Simply stated, this is a condition on a decision-making tree in which at least one person is better off and no one is worse off. Sadly, the only time this comes up is in theoretical classes where we learn that making changes in the real world should be easier and more efficient than they usually are. Just as most folks don't understand that not doing anything is also a choice, a condition in another part of the decision-making tree in which no one is any better off, but certainly people will become worse off as conditions deteriorate. Rush said: "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." An often overlooked parameter for judging whether an action or idea is any good, or of any real use, The Pareto Optimum is the condition under which I have tried to live my entire life. Often I go around the corner with my snow blower, passing several houses, blowing snow like a mad-man since my snow blower is already running, I like to go down to make sure that the nearest shut-in has a clear driveway in case she has guests or service providers that need to get to her house. Especially the big pile that the plow throws up needs to be cleared away and if I am out, and just half a block away, I go down to do her driveway anyway and the snow blower doesn't use that much more gas, whether I'm throwing the snow or not.
The joy that I get back for doing her the favor, and those folks along the way, is more than enough reward for me and in a grand scheme makes them all have a little better time of their social responsibility. Many times I have seen stern men, set against the harshness of winter, closed off to their surroundings because of their snow clearing duties, melt a bit inside and turn to me, flashing an appreciative smile. so much reward lies in my seeming silliness that I got about the same distance in the opposite direction as well. I stop at a little old lady's house that direction as well, but she is still capable of doing it herself. It may cost me a bit in fuel and an extra half hour or so whenever it snows deep enough to warrant running the blower, but it is something I can afford to do for others.
This is perhaps the difficult part of trying to mandate or encourage this sort of activity by government. My search for the Pareto Optimum comes from the heart, not the pocketbook. Many years ago, some idiot in the United States of America decided that the government should be run as efficiently as possible, much like it was a business. With one fell swoop, it changed our decision-making trees into bonsai, or wreaths, chanting the mantra cheaper, cheaper, cheaper. The illnesses that we face are as much of intellect as of lack of compassion. There is good reason that heart disease is the leading killer. Those who care are shredded by daily torture and pain. Without taking the reigns from corporate welfare whores, wresting the power of the fork and spoon from chain restaurants and beginning to teach our own children the truth rather than sorted lies of deceitful practitioners of capitalism, with ulterior motives, we might just as well roll over and give up the ship. I for one will not stand by and let the people of the planet continue to be bamboozled by mediocrity, injustice and doublespeak. I continue to write truth about powerful interests, teach peace and security through my advocacy for nature, for the trees, the creatures of the planet, including humans and for the water.
Just for fun, I continue to research dozens of diverse subjects, to get a better sense of where the truth exists and how best to express it. One of the amazing things that I learned in my quest for solutions to the mounting threat of global catastrophe that climate change represents, is that just adding 1% organic matter, (humus) to soil allows it to hold and additional 18,174.109 gallons per acre. (170,000Litres per hectare) To give an idea how much water that is, we can multiply those gallons by eight pounds and represent it as weight 145,392 lbs. or 72.7 tons! Humus holds it's weight in water and hosts billions of organisms per cubic centimeter. One of the greatest tragedies is that we continue to sterilize, de-mineralize and desertify vast areas that used to be arable land. Simply choosing to compost every scrap of organic matter we come in contact with could vastly improve conditions for all, at virtually no cost. My grandmother used to use her half gallon paper milk cartons as her method of composting. Between her back door and the back of her lot, she had enough room to bury about 150 half gallon paperboard containers full of food scraps and vegetable peelings before she would have to start over at the start. This gave her several years of decomposition before she would bring in more nutrients and humus with the next container. Her flowers were the envy of the women of Springfield.
I can't say for sure that everyone was better off for hearing of her petunias, roses or dahlias, but it certainly didn't hurt her any and the billions of organisms living in her soil were happy to be provided optimum conditions in which to thrive. Ultimately, I see the looming ecological crisis this way. We have it in our power to change the planet, both for good and ill. What we do here and now will determine whether life, as we know it, on Earth, continues to proliferate, or becomes truncated or extinct. when I began to actively experiment with soil health and abundance theory, I was but a child myself and many would make fun of me for enriching soils that I did not own. Now that I am a grandfather, I continue to enrich soils that I do not own, if only in the hope that one day I will not be just one crazy old man spitting in the wind, but a part of a vast tribe of humanity, aligned with specific and attainable goals. Re-establishing humus across the land sounds like an almost impossible task until you realize that billions of agents of change can take up the standard of leaving the world better than when we found it. Believe me, the condition it is in now, makes it easier than ever to improve. In building a sense of community, of meeting your farmers at local markets, learning from them about how they treat the earth, enriching the soils around us can yield only benefits. Putting compost in the waste bin assures that it will at least smell rotten by trash day, making the lives of countless garbage men and women decidedly worse off. your carrot tops, potato peelings and onion skins have the power to save the planet, shouldn't you be saving them for compost?
