Just got done doing audio for the city planning commission with Andy, and what I find somewhat discouraging at the city level , and this isn't just this city, that when regulations have been established developers still request waivers and commissions continue to grant them. For instance, the particular parcel of land that they approved was on 8 acres of property, significant in size, and I would think that such a large piece of land should epitomize what a sustainable, green development would be. Though it had years to get to this level of acceptance, it failed on many accounts, and still needed to get waivers.

Normally i'm on the fence about Tony Robbins, however, I think his quote is appropriate:

"Understand that when it is hard to keep a commitment, you have two choices: you can change your behavior to match your commitment, or you can lower your values to match your behavior".

As a city, as a nation, we won't get to where we need to be if we continue to lower our values to match the behavior. It is indeed a challenge, but is one that needs to happen if we want the whole system to work for future generations.