permaculture

[Keith Morris <earthsurfing@yahoo.com>]

Greetings friends,

I hope everyone is well and enjoying this magical season.

Just a quick announcement regarding Joel Salatin's visit to VT.

Our good friends and allies at Rural Vermont (www.ruralvermont.org), who are 
the voice for local, ecological, and family farm food systems here in the 
Statehouse (and elsewhere) are bringing Joel to VT for a few special events.

Featured in Michael Pollan's latest book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma", and 
author of "Pastured Poultry Profits", "Everything I Want to Do is Illegal", 
and other Permaculture classics, Joel is arguably the biggest rock star in 
farming today.

He describes his occupation as “mob-stocking hervbivorous                  
solar conversion lignified carbon sequestration fertilization.”  His humorous 
and conviction-based                  speeches are akin to theatrical 
performances, often receiving standing ovations.

Anyway, if you're in the area, catch him while you can:

Rural Vermont's Annual Meeting
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
6:30 - 9 pm
Royalton  Academy
Route 14, ROYALTON, VT
Potluck Dinner, Bring a Dish
FREE for Rural Vermont members!

 Everyone else: $15 (join today on secure website:  www.ruralvermont.org) 
 Interested in carpooling? Contact Colin at colin@ruralvermont.org and  he 
will help to coordinate rides with other people in your area if  possible.

Sterling College
*Luncheon and  Talk with Joel Salatin at Sterling College** Wednesday, April  
23, 2008
 LUNCH - 12:30 -  1:30 pm (ONLY 12 tickets will be sold!)  Be one of twelve 
lucky people who get to be part of a discussion with Joel Salatin over a 
lovely lunch featuring locally grown foods in Sterling’s Dunbar Dining Hall, 
tickets are $50 per Person
  
 PUBLIC TALK  - 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm - Joel will give a talk in  Sterling’s 
Simpson Hall 
 Talk is open to  the public, tickets are $15 per person suggested donation. 

We'll also be honored to have Joel to this spring's Yestermorrow Permaculture 
Design Certification Course!  www.yestermorrow.org

Hope to see you.  If you can't make I still highly suggest checking out his 
books, and supporting Rural Vermont!  Thanks from all of us.

In Spring,
Keith


 

Keith Morris
  Prospect Rock Permaculture
  earthsurfing@yahoo.com
  (802) 734.1129
  PO Box 426 
  Jeffersonville, VT 05464
   
  "If we do not do the impossible, we shall be faced with the unthinkable."
  -Murray Bookchin (1921-2006)

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From: Rain Tenaqiya <raincascadia@yahoo.com>
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Subject: [permaculture] sodium silicate as outdoor paint on earth plaster
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I've painted the entire earth plaster exterior of my strawbale/cob house with 
sodium silicate, and for the most part, it seems to be working very well.  I 
used about 2.5 gallons to cover the walls of our small house, which measures 
about 744 square feet, including the massive walls.  Five gallons costs about 
$50, plus shipping, if necessary.
   
  I did a 1 part to 9 parts water primer, and then a 1:3 coat, with another 
coat on areas that get rained on frequently.  Sometimes, I applied the primer 
with some soil mixed in to fill in cracks and cover exposed straw.  It 
definitely looks better this way, or with a clay paint applied previously.  
The paint creates a thin layer of water-permeable glass which binds and 
protects the exterior from abrasion and erosion from rain.  It also seems to 
decrease water penetration some.  One commercial sodium silicate paint brand 
I found online said the paint lasts up to 15 years.  The more layers you 
apply, the darker the plaster gets, but overall the effect isn't too intense. 
 Sometimes overlapping layers look darker.
   
  The main drawback, so far, is that when applied and dried in full sun, it 
seems to crack.  The hotter the plaster gets, the worse the cracking.  The 
cracking varies from just visible lines to very noticeable cracks with 
sections raising up and flaking off.  However, since it's all silica, it's 
easy to repair with more clay paint and sodium silicate.
   
  I have only done a little research into the manufacture of sodium silicate, 
but it seems a huge ecological improvement over lime.  The amount of material 
used is much less than with lime, even if the embedded energy per pound of 
material were the same.  Furthermore, sodium silicate is made from 
ingredients that are more widely available.  Lime involves intense mining and 
energy use, and probably more CO2 emissions.  If anyone knows different, I 
would really like to know.
   
  The problem is that there seems to be no way to protect earth plaster from 
the elements that doesn't require a lot of embedded energy, unless you live 
in a dry climate.  Originally, I thought I would just use a combination of 
strategies (building protected porches, siting water tanks near the walls, 
planting evergreen bushes next to walls, wide overhangs, etc) to protect my 
walls, and then replaster when necessary.  However, I live in a windy place 
that gets intense rainfall onto three sides of the house.  It seems that even 
the best made and applied earth plasters (with lots of fine fiber or tons of 
shaggy-looking straw with clay) only last a few years and after putting three 
plaster coats on the strawbales and being totally overwhelmed with building, 
I never want to touch my walls again (which entropy will demand, anyway).  I 
would rather tend to my food forests.
   
