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Re: Ecological Economics and Entropy



D. Braun <dbraun@u.washington.edu> wrote:
> > 
> > In Medieval times, 90+% of the population was chronically malnourished.
 A
> > man was deemed well off if he ate meat once a week.  Most children
suffered
> > from rickets and other defiency conditions.  Many castles and manor
homes
> > tossed trenchers (crusts of bread) and other dinner-table scraps to
hungry
> > people who clustered outside, who fought bitterly for line rights. 
Often,
> > a government official would, upon their yearly visit to a village, find
> > that starvation and disease had wiped out the entire populace sometime
in
> > the past year, with none the wiser.
> > 
> > Beer was widely consumed, by children and adults, as water was too
> > dangerous to drink.  When you did drink river water, you were taught to
> > "strain" it between your teeth to remove the larger creatures found
> > naturally in it.
> > 
> > Even the wealthy had their problems.  Food poisoning was endemic,
fruits
> > and vegetables were unknown out of season, seafood was impossible
unless
> > you lived near the coast, and at thirty-five, you needed soft food as
your
> > teeth had all rotted out...unless an abcessed tooth killed you, as was
> > quite common.
> > 
> > This is the true world of 'organic' farming, biomass power, and
> > deindustrialization many environmentalists would have us return to. 
I'd
> > prefer to work out our problems and stay here.
> 
> Mike, your description of medieval times was interesting, but does
nothing
> to buttress your last paragraph. It is complete fabrication.  The
question
> is, why do yuo persist in such poor attempts at propaganda? Is every
issue
> merely entertainment for you?

I'm sorry if the reality of the Middle Ages doesn't agree with your copy of
Robin Hood, Dave.  Have you read any serious history of, say, the 15th
century? 

> .. Do you see that I am
> reduced to asking rhetorical questions, becasue substantive debate with
> you is apparently impossible?.

Please, introduce a fact, or at least a logical construction.  Your
incessant name-calling is starting to wear thin.  Even the radicals in this
group manage civility; you, though, are an exception.

--
Mike Asher
masher@tusc.net


"I used to think I was poor. Then they told me I wasn't poor, I was needy.
Then they told me it was self-defeating to think of myself as needy. I was
deprived. (Oh not deprived but rather underprivileged.) Then they told me
that underprivileged was overused. I was disadvantaged. I still don't have
a dime. But I have a great vocabulary." 
-Jules Feiffer (1965) 




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