I speak routinely about how we need to learn to emulate nature, creating no waste, shedding all but the essential, designing around beauty and efficient use of materials and energy. Perhaps we do have a long way to go, but the road to get there requires us lining up our values and our beliefs and taking the first step. the way forward never starts with a click of our tongue and a shaking of our head at the senselessness of it all. Resignation in the face of planetary destruction is not what human beings should leave as their legacy. I for one will continue in my attempts to share what I have learned, please do the same. Share a bit of what you have with the world around you and you will be surprised with what that investment yields! I promise, it won't cost you anything and everyone will be better off. More on Biochar from David Yarrow & Kris Can
The joy that I get back for doing her the favor, and those folks along the way, is more than enough reward for me and in a grand scheme makes them all have a little better time of their social responsibility. Many times I have seen stern men, set against the harshness of winter, closed off to their surroundings because of their snow clearing duties, melt a bit inside and turn to me, flashing an appreciative smile. so much reward lies in my seeming silliness that I got about the same distance in the opposite direction as well. I stop at a little old lady's house that direction as well, but she is still capable of doing it herself. It may cost me a bit in fuel and an extra half hour or so whenever it snows deep enough to warrant running the blower, but it is something I can afford to do for others.
This is perhaps the difficult part of trying to mandate or encourage this sort of activity by government. My search for the Pareto Optimum comes from the heart, not the pocketbook. Many years ago, some idiot in the United States of America decided that the government should be run as efficiently as possible, much like it was a business. With one fell swoop, it changed our decision-making trees into bonsai, or wreaths, chanting the mantra cheaper, cheaper, cheaper. The illnesses that we face are as much of intellect as of lack of compassion. There is good reason that heart disease is the leading killer. Those who care are shredded by daily torture and pain. Without taking the reigns from corporate welfare whores, wresting the power of the fork and spoon from chain restaurants and beginning to teach our own children the truth rather than sorted lies of deceitful practitioners of capitalism, with ulterior motives, we might just as well roll over and give up the ship. I for one will not stand by and let the people of the planet continue to be bamboozled by mediocrity, injustice and doublespeak. I continue to write truth about powerful interests, teach peace and security through my advocacy for nature, for the trees, the creatures of the planet, including humans and for the water.
Just for fun, I continue to research dozens of diverse subjects, to get a better sense of where the truth exists and how best to express it. One of the amazing things that I learned in my quest for solutions to the mounting threat of global catastrophe that climate change represents, is that just adding 1% organic matter, (humus) to soil allows it to hold and additional 18,174.109 gallons per acre. (170,000Litres per hectare) To give an idea how much water that is, we can multiply those gallons by eight pounds and represent it as weight 145,392 lbs. or 72.7 tons! Humus holds it's weight in water and hosts billions of organisms per cubic centimeter. One of the greatest tragedies is that we continue to sterilize, de-mineralize and desertify vast areas that used to be arable land. Simply choosing to compost every scrap of organic matter we come in contact with could vastly improve conditions for all, at virtually no cost. My grandmother used to use her half gallon paper milk cartons as her method of composting. Between her back door and the back of her lot, she had enough room to bury about 150 half gallon paperboard containers full of food scraps and vegetable peelings before she would have to start over at the start. This gave her several years of decomposition before she would bring in more nutrients and humus with the next container. Her flowers were the envy of the women of Springfield.
I can't say for sure that everyone was better off for hearing of her petunias, roses or dahlias, but it certainly didn't hurt her any and the billions of organisms living in her soil were happy to be provided optimum conditions in which to thrive. Ultimately, I see the looming ecological crisis this way. We have it in our power to change the planet, both for good and ill. What we do here and now will determine whether life, as we know it, on Earth, continues to proliferate, or becomes truncated or extinct. when I began to actively experiment with soil health and abundance theory, I was but a child myself and many would make fun of me for enriching soils that I did not own. Now that I am a grandfather, I continue to enrich soils that I do not own, if only in the hope that one day I will not be just one crazy old man spitting in the wind, but a part of a vast tribe of humanity, aligned with specific and attainable goals. Re-establishing humus across the land sounds like an almost impossible task until you realize that billions of agents of change can take up the standard of leaving the world better than when we found it. Believe me, the condition it is in now, makes it easier than ever to improve. In building a sense of community, of meeting your farmers at local markets, learning from them about how they treat the earth, enriching the soils around us can yield only benefits. Putting compost in the waste bin assures that it will at least smell rotten by trash day, making the lives of countless garbage men and women decidedly worse off. your carrot tops, potato peelings and onion skins have the power to save the planet, shouldn't you be saving them for compost?
I speak routinely about how we need to learn to emulate nature, creating no waste, shedding all but the essential, designing around beauty and efficient use of materials and energy. Perhaps we do have a long way to go, but the road to get there requires us lining up our values and our beliefs and taking the first step. the way forward never starts with a click of our tongue and a shaking of our head at the senselessness of it all. Resignation in the face of planetary destruction is not what human beings should leave as their legacy. I for one will continue in my attempts to share what I have learned, please do the same. Share a bit of what you have with the world around you and you will be surprised with what that investment yields! I promise, it won't cost you anything and everyone will be better off. More on Biochar from David Yarrow & Kris Can
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