[-empyre-] Wired sustainability and Ambient Media

[John von Seggern]

On Apr 16, 2008, at 12:59 PM, John Hopkins wrote:

> If the global techno-social system is sustainable, then we would  
> see that already.  If it is not, then we would be seeing that as  
> well.  I believe that we are seeing that it is not.

I agree with you, however we shouldn't confuse the Internet/digital  
networks in general with the larger techno-social system within which  
they exist. In point of fact, digital networks perform many tasks  
much more energy-efficiently than we could do without them  
(telecommuting vs. actual jet travel for example), so I would expect  
them to continue to thrive in an energy-constrained future even if  
many other facets of our society are radically reconfigured.

See for example:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0213/p04s01-usgn.html



John von



> Participation in the global network that we are doing right here  
> (or composing ambient media) is not a sustainable practice IMHO --  
> as it is built upon, and indeed, requires the entire extended reach  
> of that techno-social system -- from every extractive industry to  
> massive transport networks to hydrocarbon production and  
> consumption system and so on. We have to change, fundamentally, the  
> way we live, in order to become sustainable, else the planetary  
> system change conditions to more than remind us of the fact that  
> imbalance causes compensatory oscillation.
>
> We are the 'masters,' and we are carry a bunch of tools around  
> doing things to the system we are a part of.  We are not passive  
> bystanders when we are standing around holding the tools.  We've  
> got to drop the tools (read: change) because it is in the  
> fabrication of those tools that the 'masters' are wreaking havoc on  
> the entire system.  The protocols and standards of the 'masters,'  
> set up to support the techno-social system, define deadly pathways  
> that allow for completely imbalanced rarefaction and concentration  
> of things (energies and energized matter) which are destroying the  
> life-support capacity of the entire system...
>
> jh
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> http://www.subtle.net/empyre


John von Seggern

Technical Support Supervisor

john.seggern at native-instruments.com

Native Instruments North America, Inc.
5631 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028
USA
http://www.native-instruments.com


***

KORE PLAYER - the free instrument with access to the best NI sounds
=> http://www.native-instruments.com/koreplayer.info

Beatport SYNC - the free audio player with DJ functionality
=> http://www.native-instruments.com/beatportsync.info

->>>>>> NATIVE INSTRUMENTS - The Future of Sound <<<<<<-




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://mail.cofa.unsw.edu.au/pipermail/empyre/attachments/20080417/a08d7a4d/attachment.html