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  • From: Bob Waldrop <bob@bobwaldrop.net>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] National convergence- keep it rolling
  • Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:36:54 -0500

I am glad to hear that the sisters are thinking about the carbon karma associated with an event like this. Do you know Sister Mary Moloney (formerly of OKC, now in transition to St Marys in the Woods, Indiana)? I think she was there. I am glad to hear that they actually calculated their carbon burden.

If a national convergence comes to be, it should do the same, and also if it does something like go to one of the areas of Native American settlement (I refuse to say the "R" word), we should adopt the Burning Man ethos of packing out EVERYTHING that you bring in, including all of the trash. Either that or work out methods/systems to recycle and compost it on-site. A third area of importance would be the food. All of the food for the convergence should come from ethical sources.

I know it seems like I am saying "NO NO NO", but mostly I am saying "NOT YET NOT YET" and also "IF WE DO THIS MAKE IT ETHICAL". I would be really against an every year national convergence, but one national convergence every four to eight years seems reasonable to me.

Maybe we need a thread -- ethical considerations for presenting a national permaculture convergence.

Bob Waldrop, Okie City

On 7/23/2012 2:40 PM, Rhonda Baird wrote:
Bob,

Your point is well-made. I just attended a continental conference for the
Sisters of Earth. I only went because it was local to me. I LOVED
attending--loved being inspired by all the things shared there by the many,
many women who have been working to protect, serve, and regenerate the
Earth for decades. I loved seeing Nettie Weibe of Via Campesina speak.
Loved meeting Carolyn Baker.

AND the travel (let alone the food getting there, etc...) created more than
65 tons of CO2 according to the records. Those recording it were advocating
for just the same thing--regional gatherings more and continental
gatherings rarely and by other means.

--in service,
Rhonda Baird


On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:53 AM, Bob Waldrop <bob@bobwaldrop.net> wrote:

On 7/22/2012 12:49 PM, loren luyendyk wrote:
Bob- when I said it is your karma what method of travel you choose, I
meat that you (individual) will be the one who has to deal with your
choice. There are many low-carbon ways to transport ourselves these days,
so I don't think this is much of an issue if this is important to you.
However, I do agree that we should design the convergence with low-carbon
transport in mind, like near a bus route or offer rideshares on a llama
cart.
I understood what you said, but I don't think you are understanding what
I am saying. It's not just me who has to deal with my choice. It's the
entire eco-system and all of its associated creatures. A choice to get
on an airplane and travel across the world is a choice that poisons the
atmosphere and contributes to anthropogenic climate change. No one can
do just one thing, that's a basic design principle. It doesn't matter
whether avoiding climate emissions is important to me, and not important
to others. All choices are not equal. Some choices are worse than
others. Some choices do more damage than others. If permaculture sets
up what amounts to an attractive nuisance -- a national convergence that
encourages people to drive individual cars and book airline tickets --
then the permaculture movement is making a deliberate strategic choice
to poison the atmosphere and contribute to climate change for our own
selfish reasons. Maybe repaying some karma by doing work at an area
populated by lots of Native Americans would make a convergence
worthwhile, as long as people take the bus. But if people are going to
fly from around the nation, we would be better off if we simply sent
them money.

Permaculture the US Movement has its own karma. And if we are going to
become just another way to promote tourism for people of privileged
economic, social, and racial status at the expense of damaging the
natural ecology -- poisoning the air, polluting the waters, killing
birds, well, that's not very good karma. What goes around comes around
and I don't want to be on the receiving end of those consequences. I
think authenticity is one of the most important civic virtues when it
comes to invisible structures and so if we are going to have a national
convergence, either it happens in accordance with permaculture ethics or
its not a permaculture conference. It's a gathering of privileged white
people doing what privileged white people like to do, which is burn
hydrocarbons by traveling, while they comfort themselves with the
thought that they are so special that their carbon emissions don't
really impact the planet, so it is fine to fly around the world in
pursuit of the perfect permaculture experience.

I have a friend in Act-Up and he has a lot of influence on me so I'm
just saying IT CAN'T BE ALLOWED! lol.

I think that the ethics constitute a mandate for organized permaculture
that we ignore to our peril. We can trivialize the risks of burning the
rest of our fossil fuel endowment if it makes us feel better about our
choices, but I'm not seeing much in the way of permaculture in that.
Privileged white people need to learn more about how to say "no" to
their incessant urge to travel. Stability -- becoming "one" with a
particular local ecosystem and watershed and just staying home in your
home town or close by -- is very kind to the planet. Flying around the
planet, even for good motives, is very harsh on the planet.

So if we are going to have a convergence, I think the first thing to do
is hang out a big sign that says "DON'T FLY TO ATTEND. TAKE THE BUS."
People who don't have time to take the bus shouldn't go to the convergence.

Bob Waldrop, Okie City


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