On our third day at the ranch we were joined by two new characters. One of them, Deane Evans — shown above in a portrait by Hugh McCarten, standing boldly against the Western sky — has been mentioned before on this site. Like John, Deane is an architect but he has specialized in academic and consulting work, being one of the country's leading experts on sustainable building construction. My impression is that people listen to him respectfully then continue erecting energy-inefficient buildings, because that's what builders do. Quick up-front profits, leading to long-term disaster, is the cornerstone of America's corporate culture — the “Me Money Now” philosophy, or “Swiss Bank Account School Of Economic Planning”, which recently brought the world to the brink of financial Armageddon.
Deane visits Las Vegas regularly for conferences, so we get to laugh about all this over beers often. I've known Deane since we were 14, when we laughed about other things, with no beer. The beer definitely helps.