Stephani Stephenson on tue 22 feb 11
Ok , I lied: Two points i would like to make re; the discussion about win=
=3D
d,
solar, etc. etc.
I think the best phrase that comes to mind is "appropriate technology",
which to me means, every place is different, and so , energy solutions wi=
=3D
ll
also be different. The key is , to use what is 'appropriate' or most
adaptable and sensible for your location, and your resources.
people on sailboats have been using wind and solar for years, so the
technology is absolutely adaptable for small scale DC systems. The southw=
=3D
est
has a lot of sunshine, but not much water. your region will have differen=
=3D
t
populations, different weather, different needs. Your property and studio=
=3D
are an even smaller scale of 'local' with even more finely defined
parameters of 'appropriate;'.
I know a granny in Pendleton OR who's solar system pays 30% of her electr=
=3D
ic
in winter and actually produces extra power in summer . she gets credit =
=3D
on
her bill for the extra and it goes back to the grid. it is very exciting,=
=3D
but no, it is not appropriate for some places . and it isn't the only
solution by any stretch.
Ask any old fashioned farmer and they would tell you it is folly to put =
=3D
all
your eggs in one basket or all your fields in one crop..(.and don't get m=
=3D
e
started on old farm wisdom and what has happened to THAT!)
but ,I think if you keep 'appropriate technology' in mind, it works out.=
=3D
second point, politics underlies a lot of the discussion.
Some folks don't like anything that smacks of 'green' or eco'. Even when
they actually are pretty good at reusing and conserving ,etc. It just
doesn't sit well with a conservative political outlook. Other folks love=
=3D
ANYTHING that is 'green' or 'eco', even if it doesn't make sense all the
time, because it jives with a more 'liberal' political perspective.
We all have, some of us more than others, political perspectives, and tha=
=3D
t
is natural.=3D20
but I think we have to be honest about how politics colors our own posts,=
=3D
and not just=3D20
lambast others for doing exactly the same thing.
so can we just , in the privacy of our own selves, admit that our politi=
=3D
cs
often colors our use and our rejection of certain terms and labels? True=
=3D
,
some of us have a different take on how we feel about government, industr=
=3D
y,
etc. but if you can get beyond that I think you will find we actually a=
=3D
re
pretty similar. we are happy as hell when we can reuse, invent or save
something, when we can give something back, watch something grow or flour=
=3D
ish.
If I was to paint with a huge broad stroke, I would say we are fierce ,=
=3D
macGiveristic, Rosie the riveter , do it yourselfers.=3D20
but if one person wants to call it 'green' and the other wants to call it=
=3D
'DIY',
viva la difference! I just want to know how you did it and what works.
Stephani Stephenson
who is a new believer in 'shade power' and who has a lot of sun for sale!=
=3D
Also ,for the next few weeks we are having super duper bargains on wind=
=3D
!
just bring your own containers, please.
Dannon Rhudy on tue 22 feb 11
Stephanie said:
.......Ask any old fashioned farmer and they would tell you it is folly to
put all
your eggs in one basket or all your fields in one crop..(.and don't get me
started on old farm wisdom and what has happened to THAT!).........
Oh, don't worry too much, Steph. I keep a lot of it, and if I
do, so do many others. This farm has been in production since
at least 1869, and probably before. When people ask me if my garden
is "sustainable", I just smile. If it were not sustainable, I
would not have a garden. In fact, my garden is more fertile and
has better soil than it ever began with. Careful consideration
of consequences, over a long period, will take care of it.
..........Some folks don't like anything that smacks of 'green' or eco'.
Even when they actually are pretty good at reusing and conserving ,etc. I=
t
just
doesn't sit well with a conservative political outlook.....
I cannot agree with that. Farmers - small farmers, at least - MUST
take good care of their land, ecologically speaking. Most of them
do, unless they are just waiting for some developer to come make them
rich, in which case they may not care if they ruin the land. Your idea
of a "conservative political outlook" not setting well with
"conservation" of land/resources is not so, in my experience. Every single
farmer that I personally know is rock-bound conservative. Politically
AND in terms of the land that they nurture from generation to generation.
They really, truly know what "conservative" means. Some of it is
purely practical, and some - well, it's good to have the rabbits, squirrels=
,
quail, dove all hanging happily about, food and shelter available. Makes
you smile when the sun is coming up.
.........but I think we have to be honest about how politics
colors our own posts, and not just
lambast others for doing exactly the same thing......
Really? Ya' think?
we actually are
pretty similar. we are happy as hell when we can reuse, invent or save
something, when we can give something back, watch something grow or
flourish.
..........I would say we are fierce , macGiveristic, Rosie the riveter , d=
o
it yourselfers.
but if one person wants to call it 'green' and the other wants to call it
'DIY',
viva la difference! I just want to know how you did it and what works.....
Yep. Just git 'er done.
Great post, Steph. Fun to read.
regards
Dannon Rhudy
Stephani Stephenson on tue 22 feb 11
Hi Dannon, I think I didn't express myself very clearly in the passage=3D=
20=3D
you quoted below.
Though every farmer i know is not "rock bound conservative", i wouldn't
dream of saying in any way that one's ability to conserve or use resource=
=3D
s
wisely had anything to do with politics, or infer directly or indirectly=
=3D
,
that conservatives did not conserve.
In fact, that thought has never even entered my mind, the point I was
trying to make was the opposite of that, so i guess I missed the mark!=3D20=
=3D
what i was trying to say is that it is the labels that get us tied up. fo=
=3D
r
example, those 'conservative' farmers may reject the label 'green' or 'e=
=3D
co'
but in practice they , (not all of them of course) are excellent steward=
=3D
s
and managers of the land and of resources, for exactly the reasons you l=
=3D
ist
below. it is a necessity, a lifestyle , a way of life, an incredible
tradition of knowledge and experience.=3D20
By the same token, not every liberal is a dingbat when it comes to common=
=3D
sense and know how.=3D20
there's a pretty broad range, no matter what.
what i was saying 'doesn't sit well' was the terminology. My cousin , ver=
=3D
y
conservative, has a tree farm in what use to be dustbowl Kansas..but don'=
=3D
t
call him a treehugger! (even though I know he loves those trees and cares=
=3D
for that land.)=3D20
No matter who you are, if you can just count to 10, you sometimes find yo=
=3D
u
are actually on the same side of the hedgerow as someone who has a differ=
=3D
ent
letter by their name on their ballot.
that was the intent of my post.
=3D20
anyway, that's just the way i see it, though some days i have to work har=
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der
at it than others!
bye Dannon!
Steph
FROM PRIOR POSTS:
ME:"vSome folks don't like anything that smacks of 'green' or eco'.
Even when they actually are pretty good at reusing and conserving ,etc. =
=3D
It
just
doesn't sit well with a conservative political outlook".....
DANNON: I cannot agree with that. Farmers - small farmers, at least - MU=
=3D
ST
take good care of their land, ecologically speaking. Most of them
do, unless they are just waiting for some developer to come make them
rich, in which case they may not care if they ruin the land. Your idea
of a "conservative political outlook" not setting well with
"conservation" of land/resources is not so, in my experience. Every sing=
=3D
le
farmer that I personally know is rock-bound conservative. Politically
AND in terms of the land that they nurture from generation to generation.=
=3D
They really, truly know what "conservative" means. Some of it is
purely practical, and some - well, it's good to have the rabbits, squirre=
=3D
ls,
quail, dove all hanging happily about, food and shelter available. Makes=
=3D
you smile when the sun is coming up.
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