From: Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Date: Tue Feb 20 2001 - 08:51:54 MST
From: GBurch1@aol.com
>All of which leads to the question of how the kinds of "industrial
>ecology" values promoted by the group mentioned in Barbara's post
>can be fostered in the current political and economic environment.
>As regular readers of this list will know, I don't need to
>establish my libertarian or free market credentials. On the other
>hand, I do have a nostalgia for the fiendishly clever
>interconnectedness of the kind of cogen plants we were building in
>the early and mid-80s under the Carter laws. There is no doubt
>that the current state of simple market factors aren't creating
>incentives for this kind of design and construction now; take my
>word for it. Energy prices don't support the extra effort they
>require. Presumably, rising energy prices WILL cause such efforts
>to be undertaken again in the future. On the other hand,
>significant advances in photovoltaics and power storage will also
>make them unnecessary.
>I'd be curious to see a discussion here about how free market
>forces can be harnessed to encourage closing industrial cycles
>more efficiently and cleanly.
I've been a big advocate of these kinds of ideas ever since I
started reading Bucky Fuller.
At a meeting recently I suggested that instead of building turbine
backup systems on to each of our major facilities in downtown
Chicago we undertake building a power plant on an unused piece of
land I spotted across from a CON-ED substation. I figured we could
cut a deal with the utility for the extra power and get some badly
needed style points with the city as well.
They gave me that "What planet are you from" look I sometimes get.
Brian
Member:
Extropy Institute, www.extropy.org
Adler Planetarium www.adlerplanetarium.org
Life Extension Foundation, www.lef.org
National Rifle Association, www.nra.org, 1.800.672.3888
Ameritech Data Center Chicago, IL, Local 134 I.B.E.W
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