After all, Las Vegas and its desert neighbors are the the biggest solar resources in the world that are also close to big metropolises. The opportunity is clear; the only question is whether the citizens of Las Vegas will permit coal industry shills to derail the bonanza that's within reach.

Ped Shed Blog

Imagine trying to go beyond the limits of growth ...

Imagine logic is a fallacy and fallacy is the "truth" ...

Imagine you are not imagining any of the above ...

http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/04/04/index-of-human-impac ...

Why does Warren hate america?  Hehehey.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

As in "Dear citizens of Las Vegas, in case of a major infrastructure shutdown you are a very, very, long way from the nearest food source and all of that trip is desert." Admited there's water just down the road and electricity too but the food gets to you on trucks and truckers are getting antsy about fuel prices. They've been known to go on mass strikes and road blockages when upset.

Now supposing Nevada decided to use a major chunk of those gambling revenues to build out the solar and geothermal potential of eastern Nevada you would have something to trade upon other than human stupidity.

Nah, it'll never happen. Anyplace that builds mile upon mile of thin walled houses with ceramic tile roofs in a blistering desert has a very thin grasp of reality.

Just to check for yourself go to a satellite map of Vegas and scroll around at a focus where you can see individual cars. Dark green is shade, trees and titanium white is a heat reflective surface; everything else darker than that is a heat sink. White rectangles on roofs are air conditioners (in the sun yet) and black rectangles are solar panels.

See how many air conditioners you can count before you find a solar panel.

Ok, it's not really a fair question but you get my point.


Put the Carbon Back

History question, 2200 CE:

What was the principal cause of the Fall of the American Empire?

1. Reliance on coal.

2. Reliance on petroleum.

3. Reliance on CAFOs.

4. The love of lawns.

The american lawn emerged from the motion picture industry's films of wealthy estates. These estates were surrounded by a swath of open lawn to provide security and clear fields of fire from the central house. An open lawn prevented the stealthy approach of armed bandits or mobs that might threaten the patron within.

Typically lawns were grazed by sheep and horses with such animals being removed for a week or so prior to "lawn parties." The lawn became synonymous with wealth and people began to eschew their gardens in favor of a wealthy appearance to their front yards and eventually their back yards.

Once americans gave up their vegetable and flower and herb gardens similar to the french potagere they gave up control of their diet, their health and their culture to professionals. In essence they surrendered a direct control of their lives for a narrative dictated by the culture at large.

This essential disconnect with the most basic reality of the human genetic heritage, the reality of working with plants to promote personal and family health, comfort and well-being gradually spread to a general disconnect with the physical reality as a whole. The perceived reality of daily life was increasingly directed by media of various sorts until americans would claim to chronic hunger while their homes were surrounded by unused fertile soil.

Miles of impoverished families were housed without so much as a potato or cabbage tucked into a corner much less a flower or herb patch. Americans became so disconnected from the natural world that they literally would trod on walnuts and walk past bearing apple and quince on their way to the soup kitchens.

The transition from family farm's flavorful meats to CAFOs with relatively flavorless meats was achieved due to relative pricing and media overload. Mealtimes were invaded first by radio and later by television that distracted the diner from the food at hand. The removal of nuanced flavors from the vegetative diet had already accustomed people to using condiments with meals and such were applied to meats with vigor. The depopulated countryside did not have the political vigor to object to the pollution these operations caused and bribes offered to the political class for subsidies paid off. The CAFOs grew to giant size and spread across the landscape.

Once this basic psychosis, the media-narrated reality, had taken hold the conceptual model that coal and oil were purchased, but essentially unlimited commodities wasn't very difficult to accept. Despite repeated and accurate warnings that the total lifestyle was poisonous and unsustainable the illusions of personal control offered by "the american way of life" was deemed "non-negotiable."

Indeed they didn't negotiate even as their roads crumbled, their health faltered and their economy collapsed. Their central bank simply printed more money and the people expressed disbelief and outrage when offshore suppliers refused to accept it. Finally the whole house of cards collapsed as various futile cycles were subsidized at the expense of the remaining "reality" economy.

In the end the US became a post-technological "Easter Island" culture. Surrounded by the ruins and temples of fossil fuel culture they were reduced to crude agricultural enclaves and banditry. Educational missions have not made progress with the locals as they keep demanding cars, guns and televisions when offered seed, health education and bicycles. Alternative methods of remediation are being sought.

Put the Carbon Back

For our lawns shall protect us from wild beasts, the great unwashed, and commie plots to shut down our coal powered paradise.

Let us cling to our guns (and clubs), in this time of trouble, so we can take advantage of the free field of fire our lawns provide.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog