permaculture

[Thilo Pfennig <vinci@alternativ.net>]

On 20-May-99 Xavier Dequaire wrote:

> it is no permaculture, indeed, some computer stuffs...

?? It is certainly a part of permaculture, because good permaculture does not
exclude computers per se. Email is not permaculture either. But isn´t this 
list
about permaculture? Saying computers and permaculture do not relate is like
saying: A permaculture course is not practicing permaculture - you will also
not grow vegetables by joining a course.

There are many tools we can use. A knife is not permaculture, but you can use
it in pc, too!

> usually connected to nuclear power plant somehow

Yes. Everybody living in the civilized world who has a telephone or needs
electrical power is somehow connected to a nuclear power plant. So what?

The good thing about computers in opposition to cars or industry is, that it
allows us to organize work or information very effective. So it is very much
helping to save energy or polluting the environment. 

What disturbs me is, that I have read those arguments too often. And often 
from
people who are driving cars or nonetheless using other tools of the modern
world. And really - knowone here, who likes this list should damn computers.
But certainly computers have some disadvantages. I subscribe the statement of
Brian Eno "The one bad thing about computers is, that there is too less Africa
in them."


> SGML is an old standard and pretty heavy so it has not gotten used much in
> the open world, as expected but into internal archiving like
> administrations, govs and the like.

It is like meteorolgy or fundamental biology-science: You would not try to
understand it all, if you aren´t a specialised, but parts of this know-how can
be very usefull. Or do you say: I give a damn about my sites microclimates?

I absolutely do not see the sense in disrespecting computer-technology. In
every technology there is something we can use or from what we can learn. This
is (for me) what makes permaculture.

I just wanted to state that: "Don´t bother" ist just nor right. Indeed we
should bother what technology brings. Or look who owns the computer-technology
you are using right now (too often it is Microsoft).

I do know some political-left people who also say they don´t bother, say they
are against the system but are using Windows and AOL for there daily work. If
it comes to beeing critical about the systems an technology, one should be
consequent.

On the other hand sometimes things are not as they look. So soem folks found
out, that the lifetime of a plastic bag is less ressource-killing than the one
of a cotton-bag.


-- 
Thilo Pfennig 
<http://Alternativ.Net/>