Solutions: complex and expensive versus cheap and simple

"the problem with vertical farming is the same problem that I have to whatever the latest super-hot renewable technology that's going to save us as soon as it comes out of development and becomes affordable, or even for fancy light rail systems in smaller cities (note, I'm not opposd to all light rail). The problem is that that the ideas are bad or wrong per se - the problem is that they are complex and expensive, and we are putting the cart before the horse when we leap to complex and expensive before we go for cheap and simple."

full article here http://scienceblogs.com/casaubonsbook/2010/12/growing_up_and_other_complicat.php