.. have been infected and had their base DNA altered to reflect the NEW GOD. We have no outsider to fix the problem and no systems left to counter balance the whole… so what’s left are like fire flies of hope in a mostly twilight sky, and theirs barely enough light to see where you are going.

PS: Sorry for the imagery…had a creative moment…LOL!

What is nice and correct does not seem to matter in this other-directed world–at least not for much. And sure, the planet will survive; the planet will heal but the human race may not and maybe there will be no one, not even the rich, to mourn for what is lost (The Beatles?).

Ah, but I am getting academic again and that may not be what folks want to hear. But that is OK too, I think what I am trying to get across may only appeal to a very small group and I readily accept that. We’ll see where this goes, together, and maybe by doing so come to some deeper meaning of sustainability than PV panels (I’m and old solar thermal guy you may have caught on at some point–and passive solar too) but even beyond that to some deeper, inner feelings on where we need to go. Thanks for helping me on this journey.

Best,
Joel

Very academic blip….. nice ideas and correct too…
However what is nice an correct doesn’t matter does it..
Nature will take care of over population as she always does, and in our world that means the bulk of the dead will be the poor and uneducated and the “in the wrong place at the wrong time” crowd. Having most of the losses at the lower end will suite certain entities just fine while trimming population in the process…. for in the Matrix it really was not the machines feeding on us, but us feeding on ourselves….

…..Bill
PS: Nice CCR memory from Ross…

“There’s a place up
ahead and I’m goin’
just as fast as my
feet can fly

Come away, come away if
you’re goin’, leave the
SINKIN’ ship behind.”

Was it the Beatles that said,
“All you need is Money”… oops
no that was LOVE….

Great to see you at the conference this past March. Been too long but nice to now you are out there “lurking” to keep us all honest.

Well, my intent in going into the word “sustainability” as I have been is that the words “sustainability” and “green” were said to be the most often used marketing terms this past year. Personally, I almost can’t bear to hear them anymore as they have been made so devoid of meaning as to become almost worthless. SO, in reaction to that I wanted to go back historically to the root of their development and try to ruminate on some of the basic principles from the sources.

McDonough is just fine for specifics on some aspects of it but a good grounding in the generalities can be helpful to reveal some conflicts with specifics. So, before I get too much into any sidebars like buildings, solar and the like, I think I want to address some of the bigger picture items — seven syllable words and all;>

See you at NESEA 2010, Ross.

Best,
Joel