... We're not really credible when we talk about appropriate technology. What a lot of people around here mean by appropriate technology is they drive a diesel Mercedes to work. That won't do. One solar house here, one windmill there isn't demonstrating anything. We've got to demonstrate something on a scale that's irrefutable. A number of us are proposing this: a solar-powered city. No fossil fuel used in the city — that'll be the criteria. We're really working this out, using the New Alchemists' hardware, the Ark, as a basis of it. We've shaken hands on it; we're gonna go for it. It'll be big enough, like 35,000 people — that's the biggest city in the United States that has a volunteer fire department. That's a good size to have community involvement. You can all get together on fires.
I think that this kind of thing can be done, I think that we can get the land, I don't think there's going to be any trouble getting the money because people will always bring money and their own energy to something that excites them. I think that we're able to do it, and it's our responsibility to do it. The time is now. The vibe is right, I think, in this society. So I'm asking you for your ideas on the subject. Write me at the CoEvolution Quarterly. This is not a pie-in-the-sky number. We are committed.