permaculture

["robscott@freeshell.org" <robscott@freeshell.org>]

Though I've appreciated the stories about Emelia Hazelip, I have not seen 
much response to the initial quote regarding entropy. I've seen 
connections, but no one has addressed it specifically.

I say:
Thermodynamic Law 1 (in closed system, entropy always increases) doesn't 
hold for living systems because they aren't closed -- they are open to 
solar radiation (ie photosynthetic cells) or other energy source inputs 
(consuming plant tissue for instance).

There is a colloquial usage of "entropy" to mean "a bloody mess" that 
perhaps Emelia was using in her quote... as in, a non-equilibrium system 
that could undermine the conditions for human life. But if life continues 
without humans, the biosphere will not be "entropic" in the strict sense 
mentioned above.

-Rob Scott