permaculture

["Laurence Gaffney" <lgaffney@bigpond.com>]

A definition of permaculture attributed to Bill Mollison and Scott Pitman:-
  Permaculture (Permanent Agriculture) is the conscious design and 
maintenance of cultivated ecosystems which have the diversity, stability & 
resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of 
landscape, people & appropriate technologies, providing good, shelter, energy 
& other needs in a sustainable way. Permaculture is a philosophy and an 
approach to land use which works with natural rhythms & patterns, weaving 
together the elements of microclimate, annual & perennial plants, animals, 
water & soil management, & human needs into intricately 
Bill Mollison has said:-

" All permaculture design is based on three ethics: Care of the earth 
(because all living things have intrinsic worth); care of the people; 
and reinvest all surplus, whether it be information, money, or labor, to 
support the first two ethics. "



Scott Pitman said:-
Permaculture has traditionally avoided both religious and political themes
as they inevitable lead to dissention and misunderstandings.  Since neither
subject is relevant to the workings of natural systems, they seem to only
apply to humans and are both based on opinions and belief systems not facts
or reality; they don't seem to contribute to permaculture design
considerations.

It seems to me that if Permaculture is a Philosophy based on Ethics then 
belief and opinion are also the basis of Permaculture.

Laurence Gaffney