permaculture

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network <lakinroe@silcom.com>]

Deputy Leader of federal Green Party Canada

and Permaculturist Claude William Genest 
hosts  series Regeneration: The Art of Sustainable Living on PBS.
http://www.youtube.com/user/RegenerationClaude


The Pitch
http://www.claudegenest.com/



From “something-must-be-done” to something you can do !
Optimism for our ecological future ? Bank on it !

Meet the bioneers, visionary business leaders, 
and eco-logical designers turning wastes into 
resources, problems into solutions and mindsets 
around. Get set to do well by doing good because ecological is economical.

From chemical-free swimming pools to a Ford 
plant’s living roof, from George Sr.’s pond 
restorer to the Mars Corporation’s Living 
Machines, 
<file:///E:/WORK/Wireframe/ClaudeWilliamGenest/WebSite/Regeneration/old%20site/REGENERATION/website_files/regenerationshow/democlips/Regen_Intro.html>Regeneration 
is how to rebuild, repair and restore our world - 
naturally. Beyond the usual rhetoric - beyond 
left or right, it’s way out in front where an 
emerging international culture is redefining how 
we’ll think, do business and live. For a 
half-hour each week, visit the people, places and 
things making sustainability an everyday, elegant 
and profitable reality and see how-to apply them to your home, yard and life.

The show’s creator and host, 
<file:///E:/WORK/Wireframe/ClaudeWilliamGenest/WebSite/Regeneration/old%20site/REGENERATION/website_files/regenerationshow/claude/personalprofile.html>Claude 
William Genest is a sustainability specialist who 
combines years of rich on-camera experience to 
his expertise in ecological design. He’s 
crisscrossed the globe to study 
<file:///E:/WORK/Wireframe/ClaudeWilliamGenest/WebSite/Regeneration/old%20site/REGENERATION/website_files/greenmountainpermaculture/index.html>Permaculture, 
what David Suzuki calls “the most important work 
being done by any group on the planet”.

<file:///E:/WORK/Wireframe/ClaudeWilliamGenest/WebSite/Regeneration/old%20site/REGENERATION/website_files/regenerationshow/claude/personalprofile.html>Claude’s 
passionate enthusiasm is contagious, his 
knowledge encyclopedic and his positive outlook refreshing.

From your neighbor to the future King of 
England, people are innovating positive solutions 
that are inspirational and innovative; practical and profitable.

<file:///E:/WORK/Wireframe/ClaudeWilliamGenest/WebSite/Regeneration/old%20site/REGENERATION/website_files/regenerationshow/democlips/Regen_Intro.html>Regeneration 
brings it home today to assure all our tomorrows.

Whole-Systems Thinking

Whole-Systems Thinking

... Optimizing elements in isolation Pessimizes Whole -Systems



By: Claude William Genest - Green Party Candidate 
for Ver(T)dun and Permaculture Designer

That everything in life is connected is almost cliché, though evidence of this

truism remains scarce in our culture’s thoughts and actions.

Considering our education, this is not 
surprising. As cultural descendants of René

“I think therefore I am” Descartes, our Cartesian 
way of thinking and talent for

separating elements and components provides us with enormous power and

success - from atom-splitting and microchips to assembly-line production and

microwave ovens.

The ability to reduce concepts (“reductionism) to their smallest components

( “atomism”) is precisely what defines our current mental paradigm.

Ecological thinking on the other hand, which many 
now perceive as being essential to

our continued success, and possibly survival, 
requires that we stop seeing things as

fragmented, isolated and separate, and begin seeing them as they truly are -

connected and interdependent.

“The same thinking that created the problem” wrote Albert Einstein, “can never

find the solution.”

The Green Party and it’s platform are derived 
from the principles of ecology - a

person’s interaction with their environment.

As illustrated below, in whole-systems or 
“ecological “ thinking, it is impossible to

discuss one element without considering its 
effect on the whole - which is of course

exactly what our leaders stubbornly continue to do, with visibly detrimental

effects.

