[whitecrow]

Originally Posted by Carol

As some may or may not know Hawaii depends on 97% of its food to be flown or shipped in....

Carol, you rock! THAT'S the new paradigm I'm talkin' about. You too, Operator. There are so many people out there, putting their virtue to work (yes, I am going to begin using that word)!

I'd like to share your post with my non-Avalon group...my face-to-face bunch. We talk a lot about sustainability, and about retrofitting suburbia for self-reliance. Our problem here in southern California is water. We live in a desert, except for the water that is pumped in at great expense. We've been fiddling around with a solar still - terrific for a couple gallons or so at a time - but I am convinced that massive air wells at the foot of the mountains would provide us with water nearly free.

I'd love to hear your ideas on edible landscaping, another idea we've been kicking around. Again, because of our climate we'll be xeriscaping - we don't have your lush climate.

You're way out ahead of the pack! Sustainability isn't even on most folks' radar yet. We need to learn, and fast.