  So, at this point, I am recommending the use of sodium silicate.  
Apparently, it can also be used as a wood preservative.  Its alkaline pH 
protects against rot, and perhaps termites.  I haven't done a lot of it, but 
it seems capable of making a nice, clear varnish.
   
  Another silica-based alternative is called siloxane, but it seems to 
involve more energy use and it is much more expensive.  Also, I don't know 
what happens if you need to repair or replaster a section, or what kind of 
soil it creates upon degradation.
   
  That's all,
   
  Rain

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<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7341758.stm>
Page last updated at 01:57 GMT, Friday, 11 April 2008 02:57 UK
UN chief to miss Olympics opening
Ban Ki-moon - 3/4/2008
The UN says Mr Ban is too busy to attend the Olympics opening

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will not attend the opening ceremony of the 
Beijing Olympics, an aide has said.

The decision was due to "schedule issues" and had been made months ago, said 
UN spokeswoman, Marie Mukabe.

Meanwhile, Buenos Aires is braced for Friday's Olympic torch relay after 
anti-China protests in other cities.

Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai has withdrawn from the 
torch relay's Tanzanian leg, due to concerns 
over human rights in China.

The BBC's Laura Trevelyan said the UN was anxious not to give impression that 
Mr Ban's absence was a boycott of the Games.

Ms Mukabe said Mr Ban "had conveyed to the [Chinese] government some months 
ago that he may not be in a position to 
accept the invitation to attend this important event due to schedule issues".

This means the decision was made before violent anti-Beijing protests in and 
around Tibet last month that were 
suppressed by a heavy security presence.

Security cocoon

The Olympic flame is being relayed around the world through 20 countries 
before it arrives in Beijing in August for the 
Games' opening ceremony.

The torch's progress has been beset by protests - especially on the London, 
Paris and San Francisco legs of its tour.

Several thousand police and other guards are to line the planned 13km (eight 
mile) route of the torch through Buenos Aires.

Map of planned world torch relay route

Argentine activists say their protests will be peaceful but have promised 
"surprises".

Groups upset over China's human rights record have been trying to put 
pressure on Beijing as it readies to host the 
Olympics for the first time.

The protests along the international torch route have meant that 
torch-bearers have been immersed in a cocoon of 
security, surrounded by dozens of police officers and Chinese guards in blue 
track-suits.

In Paris, the torch had to be extinguished three times because of safety 
concerns, while in London there were 37 arrests.

The US stage of the torch relay in San Francisco on Wednesday passed off amid 
confusion and tight security.

        
Supporters of Beijing gather near the Golden Gate Bridge

'Houdini torch' relay disappoints
In pictures: San Francisco relay
Media coverage: China vs West

The Dalai Lama - who many Tibetans regard as their spiritual leader - said on 
Thursday that China deserved to host the 
Games, but that protesters had the right to express themselves in non-violent 
ways.

The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge, 
said on Thursday that anti-China protests had 
created a "crisis" but that the Games in Beijing would "rebound".

He also urged China to respect its "moral engagement" to improve human rights 
ahead of the Games.

China said it hoped the IOC would steer clear of what it called "irrelevant 
political factors".

Beijing says Tibet is an integral part of China and what happens there is an 
internal matter.

After its run through Buenos Aires, the torch will be flown to Tanzania for 
the next stage of its journey.

2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai told Kenyan TV that she was 
pulling out of that leg of the relay over 
concern about "the events that have been unfolding in Tibet for a very long 
time".

She said she still supported China hosting the Games, but wanted " to see a 
country that is challenged, [that] is 
addressing those challenges to the betterment of the environment and the 
world in general."

OLYMPIC TORCH ROUTE
Map
Torch lit in Olympia on 24 March and taken on five-day relay around Greece to 
Athens
After handover ceremony, it is taken to Beijing on 31 March to begin a 
journey of 136,800 km (85,000 miles) around the world
Torch arrives in Macau on 3 May. After three-month relay all around China, it 
arrives in Beijing for opening ceremony on 
8 August

See detailed route on Beijing 2008 official site

BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES
KEY STORIES
Olympics to 'rebound from crisis'
China stands firm on Tibet relay
Protests cut short Olympic relay
Rogge admits Beijing air concern
FEATURES AND ANALYSIS
People dressed as giant pandas await torch 'Houdini' relay
The San Francisco torch route disappoints crowds but avoids protests
Tracksuited torch guardians
History of Olympics protests
Key Olympic flame facts
Ping-pong diplomacy with the US
China's Olympic food safeguards
PROTESTS IN VIDEO
Protester Flame sparks US protests

YOUR VIEWS
Should sport and politics mix?


RELATED BBC LINKS
Mihir Bose blog

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
International Olympic Committee
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

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