Organic Productivity
Will folks ever realize that
ecologically-sound is another way of spelling profitable?
Cornell University just released a study in Bioscience comparing a number of factors between conventional and organic farming methods. A couple of surprising results emerged:
1. Organic farms consumed 30% less energy.
2. During periods of drought, organic farms outproduced conventional farms.
Both of these components support the sort of change in attitude needed in so many aspects of our economic life. I’ve seen examples of this in construction -- especially studies from the Rocky Mountain Institute on something as simple and basic as straight line plumbing runs saving significant amounts of energy over the lifetime of a structure.
The point made by RMI is the same point made by this joint study from Cornell University and the Rodale Foundations. You can end up with the same kind of productivity and profits -- using healthful, environmentally sound practices -- without conforming to our culture’s “worst practices” mentality.
Posted: Fri - July 15, 2005 at 06:51 AM