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  • From: Daniel.Donahoo@dhs.vic.gov.au
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] food for thought (i couldn't help taking a bite)
  • Date: Wed, 4 Jun 2003 15:44:11 +1000


hey lawrence et al.

been a heated little place around here recently.

Anne Schwarz wrote:
> When we
> affect less desireable animals, the public's interest in preserving them
> flounders. If we found out that deep sea squid were dying from oil
> exposure, would we care even if it wasn't our fault?

>Lawrence F. London Jr. wrote:
>Ecologists, Zoologists, Marine Biologists, Taxonomists, Evolutionary
Biologists,
>most permaculturiats and regenerative, biological (see how deftly I
avoided using the >"O" word) farmers would probably be very concerned

i would agree with you Lawrence - but appreciate Anne's point - those who
you identify would be concerned have a depth of knowledge and some even a
vested interest in the topic used as a hypothetical example. generally i
think what anne's email was striking at was the real commitment by the
environmental movement at large to the actual issues that our society is
confronting.

permaculture appeals to me because of its continued demand for us to engage
with every action we take, i don't think the environmental movement is as
demanding (and in many ways it has to not be if it is to appeal to the
greatest number). i think the previous two waves of environmentalism have
been driven by intelligent people who have used emotional tactics to
convince the general public of the need to save the environment - hence the
'Mt Franklin River' Photo in National Newspapers in the early 80s, the
success of 'Save Whales' and 'Dolphin' campaigns. Dare I say it, but
environmental groups have even used aesthetics to argue their case for 'not
littering' and 'recycling'. These are not bad things, these were actions we
chose to take (even if some regard them as compromising) to achieve a
certain outcome. environmentalism is clouded, like all movements, by
fundamentalism. fundamentalists reject the notion of cutting down any trees
but refuse to engage with the future of energy debate, they reject the
embodied energy theories of Howard Odum because sometimes it doesn't make
sense aesthetically (like actually leaving old concrete buildings alone
because to tear them down and rebuild with new materials would cost us
hundreds of years in energy that even an efficient building would not
save).

i think ann is presenting a very common frustration of those leading the
thrid wave of environmentalism - at which i think permaculture is at the
fore. we need to approach the saving of this planet in an intelligent way.
in a permaculture way that addresses our consumption and efficiency as
small communities. we need to accept that bottom up solutions driven by
local communities - not governments, or international NGOs, or based on
mass rallies outside meetings we can subvert by simply not consuming - are
the most powerful tool we have.

ultimately though i think mass change happens only when people are forced
too. by whatever force. we will only stop driving cars when the petrol runs
out. we will only begin to consume less when it becomes obvious that peak
energy production has occurred and we are on the other side of the slope.

i value and appreciate every single activist and environmentalist and
believe strongly in the ability for change to occur through their protests.
but i appreciate even more the individual actions of my neighbour who
doesn't recycle much (because it uses large amounts of energy) but reuses
over and over again. a true environmentalist is inherently conservative -
living using methods of the past - not radical or alternative at all.

cheers

dan d



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