TED Community » Mark Garcia

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• A reply on Talk: Clay Shirky: How the Internet will (one day) transform government

  Dec 8 2012: I agree with most of what you said. I think that if we had informed citizenry then we wouldn't have fake choices. My only difference with your statement is that we also have non-elites that are bad reps and we have some elites that are great choices. I look to see where they are getting their money along with how they are casting their votes. I hope the 99% movement comes back and continues. We do have a democracy and it works when people apply pressure. But when we get the Supreme Court ruling on citizens united, and an uninformed populous voting out of fear and from being pitted against each other, then we've just turned things over to big corporations, polutters and mega-wealthy individuals.

• A comment on Talk: Clay Shirky: How the Internet will (one day) transform government

  Oct 27 2012: I like the hopefulness of these kinds of tools, but they will only be as good as an informed citizenry allows. Just look at the current election statements to see how people buy into the spin and lies. We have to also find a way for people to make honest informed decisions, not knee-jerk choices based on sound-bites and hyped-headlines. The devil is always in the details. To be clear, I'm all for this and believe in Clay's thesis, but only when we figure out how to provide honest neutral information on which to make the decisions.

• A reply on Talk: Clay Shirky: How the Internet will (one day) transform government

  Oct 27 2012: Agree on all points, including that he looks a bit like Hanks. He even seems to have a similar voice and vocal pattern.

• A comment on Conversation: How did you find you life's work and passion after age 40? Is it possible?

  May 25 2012: Woody, I believe your question was about how do you find your passion, not should you follow it. To that I can say, try making a list of things you love to do, not just subject interests but tasks you like doing. Lots of people might want to work on creating documentaries, but some might want to mind the script, some handle the boom, etc. If you like giving structure and order, that's different than being creative or helping people cope or whatever.
  
  Once you make a list, try joining some meetup.com groups, or discussion groups or volunteering or study up on it. If you find that in spite of what you tell yourself, you're just not making time to do it, then that's a clue that you might not be as passionate as you think. Clues about your passion can be found in subjects you like to hear about, what you like to do, talk about or listen to in your free time. The process is often a lot harder than it seems. And don't worry if you'll have to spend some time and will be older when you've gotten up to speed. You'll still grow older even if you don't get up to speed. I know, I'm still plugging away at it at 56, and I"m just getting started. ;-)
  
  Good luck!
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  A comment on Talk: Kirk Sorensen: Thorium, an alternative nuclear fuel

  Jan 15 2012: I don't see why these conversations have to be so hateful. Even if emotional, those of us that just want a better understanding of things would just like sticking to the facts from knowledgeable people. And I feel that the experts could help maintain a civil debate about just the facts. There seems to be needless picking apart of each sides points. And if something is not yet proven or known, fine, just state that. It helps give credibility to the rest of the discussion.
  
  As a side note, on solar and wind, Both Amory Lovins and Ray Kurzwell have discussed the exponential growth in these areas, which they project could supply all of the world's needs by the end of this decade. Energy storage cells will help solve the "low production" periods, nearby and rooftop siting and efficiency & conservation are cited as making storage and transmission more practical and less prone to terrorist attacks.
  
  The feasibility of one technology is irrelevant to the other. And since most of us come to this forum to learn and understand, vitriolic opinion and name calling does little to change minds or inform the bystander who is here to learn and contribute in a civil debate.

• A comment on Conversation: Nuclear Energy vs Other Non-Fossil Fuel based energy sources

  Mar 29 2011: Can anyone help me on understand this point a little bit: Amory Lovin's lecture on "winning the oil endgame was given in February 2005 (link below). And he spoke very convincingly that we could do it without nuclear, through conservation, new technologies and renewables. But that wasn't really brought up here. I'm coming to the details of this broader discussion late. Can anyone tell me why it's not being debated here (or much of anywhere). I'd also appreciate some good reading and website recommendations regarding energy issues.
  Thanks,
  Mark
  http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/amory_lovins_on_winning_the_oil_endgame.html
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  A comment on Conversation: Nuclear Energy vs Other Non-Fossil Fuel based energy sources

  Mar 27 2011: When it comes to solar panels and wind, it always seems to be compared on a mega-scale. Where is the analysis of putting panels on every effective rooftop or small wind driven devices on top of every light pole and connecting it to the same grid the light pole is using? Maybe it won't solve everything, but through efficiency, design evolution and energy efficient building materials I seems like it would be better than some mega-structure. Create it where it's used.