Miscetal’s Recent Comments

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  pissed off

  
  A lot of us are pissed off, but since we've handed over control of "the homeland" to the "patriots" we may not be safe saying so.  Over the past thirty years, the theft of everything from public lands to the broadcast spectrum has gone into the hands of people who believe themselves to be called by the almighty (god or dollar, sometimes hard to tell) to rule over the rest of us.  

  And there is no effective opposition party: the logical people for that role themselves identify as elites.  

  This country was a wonderful, brave, imperfect idea.  It has always been fragile, and we may not survive as more than a wealthy shell of our former selves unless something is done very quickly: they have used our public lands and air, water, even put poisons into our cells - and now we are buyimg it back from them with our taxes.  We contract with them and their friends for infrastructure ranging from prisons to armies to ethnanol.  Suddenly they are going green?  watch them patent the sun.

  We've frittered away our attention on sexual politics and racial division while the very stuff of which the nation is made - its continent and its laws - have been stolen away.

  Miscetal

  On USDA secretary resigns; industrial-corn man takes charge posted 2 years, 1 month ago 6 Responses

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  and guess which midwestern governor suddenly...

  ..became "green" when the ethanol industry suddenly took of and grabbed lots of subsidies with it?

  ...and which state's former speaker of the house, a part-owner of two corporate "family" farms which receive large crop subsidies suddenly left his job to become commissioner of the state commerce office?

  Clue: the same state that was home to ADM's original headquarters: _ _ _ _ e _ _ _ a.

  Miscetal

  On USDA secretary resigns; industrial-corn man takes charge posted 2 years, 1 month ago 6 Responses

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  Adding to the List

  
  We're talking about people who have made the businesses they run greener: have we now got to prove that their products are harmless and politically correct before we acknowledge them for making it less destructive?  

  That attitude with really encourage a lot of buy-in....

  What are we?  The Pan-Global Environmental Church?  We could assign a period of penance and, if they become VERY good, prounounce them sainted???

  I like the attitude of the band Guster.  They've worked to green up their tours, don't use individually bottled water, use a bus that runs on wastebio-diesel, and proclaim the cause at every concert.  Rock On!On 15 Green Business Founders posted 2 years, 1 month ago 33 Responses

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  Everyone has to do what they will do

  These houses are wasteful and pretentious - and they already exist and will continue to be built (at least for a while).

  They HAVE to be made greener, either by building better or by remodeling with LEED or another certification.  The are people who are going to have these houses, come what may, and since the rich use and pollute more than the poor, we have to provide an incentive to go green, and remove real or perceived obstacles to them doing this.

  If LEED can get 5% of the homes in the Hamptons, for example, to use less than they do today, that's a good thing.  It might be better if they built smaller with quality, like The Sustainable House <ahref="http://www.livegreenlivesmart.org"</a>  to reduce habitat loss - but some gain is better than none - if they see that there are both financial and social payoffs to be greener, I am willing to set aside my personal abhorrence of such excess in order to avoid more.

  And once the wealthy have green homes, everybody will want one and the Handyperson's Guide to Greener Homesites will be sold at Target ---

  Later, we can tear the things down and restore habitat, but for now we need them to be the edge of the marketplace edge to help us drive demand for more sustainable "homes" - shelter from the storm, eh?

  The poor can't be the only people going green-er: it's not sustainable.

  Miscetal

  On Should USGBC certify a 15,000-sq.-ft. home as green? posted 2 years, 1 month ago 40 Responses

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  Sustainability begins at home

  30% of our individual impact on the planet comes from our housing.  The effects of location, construction, operation, furnishing and replacement come to about a third of the carbon imprint alone - without the other costs like water quality and localized environmental pollution.

  If we all make our homes less polluting by using more renewables and making better choices about other commodities related to Home, we will buy some time - we must do what we WILL do, since almost no one does everything they COULD do.  And that major change will help make the dominos fall in favor of commitment to preserving and restoring the earth.

  And we will be nudging the dominos through direct and indirect social and political action and collaborations with others more or less willing.

  We won't all be burned out on activism at the same time, and buying time by beginning with our shelters means we can rotate our burnout and temporary despair, each taking a turn and doing the personal best things while we recover.

  www.livegreenlivesmart.org

  Miscetal

  On Alex Steffen on individual action in context posted 2 years, 1 month ago 9 Responses