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Re: GBlist: Rant: Strawbale


    amos,

    Regarding your rant:

    I'm not going to argue your point that building strawbale houses in
    some areas is not truly sustainable.  However: the American Dream has
    been based on material things for a long time now.  Controlling the
    changes in a culture is very difficult, if not impossible.

    The basic problem is that we as a species have just recently (in
    evolutionary time) developed the ability to alter the face of the
    planet more quickly and completely than any other species since
    bacteria started spewing oxygen from the primal ooze.  Their population
    boomed, they filled the atmosphere with a substance (oxygen) that was
    toxic to them, and now the only places they live are remote hot springs
    and deep in the ocean.  We are changing the world again.  Whether it is
    going to be significant enough that the human race goes extinct is an
    open question.

    Our population (world-wide) is booming.  The Malthusian Solution may be
    messy, but it is entirely natural.  One would hope that with our
    vaunted ability to reason and think ahead, we would be doing more to
    save ourselves from the pain and death of mass die-offs, but I don't
    see it.  To those of you who believe that technology will save the day,
    I must disagree.  Each technology that has been developed has solved
    one problem and created numerous others.  I'd rather change the way
    people live and think so that they prevent the problems, than rely on
    technology to cure a problem. (with one exception, see below)

    Sustainably rehabing the cities of the world is a huge challenge.  I'm
    sure that techniques can be developed (one set of roommates and I used
    to acquire most of our replacement doors/pipes/framing from an
    abandoned apartment complex around the block, then the owners rehabbed
    it and it now rents for an exorbitant rate).  The issue is that those
    techniques need to be profitable at some level (at least break even).

    Good intentions won't be enough.  My grandfather used to say "If you
    want to figure out how something works, find out where the money goes.
    If that doesn't work, find out where the power goes.  If that doesn't
    work, you missed something."  It may be sad, but it's true.  It's been
    rare, in my admittedly limited experience, to find a company willing to
    take on more expenses and hassles because something's the "right thing
    to do".  People will (sometimes), but until recently businesses didn't
    care.  Now they market themselves as green, despite the fact that they
    really haven't changed much.

    One more thing before I get off my soapbox: How far in the future
    should one plan in order to be considered appropriately sustainable?
    Seven days?  Seven months? Seven years? Seven generations?  The answer
    may vary, usually longer is better.  The fact of the matter is that the
    Earth is a closed system.  There are only so many resources available.
    Some are renewable, some are almost gone.  In order for us as a species
    to survive for any significant length of time (more than 100,000 years)
    we need to either find other sources of materials and space for people
    to live, or we need to strictly limit the population.

    Personally, I prefer the first option to the second for a couple of
    reasons.  One is that I think it is more ethical, another is that
    enforcing the second option would lead to tragedy.  In order to acheive
    the first option we need to colonize space (the moon, space stations,
    Mars, asteroids).  Admittedly, we don't have the technology/knowledge
    to build fully enclosed ecosystems.  But I think that we should learn
    how for two reasons 1) to permit us to get off the planet, 2) so that
    we gain a better understanding of how the planet works.

    Thank you for your time.  Please feel free to correct, ammend, or
    attack anything I've said.  You might help me to think more clearly and
    change my  opinion.

    Ken


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