Sustainability

A tale of two strawberries, and what they tell us about the way of the modern world: one was part of a box bought in a Fred Meyer supermarket not long ago, nicely packaged in a plastic container that described its California origins. Large, red, attractive. And quite tasteless. The other came from a half flat of local berries bought last Wednesday from the people who park their pickup near the junction of Liberty and Commercial streets. Smallish, a darker red, slightly blemished. And sweet beyond words. Yet, I just read that Oregon strawberry growers are finding it tough to…

Many thanks to everyone who fed the PollMonkey and expressed their preference for a new name for the old Fairview Training Center property. The online poll will remain up for about another week, until my one-month PollMonkey membership expires. Vote if you haven't done so already. It turns out that the management of Sustainable Fairview Associates (SFA), the group that is making Fairview into a sustainable (i.e. Green) development, has changed course, and now doesn't think the property needs to be renamed right away. That's fine with me. I had advised the management that they needed to slow down and…

It was both scary and exciting to approach the newspaper box this morning, knowing that an article about the Fairview renaming effort, and my online poll, probably would be in the Statesman-Journal. You never know how a story will come out, after you talk to a reporter. Laurence Cruz, the environment reporter, called me yesterday afternoon after I had written a letter to the editor about the poll, and had been told by the editorial page editor that it really was a press release, not a letter. OK, whatever. I had gotten some resistance from the management of Sustainable Fairview…

I had a good time yesterday learning about PollMonkey, and setting up a polling page where people can express their opinion about which proposed new name for the Fairview sustainable development they like best. Econia, Pringle, Ekone, Terramore--these are the candidates at the moment. Be sure to take the poll, which is at www.brianhines.com/renamefairview.htm As I say on the web page, email me if you have any comments on the names, or want to suggest another name. On January 27 the members of Sustainable Fairview Associates, who include Laurel and me, are supposed to choose a new name for the…

The sustainable Fairview development needs a new name. I gather one hasn't been chosen yet, though various alternatives have been suggested. Not surprisingly, I'm still attracted to the names I shared with other investors many months ago: "Terramore" and "Terros," with "Terramore" being my current favorite. I'll admit that Terros resonates too closely with "terror" for today's anxious times. I'm probably the only SFA member who likes Terramore, but that's OK. Diversity is what we're all about. It just has that wonderful Arthurian ring; plus, you get the generally recognizable Terra, followed by an interesting play on words--"amore," or love,…

I vote for fraud, but I'd be happy to be proved wrong. Genesis World Energy claims to have made some sort of amazing breakthrough in fuel cell technology, such that you will be able to hook up their gadget and power your whole house with just a wire to the electrical box and a garden hose. If that sounds too good to be true to you, you're in agreement with a bunch of skeptics in some newsgroups who consider Genesis World Energy a fraud in the making. Here's an excerpt from their website. I smell "pyramid scheme" and "techno-cult." But,…

The Buddhist conception is that everything changes, continously. This rings true for me. The earth is changing; society is changing; the people around me are changing; I'm changing. Nothing is sustainable, in the sense of unchanging. The best we can do is flow with change, to manage it as best we can inside and outside of ourselves. So, when I look at the colorful maps of Sustainable Fairview in the master plan, this doesn't look like anything real to me. It's a static picture, not a dynamic unfolding. Those of us responsible for the development of Sustainable Fairview should spend…

We're looking forward to being part of the progress of Sustainable Fairview in 2003, and beyond. Here's an overview of the project, excerpted from the recently completed draft master plan. If you aren't familiar with Sustainable Fairview, whose name, blessedly, eventually will be changed to something better, it's worth taking a few minutes to read this summary. I (Brian) have never been that much of an environmentalist, even though I'm married to a fanatic recycler, tree-planter, and defender of wildlife. Periodically I manage to take our tin cans, glass, and cardboard to the local drop-off site, but that has just…