What time horizons do you think about when creating things? How long do you expect the thing you made to endure?
@rustyswarf I see now. Well, it depends... when I do land/gardens I usually design with a 15-30 years evolution in mind and system should go on indefinitely (provided some maintenance).
That is not always the way to go though. For example, in the tropics I found it better to build your hut in bamboo, live in it for a few years, bamboo will rot (usually after 3-6 years) and just build another one. Long lasting structures are not the good solution there.
About systems they are difficult to frame because they change, and if you forget about the ecological succession you'll end up making a lot of effort to crystallize a picture of an ecosystem which is rather difficult to keep (main problem with restoration project, IMHO).
In general though I agree that the latest electronic technology put us in a uncomfortable quick turnover of products. I try to recycle and reuse as much as possible, and I still have tons of computers that are not of any use now, but I can't get to throw them...
@arteteco Also thinking about land use:
Rent land: plant a garden
Own land: plant an orchard
Protected land: plant an arboretum
@arteteco The way some things are universal enough that it's worth putting a lot of thought and effort into construction, and others need to be thought of like scaffolding.
You can build a really nice table, and its lifespan is limited by your craftsmanship. Good odds people will still be using tables in 1000 years.
Can't do the same with computers, or cars.