permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lfl@intrex.net>]

Daniel.Donahoo@dhs.vic.gov.au wrote:
> 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, 

Right on!

> 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. 

ON Tech Nation recently Dr. Moira Gunn interviewed Dr. Michael Rosenzweig who 
discussed
a new concept: "Reconciliation Ecology". I'd recommend visiting Dr. Gunn's
Tech Nation website and listening to the recording of the entire interview. 
He discusses such issues
as _not_ trying to save each and every species to preserve maximum species 
diversity.
<>
The URL is:

http://www.technation.com/
Show Originating on
May 13, 2003

Second Interview: Dr. Michael Rosenzweig
Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona
Author: Win-Win Ecology

Moira will also speak with Dr. Michael Rosenzweig, the founder of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of 
Arizona. They'll talk about the concept of Reconciliation Ecology, and what can we realistically expect of our changing world.

Listen to Dr. Michael Rosenzweig's interview with  Real Player  (click on the 
little speaker icon)
<>

> environmentalism is clouded, like all movements, by
> fundamentalism. fundamentalists reject the notion of cutting down any trees

You mean Luddites, perhaps. Good for everyone to be a little that way, maybe 
a lot.

> 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

Dr. Odom once lived in my home town, Chapel Hill, NC.

His embodied energy theory is a work of major importance.
Environmentalists should go much further with renewable energy methods
because it is so important and is integral to sound environmental policy
seeking to make change and achieve realistic goals.

> 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).

And most of those old buildings can easily be retrofit for energy 
conservation.

> 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.

Well said. Cohesive communities acting in their own self interest showing the 
way
to communities elsewhere what to do and how to do it.

> 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.

Back to basics.

> cheers
>
> dan d
>
>
>
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--
L.F.London
lfl@intrex.net
http://market-farming.com
http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech