tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78997643381732632602024-03-13T22:08:22.873-04:00Cooperation in view of Sustainabilityrckoegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04112861525911810676noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899764338173263260.post-3510543862876081232014-08-25T11:31:00.002-04:002014-08-25T12:19:08.873-04:00Response, Regarding Police Accountability<center><img border="0" src="http://i57.tinypic.com/hx2076.jpg" width="90%" /></center>
<br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>PaulBunion's comment:</b> "Once upon a time in America, almost all law enforcement officers were either elected officials themselves, or were directly responsible to an elected official. The bureaucratization of US police forces over the last century, and their current militarization puts them pretty much beyond the control of the voters. Expect this sort shooting to continue until the organizational basis of our police forces are significantly changed."<br /><br /><b>My Response:</b> "So you want Non-Profit Civilian Security and Criminal Investigation Co-Ops, managed by the citizen members of the secured community?<br /><br />Fully transparent, democratically operated organizations where the community members can issue a vote to remove agents from their current positions, terminate agents entirely, or otherwise modify the functions of the organization, so long as they adhere to constitutional law.<br /><br />Note: Such Co-operatives would be run independently, but share resources just like current police agencies.<br /><br />And while we're at it, isn't it time citizens take control of their criminal and debt/credit records; via Non-Profit Co-Operative Database Maintaining Organizations where citizens, not corporations, control their functions/fairness. Our debt/credit histories already become virtually irrelevant after 7 years with the current system, but even a minor felony conviction on a criminal record can keep a person from voting, acquiring a decent job, or living in a non-ghetto community for the rest of their lives. This is not the practice of a civilized society (it's a form of slavery)."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/05/23-police-officers-fire-377-bullets-at-2-men-with-0-guns/361904/"><span style="color: #b24f23;">Click here for the original article.</span></a></span>rckoegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04112861525911810676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899764338173263260.post-10434421517408024732014-06-29T12:08:00.000-04:002014-06-29T12:09:36.730-04:00Questions on Quora<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I was asked to answer the following question, on Quora.com:</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If global warming is not happening, what's going to remove all the CO2 humans add to the atmosphere each year? </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">my answer:</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px;">nothing,... by that i mean there haven't been mass adoptions of tools or techniques to sequester that extra CO2 and keep it from causing runaway greenhouse effects. but there are options.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px;">hemp production, en mass, would help, as it grows and absorbs CO2 at a much faster rate than trees, but can be used to produce basically everything trees are used for today... also, the use of hemp products would probably help (I've read that hemp insulation in homes continues to absorb CO2, perhaps other hemp products do this too).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px;">years ago some folks in Europe developed a paint or coating for buildings that absorbed CO2.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px;">there are other tools, no doubt for removing the excess CO2, and there are methods for reducing our output.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px;">for example: there are alternatives for CO2 producing concrete that absorbs atmospheric CO2, or avoids it's creation, rather then creates it. there are bio-plastics vs petroleum based plastics. there are electric cars vs fossil fuel burning cars. and renewable resources for energy production vs burning coal and/or oil. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px;">there are also certainly ways to capture CO2 and other toxic gases that are produced while producing power via the burning of material, or while manufacturing goods at factories. those captured gases, fumes, or compounds could then be reused elsewhere in other industrial practices. this would save not only the environment, and keep more CO2 out of the air, but it would also save more money in the long run. businesses simply don't do this today, because they are not required to. so instead the true costs of these unsustainable practices are paid by others, elsewhere, at other times. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px;">the books will be balanced at one point or another. the real question is why and when did it become okay for businesses and their operators to stop paying those costs up front. and how do we begin to require responsibility within our current global society; from the top down.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px;">if we can do that, CO2 trends will naturally start to reverse and drive our planet and species towards a sustainable existence.