For self-employed people, the sins of August, where we went to Sun Dance at Four Quarters, are visited upon September. The penance of October is not manifest ‘til November. When self-employed folk go on vacation, we pay for it twice. Once for the vacation, and again for the time not working. September was pretty darn lean in my studio. Meanwhile, with the current economic meltdown on Wall Street, I and just about everybody I know have been watching our net worths bounce like a fat kid on a trampoline with the springs coming undone one by one. Bad timing for our family, as for the first time, I got to see the “Line of Credit” line lit up on our statements. In a word, ouch. But our situation of not particularly unique, or so severe compared to many others.

Read more...

Personally, I was first introduced to these concepts by a wise high school teacher who assigned me to read the original “Limits to Growth” report of 1974. The conclusions drawn by that report, which I have essentially presented above, hit me like a thunderbolt, followed immediately by the first global oil crisis of 1973-74. In those times there was a lively public discussion around issues of industrial sustainability, renewable energy systems and “Back to the Land Self Sufficiency.” I determined on a technical education to focus on renewable energy systems, and spent four years helping to build what was then the largest array of photovoltaic panels in the world.

Read more...