Comments on: HOW OBAMA DODGES ACCOUNTABILITY http://www.rightwaytobegreen.com/2009/02/11/how-obama-will-dodge-accountability/ A CONSERVATIVE ALTERNATIVE TO LIBERAL ENVIRONMENTALISM Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:02:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Sierra http://www.rightwaytobegreen.com/2009/02/11/how-obama-will-dodge-accountability/comment-page-1/#comment-16 Sierra Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:19:06 +0000 http://www.rightwaytobegreen.com/?p=263#comment-16 Thank you for another "aha!" moment. As a rancher, my boss is Ma Nature, and she can be a tough boss. She communicates in memos, her handwriting can be inscrutable, and half the time she responds to questions that were asked a decade ago. So I try to guess what her response will look like if I'm doing the right thing (my goals) and try to determine if I'm getting that response. It is fascinating to contrast that with the inverse approach of deciding what means Nature prefers and then applying them regardless of response. My first reaction was to want to argue over who is the one forcing her own beliefs on Nature (the person that uses Nature’s responses to her means to choose among them or the person who applies the means that she believes are in Nature’s best interest without regard for response) but in retrospect, we are all fallible humans. I might mistakenly set as a goal something that does not reflect true ecosystem health or might misjudge if I’m meeting my goals, whereas the environmentalist might accidentally select a means that does not lead to a good result. On another note, wind and solar are not total pipe dreams. We produce all our household electricity ourselves. We are happy with our system and very proud of it. (No visitor can hope to escape without the electrical production lecture-tour.) Despite this, I agree with you. Our system was developed for this site to meet our specific needs, and we have to make certain, fairly substantial, sacrifices. This is not an issue, because we chose the sacrifices voluntarily. However, I shudder to think what our situation might have looked like if it were dictated by a far-off bureaucracy instead of created interactively by the people that use it. Thank you for another “aha!” moment. As a rancher, my boss is Ma Nature, and she can be a tough boss. She communicates in memos, her handwriting can be inscrutable, and half the time she responds to questions that were asked a decade ago. So I try to guess what her response will look like if I’m doing the right thing (my goals) and try to determine if I’m getting that response. It is fascinating to contrast that with the inverse approach of deciding what means Nature prefers and then applying them regardless of response. My first reaction was to want to argue over who is the one forcing her own beliefs on Nature (the person that uses Nature’s responses to her means to choose among them or the person who applies the means that she believes are in Nature’s best interest without regard for response) but in retrospect, we are all fallible humans. I might mistakenly set as a goal something that does not reflect true ecosystem health or might misjudge if I’m meeting my goals, whereas the environmentalist might accidentally select a means that does not lead to a good result.

On another note, wind and solar are not total pipe dreams. We produce all our household electricity ourselves. We are happy with our system and very proud of it. (No visitor can hope to escape without the electrical production lecture-tour.) Despite this, I agree with you. Our system was developed for this site to meet our specific needs, and we have to make certain, fairly substantial, sacrifices. This is not an issue, because we chose the sacrifices voluntarily. However, I shudder to think what our situation might have looked like if it were dictated by a far-off bureaucracy instead of created interactively by the people that use it.

]]> By: Brad VanDyke http://www.rightwaytobegreen.com/2009/02/11/how-obama-will-dodge-accountability/comment-page-1/#comment-12 Brad VanDyke Sat, 14 Feb 2009 02:44:40 +0000 http://www.rightwaytobegreen.com/?p=263#comment-12 I share your concerns, Dan. And the "compromise" between the two political wings (cut taxes and increase spending) will make slaves of a nation. Obama states his ideal as "egalitarian liberty," which is a value I share. The big question is, how do we get his attention? How do we change the mindset you're talking about? to use Allan Savory's terms, how do we get the biggest bang for the buck? What's going to be the most effective strategy? I share your concerns, Dan. And the “compromise” between the two political wings (cut taxes and increase spending) will make slaves of a nation. Obama states his ideal as “egalitarian liberty,” which is a value I share. The big question is, how do we get his attention? How do we change the mindset you’re talking about? to use Allan Savory’s terms, how do we get the biggest bang for the buck? What’s going to be the most effective strategy?

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