[RP TownTalk] we're hardwired for the farmers' market (was Re: Sustainable Communities)

[Dwight Holmes]

i posted this to rpcoffeehouse.blogspot.com but it's really a reply to
Brian's email!

"Consumers have 10 times as many conversations at farmers' markets as
they do at supermarkets—an order of magnitude difference. By itself,
that's hardly life-changing, but it points at something that could be:
living in an economy where you are participant as well as consumer,
where you have a sense of who's in your universe and how it fits
together. At the same time, some studies show local agriculture using
less energy (also by an order of magnitude) than the "it's always
summer somewhere" system we operate on now. Those are big numbers, and
it's worth thinking about what they suggest—especially since, between
peak oil and climate change, there's no longer really a question that
we'll have to wean ourselves of the current model."

Bill Mckibben, Reversal of Fortune: The formula for human well-being
used to be simple: Make money, get happy. So why is the old axiom
suddenly turning on us?
Mother Jones, March/April 2007

available at: http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/03/reversal_of_fortune.html

Brian's post to TownTalk reminded me of this article in a recent issue
of Mother Jones (rest her soul -- she's buried not so far from here,
you know). It's a very interesting article on "happiness", and what a
new and growing school of thought in economics has found out about it.
One "finding" is that a lot of what we treat as "morality" seems to be
hard wired into us genetically! "Indeed, we seem to be genetically
wired for community."

And the particular section from which I pulled the above quote seems
to me to say that what we are about here in Riverdale Park is the
right thing -- and we should just keep doing more of it!

On 6/13/07, Brian Boettger <brian_boettger at hotmail.com> wrote:
> I agree with Dwight and Regina. Residential communities with a mix of all
> housing types are the most vibrant and desirable. The addition of desirable
> retailers are necessities to LOWER congestion as customers will be able to
> walk to destinations. We, as a community, must remember to think long term.
> The oil supply will run out. Gas will go to $10 a gallon. Walking for
> groceries, clothes, necessities and work will be keys in the future just as
> they were in the past.
> Brian
>
-- 
Riverdale Park Coffee House (blog only-BYOC)
http://rpcoffeehouse.blogspot.com/
~~
Map of Riverdale Park MD Trolley Hiker-Biker Trail and Cafritz Property
http://tinyurl.com/2wsfql
~~
Tracking the Washington Nationals' 2007 season (will they catch the '62 Mets?):
http://tinyurl.com/2m6f43