Lou: To paraphrase Will Rogers, there’s no need for comedy writers when you have the whole Bay Area environmental community working for you. I once ran across an Oakland “household” (really an entire hemp-clad neighborhood overbulging a single house) that described itself as an “intentional community.” Their proudest achievement was what they called “the gray water paradigm,” which meant that the plumbing had been disconnected so that all wastewater went out to the compost piles and artificial wetlands in the back yard. They called it “permaculture.” Bet the neighbors loved it. Maybe all of San Francisco should follow their example.
Meanwhile, my AEI collaborator Ken Green points out today that the secret of many newfangled low-energy buildings is in fact that they are essentially no-energy buildings. In other words, one person’s efficiency is another person’s deprivation. Just don’t call it rationing.