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px;">FYI, in most 1st world countries, non-profit co-operatives can produce the same goods and provide the same services as for-profit corporations can, however the non-profit co-operatives don't have to answer to a handful of fat-cats who's only interests are their own, instead they answer to the communities they serve. and through the democratic development and operation, and the transparency, that co-operatives and non-profits are required to possess and maintain, they can provide the necessary tools for masses of people to not only identify any unsustainable practices they have but also work together to adapt their practices as necessary to stay true to their purpose; providing resources, goods, and services as sustainably as possible. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 17.920000076293945px;">so get together with your community, and buyout that nasty factory down the street, change the way it does business for the better, and reap the non-monetary benefits that this act of philanthropy and sustainability brings to your community. then reach out and help other communities do the same. ; )</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.quora.com/If-global-warming-is-not-happening-whats-going-to-remove-all-the-CO2-humans-add-to-the-atmosphere-each-year/answer/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Click here to see the question on Quora</a>rckoegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04112861525911810676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899764338173263260.post-4334315529754099452014-06-22T10:05:00.003-04:002014-06-22T15:00:39.938-04:00Response to comments on an article<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Original comment:</b> "Well Greenpeace has an annual income of $300 million, it just lost $5 million in currency trading – just who are the rich and greedy?? – why isn't it using it’s funds to cleanup the oceans?" - <b>janama</b><br /><br /><b>My Response:</b> Damn, what could I do with 5 million dollars… hmm… I could buy up, lets say, 100 laundromats across the US, convert them all to a chain of democratically operated non-profit cooperative businesses that work to lower the cost to customers, while raising the bar on quality of service and professional responsibility (which includes service to employees as an employer, and adhering to the most sustainable practices possible, as they are developed).<br /><br />Not only would this organization be able to do awesome things within it’s specific field of business, but it’s charter would require a specific, and large, amount of any excess income be donated to an International Cooperative Monetary Fund (ICMF) that would work to provide developmental assistance and financing to other non-profit cooperatives, especially those seeking to form in areas of business, or in countries, where this business model is not yet being utilized. Whereas each of those organizations would also be mandated to include a requirement to donate excess income back to the ICMF, thereby further spreading the wealth of democracy and sustainable business practices, exponentially.<br /><br />Of course this wouldn't have to start with laundromats, it could be a chain of restaurants, auto repair shops, clothing or other merchandise manufacturing centers, retail outlets, medical offices, legal service centers, hotels, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/01/28/dead-whales-are-showing-up-bringing-us-a-message-stomachs-full-of-plastic/">Click here for the original article.</a></span>rckoegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04112861525911810676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899764338173263260.post-58288301899453313312012-08-15T11:57:00.001-04:002014-06-22T15:01:44.243-04:00Response to article about Roma<div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Responding to an article describing how the nomadic Roma, or gypsies, of France were being systematically evicted from the various campsites they had developed around Paris and some other French cities due to those camp sites being hazardous (lacking water, and sanitation, etc), I made the following suggestion:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Perhaps they should form a non-profit cooperative that can collect funds then buy and maintain small plots of land near major cities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Like KOA campgrounds in the US they could provide working toilets, showers, fresh water, and both camping and RV sites for use.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And as an added benefit they could be at least partially funded by sharing use with outsiders, including allowing the land to be used for the occasional festival or fair. Both could be hosted by the Roma as well, providing non-begging income and an opportunity to sell handmade wares.... a way to show the Roma are not just a burden on the greater society."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.salon.com/2012/08/15/roma_trapped_in_misery_as_france_demolishes_camps/">Click here for the original article.</a></span></div>
