Thank goodness for smart people and the smart people who elect them! The latest grand scheme to reboot Oregon's moribund economy is the Oregon Sustainability Center - a new office tower in Portland, that will also have space for non-profits and some Portland State University classrooms. What's the big deal, you ask? Well, to begin with there is no shortage of empty office space already, thanks to a very unfriendly business climate that is chasing productive people out of state and/or putting them out of business. What's "sustainable" about building more and more buildings when many are already vacant?
Then there's the cost. Keep in mind that economy housing can be built for about $50 per sq ft. A really nice house might be $100 per sq ft. An outrageous luxury home might hit $200 per sq ft. Typical commercial construction is around $120 per sq ft. This "sustainable" project is going to be OVER $400 per square foot! But wait, there's way more stupidity yet to be found in here. This building will operate OFF THE GRID, functioning only on the solar power it can generate off it's own panels, and the only water will be WHATEVER RAINWATER THEY ARE ABLE TO CAPTURE off the roof. Tenants of the building will be asked to "tolerate higher indoor temperatures in the summer and lower temperatures in the winter" than tenants of non-retarded commercial buildings nearby. Do these morons even realize that "sun" for their power and "rain" for their water are kind of exclusive of each other? Hey ecofreak - do you want to sit in the dark with a cool glass of rainwater, or turn on the lights and go thirsty? Ya can't have both!
Now if this were just a tale of some self-congratulatory hippies gathering their own funds to put up a building wherein they could sweatily bask in their own sustainable non-air-conditioned body odor - I really wouldn't care. But the Oregon University System is kicking in a lot of the $75 million this project requires. Yes, public funds, at a time when everybody's b****ing about the state universities' funding problems.
A grossly overpriced building, extremely limited in its functionality, adjacent to scads of vacant (and superior) buildings counts as "sustainable" here. Nuke Oregon now. Please.
But it feels right.
ReplyDeleteWhy a building at all? Wouldn't the ecofreaks be more comfortable in a mud dugout (less footprint, more biogreen diversityweenieness).
ReplyDeleteLet me know when you and yours get the heck out of Oreo-gone and I will issue the order to vaporize the hippieocracy.
ReplyDeleteHey, what about the neutron bomb? Leaves buildings intact without that pesky radioactivity, but wipes out the, ah, you know, humans.
Trestin - yeah, the libs like the way it feels when they reach into our wallets for this nonsense.
ReplyDeleteinfidel - they'll make up for it by making the rest of us live in huts. Maybe barry's bro in Africa can gimme some decorating tips.
aA - Once I finish stuffing all my worldly possessions in that hefty bag and get the dogs in the car, I'll give you the word to hit the button.
Perfect. This is just perfect.
ReplyDeleteHave fun freezing and boiling, enviro-nitwits.
Wow.
ReplyDeleteAs my husband says, they won't be happy until we're all living in caves.
But then we'll have to resort to cutting down trees to generate fire for cooking, warmth, and light, and our carbon footprints will be supersized.
Maybe everyone should go geothermal and we can just suck the rest of the life out of this rock we share.
Sorry -- this is a rather peckish day at Moogie's.
Just as an afterthought -- will the new building have indoor toilets, and what so they plan to offer as toilet paper?
ReplyDeleteMaybe they can install one of those British engines that run on human waste and then everyone can stay nice and comfortable! One thing generated by the geniuses who come up with these brilliant ideas is plenty of "human waste."
They are really stupid in your state, Inno.
ReplyDeleteThey sound about as dumb as Illinois.
I was thinking of visiting there, and if I liked it, relocating someday (long lost cousins live there), but at this rate, I think that would be a bad move.
Well, a good move is that I wrote a blog post about your generous Prize in your Contest! Thanks again. http://amusingbunni.blogspot.com/2010/08/foamy-squirrel-handshake.html
Have a fun night, and don't move into that building.
I'd accommodate you, Innominatus, but I see to have misplaced my launch key.
ReplyDeleteI think the lesson here is that like every other liberal idea, "sustainability" is not sustainable.
KS - except they won't. They'll head to one of the eleventyseven different Starbucks in the neighborhood and hang out there whenever they get uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteMoogie - haven't heard how the restrooms are going to work. "That vegan burrito I ate last night was HUGE, so pray it rains enough for the toilet to flush!"
Bunni - Despite the high levels of moonbattery, I still think this is a great state to live in. Within an hour's drive or so I can be at the beach, at several different lakes, at a ski resort, or at a big mall. But some people I know who have moved here from really big cities have trouble adjusting. YMMV.
Matt - Exactly. We're in no real danger of running out of energy but money is an Endangered Species around here. They don't seem to want to conserve what really needs conserving.
The only perk is if my husband gets hired to help build this building!! There's always the upside (: We need a job! he he!
ReplyDeleteSide note: John - WHO ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE who follow you!?!?!?
Danielle - If the gubmint wants to burn through a ton of cash on a stupid project, I'm good with a lot of it going to your husband. As for the followers, we're just random people that bump into each other while we're on the internet keeping an eye on the politicians.
ReplyDelete