http://energygrid.com/ecology/2006/04hf-gaiaslaststand.html
Imagine a Prime Minister announcing the need for reduction in energy use such as turning off the lights in all cities, stopping SUV production and phasing in large-scale public transit, stating that meat consumption must be reduced drastically, encouraging organic food, reducing all mining and logging activities, focusing on recycling absolutely everything, implementing waste reduction in packaging, and curbing advertising to cool the fever we call the economy. Imagine him then proudly announcing that any decline in earnings registered on the stock market and in annual GDP constitutes environmental solvency and shows that civilization is succeeding, not failing. That would, of course, be the break-out of sanity — it won't happen.

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Note added at 15 mins (2006-10-15 23:19:45 GMT)
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http://www.ihc.ucsb.edu/research/religion.html

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Note added at 16 mins (2006-10-15 23:20:51 GMT)
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As an area of study that extends beyond and between disciplinary boundaries, this research focus group seeks to bring together a number of theoretical perspectives in the attempt to create a more tangible methodological basis for this growing area of interest. A new, quickly growing body of literature has begun to explore the nexus of environmental issues and the cultural, scientific, and religious responses to them, however, much of this recent scholarship tends towards naivete and over-simplification. For example, Daniel C. Maguire's widely read Sacred Energies idealizes Asian and Native American religious traditions and philosophies as inherently environmentalist. More recently, interdisciplinary production of knowledge has attempted to move beyond such ungrounded idealism; scholars of traditional ecological knowledge among indigenous peoples in the Americas offer linguistic data about plant and animal species that sheds remarkable light on scientific studies of species change, and provides direction for effective restoration of habitat.! That such intercultural interaction is enormously productive is demonstrated by the success of such projects as the San Francisco Estuary Institute, which employs scholars and researchers from disciplines as broad as landscape architecture, restoration ecology, Native American studies, geography, geology, and marine sciences. Re-envisioning the link between worldview and cultural praxis is an imperative for contemporary scholars. Just as understanding that cultures are biologically grounded is central to the interpretation of religions, so is the incorporation of religious studies methodologies into environmental thinking vital for environmental solvency.

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Note added at 1 hr (2006-10-16 00:25:55 GMT)
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in:
Life-cycle Assessments of Operational Energy Expenses of Building Envelopes
by Brendon Burley (Penn State College of Engineering)
Ph.D. Candidate, Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering
The proposed research is the development of life-
cycle assessments of the operation of building materials.
This study will focus on an often overlooked area of life-
cycle assessments, which is what effects materials have on
the environment during their operation, particularly when
it comes to energy usage. Considering that nearly 40% of
the national energy usage in the United States goes into
buildings [2] and that the energy sector has a reputation as
a major source of pollution, there are few better places to
make improvements that could significantly impact our
environmental solvency. In addition, with the rising cost
of energy, an overall reduction of energy consumption
would have positive economic impacts, thus meeting the
EPA’s goal for sustainability as “the ability to achieve
economic prosperity while protecting the natural systems
of the planet, and providing a higher quality of life for its
people” [3].
http://www.engr.psu.edu/Symposium2006/papers/Session 3E - En...