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rckoegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04112861525911810676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899764338173263260.post-62191931182418294052011-11-24T07:15:00.000-05:002011-11-24T07:17:21.695-05:00in response to an article on Grist (click to read article)on the subject of sustainability, and the need for our global societies values to be altered to not only allow for but encourage sustainability: for sustainable practices to be 'built in' to our every behavior. it seems to me that it's best to simply reverse the system that has allowed our values to become so skewed in the first place. it was capitalist ideals, greed, that drove the wedge between man and the earth, and it will be philanthropical ideals that will bring man back into natures fold.<br /><br />cooperate, not for profit--as a corporation does--but to promote sustainability and equality in every aspect of life. build non-profit cooperative schools, car manufacturers, insurance providers, hospitals, automotive service centers, recycling plants, solar power plants, fisheries, farms, building developers, music labels, film producers and distributors, employment agencies, et cetera.<br /><br />any necessary business can succeed at providing better products, at a lower overall cost, while also providing higher quality employment to more people, as a non-profit cooperative than as a greedy for-profit corporation. the only question is whether to build them as member operated or employee operated organizations; and that will most often differ in accordance to the customer/members contact with the org. a farm is best run by those who participate in it's functions personally, while a grocery needs the input from it's members to determine what products it should buy, and from where.<br /><br />also, like the for-profit business model today which uses the International Monetary Fund to promote the use of it's model globally, a Non-Profit or Cooperative Monetary Fund can be created with the pool of excess funds from the overall cooperative and non-profit community, which can then be used to fund the global development of yet more cooperatives: buying and converting for-profits when there isn't room in a current marketplace for what could be a very beneficial cooperative.<br /><br />this, by the way, was how communism was supposed to work. only with communism a government was used as a middle man; with the job of acquiring property, businesses, and banks, and then redistributing ownership over these things to the people... however the greed and selfishness of those in government lead them to hold onto that which they acquired in order to promote and maintain their positions of wealth and power. the model i've described does not allow for such foolishness to occur; so long as all cooperatives are limited in size, and allowed to function as an individual entities; while still maintaining the support of the larger community.<br /><br />billboards? manipulative or deceptive advertisements or commercials? copyrights? most business law? most gov regulation and oversight? unemployment? high crime rates? excessive drug use? excessive sales of antidepressants? high suicide rates? terrorism? these things have no place in a sustainable society.rckoegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04112861525911810676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899764338173263260.post-16949657690404626982010-03-11T15:06:00.000-05:002010-03-15T16:48:41.510-04:00The BasicsIn order to promote the overall well-being of humanity I suggest the mass adoption of Small Cooperative Non-Profit Organizations throughout the business world; not merely as schools, hospitals, credit unions, grocery stores, and basic service providers (power, water, waste), but also as goods manufacturers, food producers, insurance providers, cell phone carriers, internet service providers, automobile manufacturers and maintenance centers, et cetera.<br /><br />These would be Sustainable and Self-Regulating Democratic Organizations who's goal would be merely to provide quality services, products, and employment, and not to earn a profit. Having these as their sole purpose alleviates the need for individual governments to spend time and money regulating businesses in order to maintain their level of accountability: A non-profit organization's business charter, when properly designed, should account for it's overall responsible regulation and transparency, as well as it's requirement for intentional disbandment upon it's failure or it's lack of necessity.<br /><br />Although one might contest that there are plenty of examples of successful credit unions and cooperative grocers, there are still few examples of successful non-profit goods manufacturers and entertainment or telecommunications focused service providers. I believe that if this were to change, the world over, surely there would be a steep incline in the health and happiness of people everywhere.<br /><br />Considering that the goal of these organizations would be to develop and produce only the best quality goods, while also providing quality employment to individuals, not only would decent wages and full benefits obviously be made available to all employees, but customers would be able to take pride in paying the price of the goods; since they would know they were promoting the health and well-being of not only themselves but also the individuals that produced the goods. This is in contrast to today's market where general shoppers must navigate complex pricing schemes--carefully designed to confuse and manipulate the customers simply to promote the excessive wealth of only a few individuals--and who regularly find themselves doubting the value of the goods they purchase.