Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

Interesting discussion, yes. My first thought is, we don't accomplish much
by always trying to change the system we live in. When we change ourselves
and set an example for those around us, we've accomplished something.
Personally I don't think in terms of organizations and movements but
individuals and families and communities. Instead of trying to organize
something I think of doing something myself. 

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 2/13/2007 at 10:53 AM Pego Rice wrote:

>Thanks for this article.  I really appreciated the
>extensive list of general solutions and have given
>many of them some thought, if you would care to chew
>them over with me.
>
>
>1) City and county zoning needs to reflect the need
>for people to live near their co-operative partners
>(people they need to sell to/buy from, people they
>need to work with, etc. and their work.  Instead of
>zoning one spot for industry and another for "single
>family housing" Codes, like the ZED Standards, that
>encourage this and living near public transit avenues
>like trains, that readily port people and farm goods. 
>Building codes that require solid materials also
>seriously cut down the need for fire department
>vehicles.  A fire that will not spread saves everyone.
> This may be one of the first, best easiest steps for
>people to take.  Construction companies and the like
>have had free reign to lobby and write such ordinances
>and regs, but out community codes are the easiest for
>locals to tackle and change.  The end result of this
>kind of change is HUGE.
>
>http://www.zedstandards.com/
>
>2) micro farms.  Also if we return to village living
>it is easier to roust small groups of people to attend
>to emergency needs like like facing late frosts and
>fires.  My family still remembers coming out from town
>to help on the farm when the season was up and none of
>the equipment had gas.  30 mule teams needed helpers.
>
>3) What CAN be done is to transit suburbs to large
>villages that use their lawns as crop areas.  reality
>is such a pain, but there are some ecovillages and
>co-housing groups that are actually trying to
>retrofit, so there is at least the seed.  With
>intensive farming and gardening methods a LOT of food
>can come out of previously useless lawns.  At a
>minimum, we can start planting food trees like Pecans,
>throughout our neighborhoods.
>
>
>5) villages, trains
>
>6) Drugs are a particularly critical issue here, most
>of our drugs are sourced from overseas, either whole,
>materials or at least in manufacture.  What ever
>comment I may have for Viagra and hair whatever, many
>drugs are critical to prevent catastrophic damage to
>health.  The drugs associated with that should,
>perhaps, be brought back to the US, at a minimum.
>
>7)  OK, give it up, Twister is coming back
>
>8)  Take a good look at Sudbury Valley and Circle
>school systems.  http://www.sudval.org/free.html These
>people are small-group and varied age oriented. 
>Adults are present primarily to be advisers and assist
>in healthy interplay, helping the kids to learn and
>work with a democratic and judicial life, (this
>actually is extra important for a society that has
>largely lost the art of living in a small community)
>and the kids teach themselves to a great degree, and
>quite successfully.  What is critical to this is a
>large and comprehensive data base.  Then teachers can
>be fully developed and come in on a more sporadic
>basis to teach kids (and adults) intensive courses
>that have been requested.
>
>Yours, Pego
>
>
> 
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