I wrote this down one day, from an interview in The Sun, or something, and I’ve been carrying it along on a scrap of paper. I can’t even remember why I thought it was relavent:
Cooper: Yet Bush has a “green” ranch.
Hightower: That’s because it’s become a status symbol. Cheney’s mansion in Washington, DC was retrofitted for people here in Austin and elsewhere who build these green homes. It’s like a toy to them, the SUV of homes. They can say, “look at what my house does. I’ve got a rainwater collection system.” But if you ask, “Shouldn’t everybody have a system like that?” They’ll say, “sure, go out and buy yourself one,” rather than creating the means for widespread energy and resource conservation.
Oh yeah, I remember what made me think about that little scrap of paper. Ryan and I had a long conversation on a drive during tour questioning things like the ability to make things like “widespread energy and resource conservation” outside of the giant of capitalism, and if that’s possible, given our reality, if its even a dire social priority. Ultimately, I still feel like people can, do, and should make things that benefit themselves and others instead of just getting our heffer halves, but those things, that we can build that way, so often turn out to be misguided or inconsequential.