<br /><br />Also one of the most important reasons for intentionally adopting the Non-Profit Cooperative business model worldwide and throughout all industries is its innate ability to easily design environmentally responsible as well as socially responsible organizations. Aside from the obvious benefits, this would aid in greatly reducing the need for governmental regulation in regards to green house gas emissions and general pollution. The widespread use of these organizations could also aid in resolving one of the topics most highly debated currently within world politics. I'm fairly sure that had Cooperative Non-Profits been at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution what is now known as Climate Change could have been easily abated by the direct action of the communities who suffered most from the pollution produced: those who lived and worked near and within the factory centers.rckoegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04112861525911810676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899764338173263260.post-25169137941196667122010-02-28T17:23:00.000-05:002010-03-11T16:41:26.842-05:00Producing International Cooperation[the following is an idea submitted to USAID.gov during an Open Government event, where a single website was developed to play host to the encouragement of participation in government by allowing the submission of ideas from the general public to many different government agencies, as well as the ability for participants to vote and comment on the ideas submitted. <a href="http://openusaid.ideascale.com/a/dtd/31596-7110" target="_gov">please click here to vote!</a>]<br /><br />why not use US funds to promote international well-being by aiding in the development of Small Self-Regulating Cooperative Non-Profit Organizations; such as schools, hospitals, credit unions, coop grocery stores, coop goods manufacturers, coop service providers (power, water, waste), insurance providers, et cetera...<br /><br />promoting the development of Sustainable and Self-Regulating Democratic Organizations who's goal is merely to provide quality services, products, and employment, and not to earn a profit, alleviates the need for USAID and individual governments to worry about and subsequently spend more money and energy regulating businesses in order to maintain their level of accountability. a non-profit organization's business charter, when properly designed, should account for it's overall responsible regulation and transparency.<br /><br />and it's important to note that, although there are plenty of examples of successful credit unions and cooperative grocers, there are few examples of successful non-profit goods manufacturers. if this were to change, the world over, surely there would be a steep incline in the health and happiness of people everywhere.<br /><br />considering that the goal of these organizations would be to develop and produce only the best quality goods, while also providing quality employment to individuals, not only would decent wages and full benefits obviously be made available to all employees, but customers would be able to take pride in paying the price of the goods; since they would know they were promoting the health and well-being of not only themselves but also the individuals that produced the goods. this is in contrast to today's shoppers who must navigate complex pricing schemes--carefully designed to confuse and manipulate the customers simply to promote the excessive wealth of only a few individuals--and who regularly find themselves doubting the value of the goods they purchase.<br /><br />and of course, because these Non-Profit Cooperative Organizations would be designed to be socially responsible as well as environmentally responsible they would be capable of greatly reducing the need for governmental regulation in regards to green house gas emissions and general pollution. one of the topics most highly debated currently within world politics--climate change--could be easily abated by the direct action of the communities who suffer most from the pollution that has generally taken place around factory centers: those who live and work there.rckoegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04112861525911810676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899764338173263260.post-2429458751118242772010-02-18T20:06:00.000-05:002010-02-28T17:57:01.125-05:00profit = no right to protestfrom slashdot:<br /><br />"The Federal Court has ordered an Australian distributor to pay Nintendo over half a million dollars for selling the R4 mod chip, which allows users to circumvent technology protection measures in Nintendo's DS consoles. The distributor, RSJ IT Solutions, has been ordered to cease selling the chip through its gadgetgear.com.au site and any other sites it controls, as well as paying Nintendo $520,000 in damages."<br /><br />[this device allows a person to store well over 300 DS games on one chip, which limits the need to even sell the games via cartridges. which could dramatically limit the cost of distribution, both financially and environmentally. R4 like devices also allow a person to create or use open source software to do things that the DS manufacturers did not intend, like run linux or ebook reader software.]<br /><br /><a href="http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/02/18/0646211/Nintendo-Wins-Lawsuit-Over-R4-Mod-Chip-Piracy" target="_blaket" rel="nofollow" onmousedown="'UntrustedLink.bootstrap($(this),"><span>Click here to see the original Slashdot post.</span></a><br /><br />my response to the slashdot post:<br /><br />i think, the issue is quite clear.... so long as the original developer and distributor 'of anything' makes a profit off their work they have no room to argue that someone else has infringed on their rights. basically, if they can stay in business, they ought to just shut up!