In a previous post, I told you about my good fortune in meeting a guy I call Fish, who is now my neighbor. Along with solving all my logistical problems in one fell swoop, he has quickly become a good friend and mentor.
I don’t directly work with Fish, but we swim and eat together, so have plenty of time to talk. A lot of it revolves around the idea of people finding paths where they can achieve their goals (for production, profit, sanitation, etc.) while minimizing or eliminating harmful environmental impact. There are many names for the various forms of this, call it what you will: Recent buzzwords include “green building” and “sustainable development”; in my home state the slogan goes - “Don’t mess with Texas”; Growing up, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” became popular; Mufasa’s ghost warns young Simba to rejoin “The Circle of Life”. You get my drift. They are all talking about the same thing - in everything we do and create, there is a right way, and a wrong way. Actually, I should say: there is one optimal solution amongst many (mostly bad) options. People will go after what they need and want. We need/want food, stuff, energy for our stuff, and happiness. So we need agriculture, factories, power plants, and for the Mavericks to win a championship. The last one is easy (Free Roddy B!), but the others require some intelligence. Fortunately we are considered “intelligent life forms” - supposedly even more so than dolphins and octopi! Let me give you some concrete examples that come from Fish’s experiences, after I tell you why I respect the guy so darn much.
I borrowed a beaten up 9 foot longboard with no leash from the nice folks in Taitung that Ruth is staying with, and it fit with an inch to spare into the car Fish lent me. I went to a hardware store, and for under $3, I bought some materials to fashion a leash. With no idea of where to go, and no information about current swell reports or tide heights, I headed north, periodically popping over on little paths to check the waves.
I don’t directly work with Fish, but we swim and eat together, so have plenty of time to talk. A lot of it revolves around the idea of people finding paths where they can achieve their goals (for production, profit, sanitation, etc.) while minimizing or eliminating harmful environmental impact. There are many names for the various forms of this, call it what you will: Recent buzzwords include “green building” and “sustainable development”; in my home state the slogan goes - “Don’t mess with Texas”; Growing up, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” became popular; Mufasa’s ghost warns young Simba to rejoin “The Circle of Life”. You get my drift. They are all talking about the same thing - in everything we do and create, there is a right way, and a wrong way. Actually, I should say: there is one optimal solution amongst many (mostly bad) options. People will go after what they need and want. We need/want food, stuff, energy for our stuff, and happiness. So we need agriculture, factories, power plants, and for the Mavericks to win a championship. The last one is easy (Free Roddy B!), but the others require some intelligence. Fortunately we are considered “intelligent life forms” - supposedly even more so than dolphins and octopi! Let me give you some concrete examples that come from Fish’s experiences, after I tell you why I respect the guy so darn much.
