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To: WhiteyAppleseed; forester
I think he makes his point that foundations do have an unearthly amount of power to influence policy. And he did question why they didn't price what your thought-model on the volcano tried to price--nature's disservices.

Exactly right. I own Mt. Shasta. Pretty, isn't it? I charge you to look at it. Sell photographic rights and use of the name. Conduct tours. Build an underground hotel in the caves for those who wish to commune witht the Lemurians. Sell crystals. I charge downwind farmers for soil replenisment and maybe run a geothermal power plant. Who knows? If I make enough doing all that I may be able to afford the damages when the thing blows. Then I sell the movie rights...

I would have to know a heck of a lot about volcanoes wouldn't I? I would have to figure out how much the worshippers of Lemurians would pay for a pristine mountain compared to the rest of its uses. I might have to build a sacrificial power plant that didn't look ugly and wasn't hard to mitigate when the thing blew. That might take some developments in materials technology. I would have to calculate the crystal deposition rate to know the future value of the next eruption. Heck, I might even find a Lemurian! Think of the interviews! Hold the presses! Where's Barbara Walters??

Fun isn't it? Downright enlivening too. Respectful of the resource, considering all the angles. Developing new technology and learning from it. Saving up the dough to help people when it all gets out of hand. Optimizing the value if the money in the mean time. It's so damned much fun that I can't understand limousine liberal socialists at all. They have no imagination. It comes with the risk aversion attendant to inherited wealth. Pthththtttt!!!

104 posted on 04/29/2002 9:21:58 AM PDT by Carry_Okie
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To: Carry_Okie
It comes with the risk aversion attendant to inherited wealth. Pthththtttt!!!

Boy that says alot in just a few words.....BRAVO!!

105 posted on 04/29/2002 10:22:17 AM PDT by forester
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