Thread by @homemadeguitars

This.
Industrial agriculture production methods cannot be challenged, even in "sustainable" ag circles.
Seriously.
Makes me crazy.

https://twitter.com/Tao_Orion/status/1394819586348912640?s=09

There is an outfit called The Savanna Institute that pushes agro-forestry as a climate solution. They had a seminar last year and are having another this year. savannainstitute.org

3. I attended last year.
Nearly every presentation included a pitch to add energy to the production methods.
Of course, they didn't say, "Add energy."
They said, "Mechanize," and "Automate."
Both of these are based on adding energy. Higher energy production methods.
"Add energy."

4. They're having another one this year.
Hint: do you know what "Scaling up" means.
It could mean, "add human participants," but it doesn't.
It means, "Add energy."
Energy = speed = scale.
"Scale up."

5. They asked for submissions of abstracts for their meeting. You had to pay to go to be allowed to submit.

6. So I coughed up the hundred bucks and change.

7. And I submitted my abstract, under their topic (had to be in one of specified topics) of new techniques.
Y'all know I'm not credentialed - no MA and my PhD is a Posthole Digger - but they claimed to welcome even such as me.
So I submitted an abstract on energy efficiency.

8. Never heard another word. "Fuck you, Donkey Guy."
I guarantee there will not be one presenter there who can match me, kilowatt-hour for kilowatt-hour, in building an agro-forestry operation.

9. Late in last year's 4 day symposium (where symps pose) at a group Zoom chat, I mentioned that all I had heard in 4 days was, "We need to find ways to add energy to this production process."
One - exactly one - PhD got the point. She said she wanted to hear more, but - nah.

10. Their production methods not only waste more energy per unit of output, they demand simplification of species mix, less per-acre diversity, because a tractor hates to skip elderberries to harvest hazelnuts, then later have to skip hazelnuts to harvest elderberries. So forth.

11. I'll probably piss away four days this summer to listen to their crap, just to piss me off. I abso-fucking-lutely guarantee I'm going to listen to four days of, "We need to mechanize..."
We MUST add energy to every process.
Then we can whine because we're falling behind.

12. I joined up with Earth Regenerators, but... You can't regenerate Earth, at least not if there's a bunch of PhDs involved, without tractors and chainsaws.
So I left.

13. Y'all, there are 8 billion people on this fucking planet.
Give each family some dirt, a hoe, and a donkey.
We don't need to add speed and energy to get this done.
Mark Shepard is feeding sunflower seeds to his tractor.
But there's too many people, you know.
Add energy.

14. What's the fucking hurry?