<br /><br />the whole idea of copyrights wasn't to give an industry ultimate control over their own ability to maximize profits, especially not indefinitely. and anyone who whines cause they think they 'should' be making more money, after making millions, should be taken out and put down.<br /><br />seriously, how petty must the corporate world get before things change? does Nintendo make games to make a profit, or does it make games so that people can enjoy them? if the earlier is true their right to do business should be revoked! making money may be required to stay in business, but making that the goal sets up a business to eventually act excessively selfish, greedy, or downright irresponsible--at the cost of actual human beings.<br /><br />case and point: they sued a smaller, nobody, company because the technology they produced was used for piracy--or could be, but they still refuse to provide adequate means for people to do the awesome things that device legally allowed a user to do.<br /><br />in fact, i've copied and given away ALL of my DVDs, CDs, and video games/systems. i believe wholeheartedly that maintaining a large collection of disks, cartridges, and entertainment systems is beyond irresponsible in a time where the construction and shipment of those items consumes so many better used non-renewable resources. the tonnage of plastic used to make those things, and now sitting on a shelf unused or in a land fill somewhere, is beyond unbelievable. let's not even consider the environmental cost of the energy needed to make them or the transportation fuel needed to get them to my home. i now have one hard drive, and one back up drive, where all my media is stored--though i do often copy some files to other portable devices; like my phone which functions as an MP3 player, eBook reader, handheld gaming device, etc. and my computer can emulate just about any gaming system.<br /><br />furthermore, if the government had any sense at all, it would not only throw out any case brought against a company that allowed for the mass digital storage of otherwise individually sold items, but it would also sue the pants off the original developers for refusing to provide the same service. or simple provide the technology to the public itself via the development of a non-governmental non-profit organization, simply in the hopes of limiting the future distribution of waste to their already overfilling landfills. they could even use the money from the lawsuit to pay for the development of the non-profit manufacturer.rckoegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04112861525911810676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899764338173263260.post-3301800858969689762010-02-03T13:54:00.000-05:002010-02-28T17:56:15.305-05:00salt - who knewaround 81 b.c. the teenage emperor of a then unified china gathered 60 notables from around china to openly debate state administative policies. the central subject at the time was the government ruled monopoly over salt and iron, which was imposed and used mostly to fund military activities.<br /><br />this debate ended up covering many different issues. but i found it interesting that when confucians, inspired by mencius, were asked how a state should raise profits, they replied, "why must your majesty use the world profit? all i am concerned with are the good and the right. if your majesty says, 'how can i profit my state?' your officials will say, 'how can i profit my family?' and officers and common people will say, 'how can i profit myself?' once superiors and inferiors are competing for profit, the state will be in danger."<br /><br />as so it is.... like drr like drr people, 81 b.c., get with the program!<br /><br />(for reference see "salt: a history of the world" by mark kurlansky, p33)rckoegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04112861525911810676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899764338173263260.post-37096574651029653662010-02-01T14:36:00.000-05:002010-02-28T18:25:18.367-05:00government control over industry<span style="font-weight: bold;">other persons comment: </span><br /><br />None of you brought up the efficency of mass transit or of rail to save gasoline! Disel-electric trains are super efficient. Electric rail can be powered with a solar suppliment. As for cars, all electric is perfect for short range (mass transit is better) and hybrid electric (using bio-disel) is old, existing technolgy. Save gas for air travel. The whole problem is willingness to demand change from the entrrenched business world. That's where government intervention is needed. who else speaks for the good of the people? Not business, they are too short sighted.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">my response: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"The whole problem is willingness to demand change from the entrrenched business world. That's where government intervention is needed." </span><br /><br />how about instead of requiring glutinous corporations or a lazy governments to do our job for us, we do it for ourselves. The solution to who will produce stuff for us that we really need, but that doesn't guarantee a huge monetary profit for the energy, time, and money invested is obvious to me. Co-Operative Non-Profit businesses that can produce goods rather than just provide services, like most of the Non-Profits that exist today.