Just watching a great documentary on History channel about "Desert Tech" - and that is one of the lines in the show. A great story, demonstraing how people lived in the desert for centuries (sustainably as they could, working within the confines of nature), how we do it today.
Among other things, they discuss how ancient Messopotamians actually built a great society (Babylon) that died out because it (and the waste product it produced, and raw materials it demanded) outstripped nature's ability to replenish or sustian,. A parallel was drawn with moden Phoenix, which for decades has been sinking because we're drawing out more water from the underground aquifer than we're putting back (or letting nature put back).
Also discusses how the nighttime temperature in Phoenix has gone UP 15 DEGREES since the paving of the city...this makes it harder to cool (even at night) requiring more energy, generating more heat, etc......sounds pretty unsustainable, so a colony was built using old-style technologies (cost more to build, but less to run). Guess what? it worked, but developers thought it was "ugly" and expensive.
Question: do you think we should, personally and as a society, spend more time and $$ for sustainable options, such as the demonstration colony mentioned above, or is it just not worth the effort?





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