Nathan H. – I am a strong believer in the pursuit of alternative energy as a part of our effort to preserve the planet as we know it. However, I am concerned that this segment of our efforts receives undue attention. No matter what advances are made in alternative energy, a reduction of energy use and increased efficiency will be vital to our eventual success. That said, I agree . . . run like hell.

I’ve been watching videos on this site: http://www.ted.com/ — it’s kind of an Al Gore / Ted Branson / Jane Goodall / Bono kind of site –

& one speaker, I forget his name, mentioned the huge potential of geothermal, as compared with the miniscule amount spent on researching it by the Bush regime;

& another speaker, Ray Kurzweil, was describing the huge potential of nanotechnology which might one day harvest solar energy.

I would add that as our nature is getting destroyed, it is getting transformed into higher and higher technology, which, as the guy who wrote “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” reminded us, also has Buddha-nature.

I could be quite wrong about this, but I’m reminded of the coyote / roadrunner cartoons: there are two possible reactions when you find yourself up in the air above a canyon: look down and fall as the coyote does, or continue to run like hell until you reach the other side as the roadrunner does.

I write this as a believer in the consciousness of nature, a mourner of whales, and a rememberer of stories: Prometheus stealing fire and giving it to us; Odin hanging upside-down from a tree for nine nights until the runes came to him; and Wiwati, the green man of Secoya legend, simply speaking his name, once, to create the entire Amazon rainforest.

Our economic system demands constant growth. Even stasis isn’t enough, let alone decreased consumption. But, perhaps there is hope in a consumer shift? Maybe a move away from material consumption toward information consumption or something of the sort? A decrease in the consumption of goods offset by an increase in the consumption of services?

Probably not, but it is nice to have hope.

I agree. The answer definitely isn’t either/or, but I feel that conservation needs to receive far greater weight in policy and promotion than it currently does. Surfing the news and listening to politicians one would think that salvation lies in renewable fuel.

“The Party” is an apt metaphor, and I may steal it for future conversations. Some hangover indeed.

The biggest impact towards the energy consumption of our homes is to cut the size in half of the average US new home being built today. The second biggest impact is then regarding the building envelope which reduces the demand on both heating and cooling. This also is not sexy and relatively uninteresting to the average consumer not truly interested in green building.

Solar, wind and green roofs will often be the last features considered for postgreen homes as they are more flashy and less cost effective measures in green building that are available to reduce energy consumption.

That chart is a little depressing…