<br /><br />Most people know that when you want something that requires the effort of more than just yourself to build you can incorporate; you can join with and cooperate with others to build those things. I read once that he first corporation in the US was actually a non-profit arranged for the erection of a single bridge, then disbanded. However, today we build most things for profit. Possibly because each of us rarely needs more than one of each thing, but the tools we use to make each thing are often specialized and capable of making many such things. Or perhaps because we lack the skills necessary to build something and therefor need to trade for the assistance of a skilled builder, and money is easy to trade because it has a standard value. But I'm sure we also have a tendency to build many things for profit because we've been taught to be greedy; greedy beyond what could be considered natural or sustainable amount.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, there are still areas where the for-profit business model can function successfully. I don't doubt that at all, nor am I interested in replacing all For Profits with Non-Profits. But when it comes to doing things like developing the best and most affordable electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, or developing the most efficient insulation for homes; it just seems to me that a company run by those dedicated to the purity of their product and not concerned with ANY monetary value--beyond what's required to sustain themselves--are more likely to produce the best product, without question, at the most affordable price.<br /><br />They would also be more likely to adapt their industry as new technologies were developed while maintaining a merely sustainable income, rather then try and make as much money off their current designs before producing better products and then selling the new product at unreasonable costs.<br /><br />Proper non-profits are also chartered to do fairly specific things, and limited from becoming for-profit businesses later on. So if, say, a non-profit co-op was arranged to design and construct efficient water catchment and retention devices, but discovered that all their products were toxic and should no longer be used, they would either adapt to known non-toxic products or disband their business; they would not legally be able to sell their business or property mind you, they would be forced to disband and to donate there property either to the state or other non-profits.<br /><br />I really don't see any other solution that is sustainable indefinitely. I believe our world currently requires the development of many small, local, yet associated, Non-Profit Co-Operative businesses that can design, build, and construct sustainable and environmentally safe products.<br /><br />If you require a sample of what I mean by small, local, but associated businesses, look no further than one of your local Credit Unions that's a member of the National Credit Union Association, or your local Food Coop that's a member of the National Cooperative Grocers Association. Both of these businesses provide services, more than goods, but they both aim at providing the best services, and have the support of a larger community to maintain their ability to do that.<br /><br />My favorite concept for this idea is that of Statewide Limited Electric and Hybrid Automobile Manufacturing and Recycling Centers that cater to the needs of their state alone, but share research and development resources with other State Limited Automobile Manufacturing and Recycling Centers. Having local manufacturers allows for the on-demand manufacture of cars, for customizations that better meet the needs of the vehicle users, as well as a drop in the amount of space needed to store unused vehicles, and the energy needed to transport the vehicles and materials.<br /><br />Initially materials would need to be imported into the area, but because these manufacturers would also be recycling old cars the amount of imported materials would slowly become less and less. They could also adapt their designs specifically to make use of what materials they can easy obtain; like hemp woven cloth for car-seats in states where industrial hemp is allowed, or organic cotton in states where cotton is a primary export.rckoegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04112861525911810676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899764338173263260.post-78195575806303810562009-01-14T16:14:00.000-05:002010-02-28T19:02:20.450-05:00Economic Stimulus Spendingum, why are we throwing our money away on failing technologies and companies?<br /><br />EVERYTHING can be built, designed, manufactured, maintained, and derived as open source via free use copyrights and non-profit organizations, especially cooperatives! this could allow for the free use of ideas to benefit society, by providing quality jobs, services and products all at cost (the lowest price possible).<br /><br />all we would need is the initial start-up funds to get a non-profit business going and we could easily manufacture THE BEST cars, computers, hot water heaters, homes, food, and provide THE BEST health care, insurance, maintenance, ISPs, and recycling centers, et cetera; lets not forget to mention entertainment venues, and quality film and music producing orgs.<br /><br />look up the profit margins of all those big US companies and industries, and then imagine all those trillions of dollars being used to fund the initial development of other non-profit service providers and product manufacturing facilities via a massive Non-Profit Monetary Fund; which could also be used to fund the development of quality non-profit services and products in other nations, and thereby help develop a free, open, and peaceful planetary union.