I'm very aware that when someone says "Mountain View", they are talking about the sum of all things we do, or at least that part of it all they know about. I work hard to be a good citizen. If everybody used as little energy as I do, a large part of our trade deficit, and climate change problems would be solved. As both you and I know, we are a long way from that situation.

It's not the place of city government to apply coercive pressures to the lifestyles of the people that live here. However, Mountain View is unique in the level to which it embraces the internet. Being here in what I believe to be the largest wireless internet zone on the planet, I think it would be great if we could find ways to use such rules of thumb as "think globally, act locally" to spread awareness and change.

There are many ways that electrical energy is part of our system. When you discuss something you saw on TV, you are talking about a few Watt-hours of power you used directly, many Kilo-Watt-hours that was used to broadcast the signal, and quite a bit of other energy used to create and distribute the story. Sometimes it shocks me how little people are aware of the quantities of electric power used to make them aware of some shocking political development. What is the relationship between enlightenment and turning on the lights? Is there a role for political discussions about the role of religion in our language?

Some kinds of electrical energy use are easy to find religion analogies for, others are a bit too newfangled for that. For example, I remember talking to a couple in Orange County that explained "Dharma is the random stuff that is out there. On the other hand, Karma is the stuff you caused that is for you." I would say by that measure Dharma is the Wi-Fi traffic that has nothing to do with you or I. Karma is stuff we send out and/or recieve from our own boxes. What would government regulation of radio signal reception look like? I'm not sure, but to make any sense I'm really sure it needs to be compatible with the Bill of Rights.  My hope is that through play we can find new kinds of win/win.

Note: The above is why I made this page, but it seemed like a good place to put my answers to misc. questions that are environmental in nature. In that vein are the following:

The Farm usually refered to as The Pumpkin Patch

People are constantly asking me my position on this issue. If the current owners must sell the land to developers, then I would ask that they go with the 50 unit layout suggested by the Mountain View Farmland group. I would like to see the city do whatever zoning changes are needed to maintain that five acre parcel as agricultural land far into the future.

It's hard for me to see how a five acre farm can succeed in Mountain View. My position is that if that doesn't work the land should become community garden plots. There is always a need for more of those.

Cuesta Annex

Walking precincts in the Cuesta Park area, people ask me what my plans are for Cuesta Park Annex.  I usually reply "I'm from the other side of town, and until this race I didn't care much about it at all." Then I ask them what they want to see there. By far the most common response is something to the effect "we should leave it as open space.". Based on the many times I've heard that, I'm going to vote that way if the question comes before me. It is clearly lte will of the people that are around the place.