Good thread! A couple random thoughts on the last few interesting posts:
- When I read the statement that "nothing can replace oil," I think that's literally correct. No ONE thing can replace oil. But I expect that a combination of several things can replace oil, or at least someday will.
- The necessity of private cars in rural areas is partially due to the fact that many people living in rural areas are living the same lifestyle they would be living in the city or small town. Only a very small percentage of rural dwellers are actually farmers any more.
- Recent studies suggest that most Amish men (and many of the women) work at jobs off the farm. So evidently they are very productive, even using a lot of non-motorized equipment.
- Sustainable agriculture is not the same as tracitional Amish agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is actually more innovative and more scientifically advanced than the standard industrial farming practices of the US.
- Sustainable agriculture is sometimes more labor intensive than standard agriculture. In some parts of the world this makes it more expensive, in other areas it's cheaper. It all depends on the local cost of labor versus machinery and other inputs.
- More labor intensive farming would provide jobs for people in developing countries and help reverse the trend of mass migration from rural areas to the huge new metropolises. Sustainable agriculture is about sustaining the people as well as the land, so we would hope to see better living and working conditions for millions of people if sustainable systems were set up.
Last edited by Roody; 03-04-12 at 12:36 AM.