Re: Maximum age.

Lucy Kemnitzer <ritaxis@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Tue, 17 Jul 2007 22:28:43 +1200, zeborah@xxxxxxxxx (Zeborah) seems
to have said:

<whimsy>

Hmm, although since food is a necessary of life, I wouldn't be against
making it as free to the consumer as water and air and education and
public libraries are.

(Yes, I know water isn't free everywhere. For drinking it ought to be.)

I can imagine circumstances where it might look free, but there's
always a cost. If we bear the cost generally and invisibly, well,
okay, unless that means we're thoguhtless about it.

"free to the consumer": I know the infrastructure etc must be paid for
by someone, but I don't think it should be paid for by Joe Blogs at the
point where he wants to drink a glass of water. Because Joe Blogs
mightn't have the money in his pocket, and a sane society would not
allow him to dehydrate in punishment.

(I was in a country once where I was told it was illegal for a
restaurant to deny someone a glass of water. Alas, I forget which
country it was, so I can't even begin to find out if this was true as I
remember it.)

<snip much I don't *seriously* disagree with>

I
also think that the most scary calls to action are the ones that will
most likely actually inspire effective action

I think on the contrary that the most scary calls to action will inspire
people running around like headless chickens and occasionally taking
some initiative about as effective for the environment as a megadam is
for flood control, and as costly to the economy or society as a megadam
is to the environment.

In Christchurch we've got this wonderful recycling scheme set up and run
by the city council. People who take part can feel very good about
themselves, oblivious to the fact that we don't have a glass recycling
plant in the South Island and it costs too much to export the stuff to
the North, and so all the glass goes into the landfill anyway.

Action is good, but it has to be the right action. Science can guide it
to the right action, but only if people stop shrieking about the sky
falling down long enough to listen to science. --I'm not saying you're
doing this. --I seem to have got sidetracked from my original whimsy.
Enough.

</whimsy>

If that's what passes for whimsy in your mind, Zeborah, I think I'm
afraid to see you in a serious mood.

Did not the free-to-all food, housing, medical attention and pony seem
whimsical? Maybe I should have tossed in free internet access after
all; I was counting that under free public libraries, but they can offer
only so much and also many still charge for internet access.

Zeborah
--
Gravity is no joke.
http://www.geocities.com/zeborahnz/
rasfc FAQ: http://www.lshelby.com/rasfcFAQ.html
.

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