Re: [GBlist] house thoughts

[Kirsten Flynn <kir@declan.com>]

OK, :)  calm down

I think what she was trying to say it that we should look at what is
available to use/build with/otherwise consume without depleting natural
resources, and making it impossible for someone else to live their life.  We
know that American consume a disproportionate amount of the worlds natural
resources, (there are figures on this, might be available on the NRDC web
site), and maybe it would be appropriate to tone that material consumption
down a bit. It might make it easier over the long term to sustain our
quality of life, and allow others to achieve some.  It might even slow the
rate of species extinction, faster now than any time in history except when
the dinosaurs were disappearing.  Wouldn't that be nice!

I do not think that it would be possible to literally find a number for that
"share", it was just a way to talk about finding an appropriate and
sustainable level of consumption.

I would be very interested in finding out more about the Ecological
Footprint.  Does anyone know where I could learn about that concept?

on 1/9/02 7:35 PM, clark ellison at cellison1@austin.rr.com wrote:

> 
>> What about not worrying about what we have, but what we might expect?
> What
>> are the resources that the world has available on an average day and what
>> would be our share (based on an average world population).  Whatever our
>> share is - we could then determine what size of home you might build with
>> such a share.  Share of wood, share of metal, share of paper, share of
> stone
>> etc. that are produced everyday.  Bet even the smallest of our homes are
>> using far in excess of our share of the world produce.  Especially when I
>> include the place I work, the malls I shop in, the roads I drive on etc.
>> But when you understand this number and you can then appreciate that for
>> every extra piece I use up, someone else goes without.  We deal everyday
> in
>> our work with the technical choices, we often over look the human impact
>> implications of those choices.  Anyone have these numbers?  What's my
> share?
>> How much am I really using.  How much should I give back?
> 
> To start with I mean no disrespect but you lost me.
> Are we back to the "our share" thing?  Does everyone get a equal share  or
> do we divide by what you do in a day?
> If we overpopulate, then are we entitled to an even larger share for our
> family or if we produce more do we deserve more?
> If you are confined to bed do you not get a share that day or do you get a
> share regardless of what you do or not do? What was your plan for the
> distribution of the resources? Who determines what the resources of the
> world are? You have already stated what we will base the distributing on but
> who gave you that job?  "(based on an average world population)."   Is it
> part of your share that you get to say what everything is based on or is
> that your job?
> Once those that produce mega shares find out how much they work to provide
> the rest of the world with an equal share they will stop and then total
> shares will drop, then do we tear down our house and redistribute the
> wealth? I am sorry but the share thing is communistic and I am totally
> against communism hence the reason I still live in America. Plus the fact
> that even in the communist world there is a system of have and have nots
> because there is always someone greedy in the position of deciding who gets
> how much. What ever system we use is not going to be fair.
> 
> Bet even the smallest of our homes are
>> using far in excess of our share of the world produce.
> 
> I do not know where you live but we in America do have large homes but we
> also have tiny little third world shacks
> with a lot of people living in them. You may not want to bet your share so
> fast. But you should not get off the roads that you travel past your mall on
> cause the people living down here will eat you for lunch. You certainly will
> not have to worry about your car as it will be redistributed.
> 
> My statement was that for us to understand what you or I am saying, we have
> to talk the same.
> "But when you understand this number "      How will we understand the
> number if you are talking Fahrenheit and I am talking Celsius, do you get
> the picture now?  I can explain it to you but I can not understand it for
> you. And I need a lot of help understanding where you came up with your
> statements about my statements. It appears to me we are discussing two
> different subjects.
> 
> 
> 
> 
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______________________________________________________________________
This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by REPP/CREST, creator of
Solstice http://www.crest.org, and BuildingGreen, Inc., publisher of
Environmental Building News and GreenSpec http://www.BuildingGreen.com
______________________________________________________________________