> > Imagine a small rural town or village, set upon a hill amid prairies and
> > woods. Imagine life there flowing in harmony with the earth. Imagine the
> > people who live there cooperating and caring about each other,
> > embracing a diversity of social, economic, and spiritual lifestyles and
> > values. Imagine all kinds of people coming there to learn and see that
> > there is a way for humans to do good for our planet instead of harm.
In a former life, I rose to the level of President of the American Wind
Energy Association, wrote the book _The Wind Power Book_ published by
Cheshire and originally distributed by Van Nostrand, and taught alternate
energy courses at Southern California Institute of Architecture, and Goddard
College.
In those days, it was common for folks to imagine pastoral scenes, with
happy children running about, and parents doing great things all in concert
with a strict adherence to whatever it took to avoid screwing up the
ecosystem. One individual suggested plowing the streets in Santa Barbara
and riding horses. I believe it is a common theme among humans to think
*back*, perhaps to the *good ol' days*, whatever those were, perhaps back
when life expectency was around 60 years or so.
Now, I'm not knocking that behavior. I did it myself; I bought some acreage
in the Sierras, where I still live. While living there, I have watched land
prices jump due to others thinking the same way. I believe I am saying that
these pastoral settings are going away, and fast. I am also saying that
this particular thread is strongly suggestive of the possibility that we are
about to see yet another rennaisance in 'back-to-the-land' behavior. Maybe
so, but, in some sense, we need to find ways to 'think out of the box', as
Apple would have us do. I believe that this is the purpose, maybe even
suggested value of OHS. In the past, our nation has solved economic problems
by launching wartime efforts. What are we going to do next?
Walking with a friend and with Mary Keeler yesterday over the hills above
Palo Alto, I was told that those hills were protected from development.
They are, but only until the will of the people (read: politicians) changes
the rules. For all I know, the safest way to take land out of developer's
inventory is to sign it over to the Audubon Society. And, maybe that won't
hold forever. In short, we are beginning to experience the ravages of
population pressures. Exponential growth, indeed!
I have a take on this thread, and the progenerative arguments that lead to
it. I believe that the thread has brought perhaps some of the clearest,
cleanest, most illuminated thinking of any I have seen in a long time. It
has been a great thread. It is my hope that it will find its voice in
solutions other than pastoral settings that are not likely to exist. It is
further my hope that this thread will find its voice in favor of giving the
OHS vision, indeed, Doug's vision, a fighting chance to participate in the
problem solving effort we must mount, and soon.
Jack Park
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