For example, wind generators. Who said they had to be built on land? Coastal waters, just over the horizon, will work just as well. Just be careful not to plant them right in the middle of a shipping lane.

Down here, we have a pretty large area, in Palm Springs, where the whole related urban area is powered by wind energy. Unfortunately, it's much more expensive and not as reliable as your usual run of the mill electricity. So, what happens is prices go up, there's land and housing shortage because development can't proceed untill they are guaranteed utilities. Again, that drive up the prices.

*Biggest problem of them all is that any solution to these questions - work, money, environment, energy - requires intelligent decision makers with a broad view. And as far as I know, decision makers compensate their almost universal lack of intelligence with greed and hunger for power.

*I can't begin to speculate how to pull it off, but some sort of better regulation seems to be needed. For one, to stabilize the constuction highs an lows. Average 'job longevity' in construction, in this are is around 2 years.  The builders tend to rush rush rush, build build build as quickly as they can while there's money to be made. Then when they flood the market with their product, it all goes in a hiatus for a few years till it all levels off. It's business 101, consequences of aggressive growth.
I doubt they will ever learn, the ways of running business this way has been the acheele'sheel of housing constructions since world war 2. Every 10 years, they trip over themselves and things go into a recession.

I remember about three years ago, in one of the local building industry meetings, there was this bigwig from one of the local universities (like UCLA or sumpthin) offering MBA's, giving us a dinner speech about how the home builders and land developers have gotten wiser and learned to read and plan their markets better, and will aboid the recession of early 90's. Guess what, this time around it's worse!!!!! Dim shits chasing the buck like dogs after a slobered up tennis ball.

And since the business isn't self regulating, and there's no big brother regulating, it becomes a cutthroat situation. If one or two home builders try to act responsibly, there's still going to be another 30 making a mess of things. They take their profits and pull up the anchor when things slow down, and leave the carnige behind them. This time teaming up with lenders. And the american public, well, they're chasing that proverbial american dream about as badly as the home builders are chasing profits.
The dream of owning a house... WTF? You don't own it, and can't possibly own it for 30 years. The damn bank owns it. It's harder to walk away from it and relocate if and when you need it. Most people don't own things free and clear, and most likely never will. With all the associations and regulations, there isn't that much more comfort then renting. It's the great american illusion.

Hi, my namez: "NO, Bad Kitteh, NO!"  Whaz yurs?
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