<br /><br />really, what are we doing? why not drop billions on revitalizing our country through the development of democratic public services and organizations that have the sole purpose of enhancing the health, happiness, and effectiveness of all the people in our society and on our planet!<br /><br />are we really so greedy?<br /><br />DON'T CAPITALIZE, CO-OPERATE!! AND FREE THE WORLD!rckoegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04112861525911810676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899764338173263260.post-79939882645283824092008-12-10T08:04:00.000-05:002010-02-28T19:01:40.460-05:00the Star Trek paradigm<span style="font-weight: bold;">[</span><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">the following was a response to a comment on the exclusion of linux in schools and the importance of open source software in general, posted originally on Slashdot]<br /><br /></span>ever seen star trek? i'm not like an obsessed fan or anything. but i'm seriously seeing things go the way of the federation. from what i gather, the story goes: after a major third world war, where most of the human population is killed, a survivor builds an interstellar craft with a light speed drive... using the ship draws the attention of aliens, and the whole remaining population joins together to rebuild earth as a single peaceful society so they can effectively take part in a universe filled with civilizations much older than themselves. to do this they create a free society, where people are simply taken care of, and value is placed appropriately on ingenuity and hard work; a whole do what you can / get what you need thing.<br /><br />aside from a little capitalism here or there europe almost made it to that point after the whole nazi fiasco; most of the major players there have universal healthcare... but for some reason they never made it completely out of the primordial ooze.<br /><br />the web and digital technology has proved peoples interest in a free open society--well beyond any doubt. all we need is for a major nation to collectively take it's head out of it's FOR-PROFIT a$ and encourage people to make use of the cooperative business model so they can work productively in groups merely for the sake of producing better goods and enriching everyone's lives, instead of helping maintain singular entities which work to enrich the lives of themselves or those closest to them at everyone else's loss.<br /><br />seriously, consider cooperative organizations, employee governed or member governed... it just depends on the service provided. most people don't want to get there hands dirty anymore and grow their own food, and if they're a rocket scientist they shouldn't have too... so most farms would obviously be employee governed. but than people do want to have a say in what is directly available to them locally... so grocery and retail stores would be member governed. who cares if it's a warehouse like costco or a huge retail outlet like a wall*mart, as long as it's a non-profit cooperative distributor it should be all good... and if something is found to not be good the group can find a way to fix the issue.<br /><br />consider how wall*mart was able to exercise their power over the manufacturers to get the amount of murcury in CFLs lowered; imagine what a nationwide union of cooperative retailers could accomplish! imagine localized non-profit electric automobile manufacturers and cooperative mechanic shops, construction companies, temp and employment service agencies. furniture manufacturers and bicycle shops (with built in storefronts and repair centers), colleges, hospitals, insurance agencies, dentist offices... who do you give all your money to and get piss-all in return for?<br /><br />a service providing business is the easiest to create as a non-profit cooperative; insurance agencies and money lenders should be a major priority for anyone who has a lot of money to play with and a philanthropic heart; then manufacturers--especially automobiles, or anything else that's mostly a direct to customer business!<br /><br />start something... do it today!<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span>rckoegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04112861525911810676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899764338173263260.post-62657716430472100762008-10-07T16:04:00.000-04:002010-02-28T19:09:19.947-05:00Banking on The Environment<span style="font-weight: bold;">[the following was my response to the discovery of e3bank.com, an environmentally savvy bank]</span><br /><br />it's not a cooperative, or what is more often known as a credit union... although it is imperative that all people and businesses adopt environmentally and morally mature behavioral models, green banking is only half the equation.<br /><br />capitalism has no place in the future, if mankind is going to continue to thrive on this planet. with capitalism wealth is funneled into the hands of the few, at the cost of the many; and more often than not the environment as well. at this point, you can't just fix one, we need to grow up and fix both (our environment and the society that allowed the environment to become so corrupted).<br /><br />cooperation is what is required: ownership of, and investment in businesses by the very people who use the services provided. and not for profit, but merely to provide the most effective means to whatever end, in the most responsible manner known to exist. this should be our goal from here.<br /><br />move forward!rckoegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04112861525911810676noreply@blogger.com0