By treating the economy as separate and isolated from the environment and

social justice; or health care as separate from 
agriculture and energy use, we are,

quite literally shooting ourselves in the foot.

Similarly, when political parties artificially 
treat their time in power as separate from

the long-term needs of a society, ill-conceived, 
poorly designed and ineffective

“mega-projects ” too often result.... (New roads 
and bridges will do no more to relieve

traffic than past attempts).

Investments not Costs

When Brian Mulroney’s Conservatives were in power, studies were undertaken

to examine the true costs of implementing Kyoto 
style energy reforms and emissions

reductions.

What came back was that, far from being an 
expense, these measure were instead a

clear investment, in that they were projected to 
yield tripled returns in a mere twenty

years (not including the externalized costs of 
lowered air pollution ... There are today

three times as many deaths from respiratory disease as there are from car

accidents).

So why weren’t these measures enacted ? Because, from the short-term point of

view, why take unpopular actions today if another party might benefit from 
them

tomorrow?

Everything is connected to everything else. By 
governing ecologically, we can avoid all

manner of problem, including environmental ones, and best of all economically

benefit the whole.

Doing more of the same, conversely, will undoubtedly get us more of the same

results, something we simply can no longer afford.

For a long-term, whole-systems, ecologically 
beneficial and financially profitable

quality of life..... Vote Green.



Elizabeth May Announces Prominent Greens Adriane 
Carr and Claude William Genest as Deputy Leaders of federal Green Party Canada

London, Ont. (21 November 2006) – With the London 
North Centre by-election in full swing, Federal 
Green Party leader Elizabeth May took time out 
from her busy campaign to appoint two Deputy 
Leaders to the federal party: Adriane Carr, the 
high-profile BC Green Party leader who is leaving 
her provincial post on November 30th, and Claude 
William Genest, popular TV host and former 
Vice-President of the Quebec Green Party. Both 
deputies bring considerable experience and 
credibility to the federal party, which is now 
polling at just above 10%, up from 7% just 4 months ago.

Carr, the first Green Party leader in North 
America to participate in televised leaders’ 
debates, led the BC party to one of the highest 
electoral results of any Green Party planet-wide 
(12.4% in the 2001 election). “I selected Adriane 
for her obvious leadership ability and experience 
in the political arena. She will co-chair the 
party’s Shadow Cabinet with me, critique national 
policies, offer pragmatic solutions and lead the 
development of our party’s platform,” said May. 
Carr says her move to the national level is a 
natural step, in line with her passion for action 
on issues like global warming. “I believe in 
Elizabeth May’s ability to take the Green Party 
of Canada to new heights and electoral success. 
I’m thrilled to be part of the team that will help her do it,” said Carr.

May also appointed popular Quebec TV personality 
and political pundit Claude William Genest as the 
party’s other national Deputy Leader. Genest, who 
hosts the upcoming PBS television show 
“Regeneration: the Art of Sustainable Living”, 
will focus on developing the Green Party’s media 
profile in Quebec. “I trust Claude to use his 
considerable communication skills to heighten the 
Green Party’s outreach to people in Quebec as 
well as serve as the party’s francophone media 
spokesperson, said May. “It’s an honour to work 
alongside May and Carr, two forces of nature,” 
said Genest, adding, “the environment is polling 
as Canadians primary concern for the first time 
ever and they trust Greens to champion this issue 
for them. It’s a great time to put more effort into the Green Party.”

Carr and Genest, who co-nominated May for the 
position of leader at the party’s convention in 
Ottawa in August, will both help May identify 
stellar candidates to run in the next federal 
election and with national fundraising campaigns. 
They join May and Senior Deputy to the Leader, 
David Chernushenko, in working to win their seats 
and bring the federal Greens to parliament.

The GPC constitution allows for two Deputy 
Leaders to work alongside the party leader.
“Today is a momentous occasion for Greens across 
the country. To have two deputies of this calibre 
in our party is a giant step forward and speaks 
volumes to the renewal and momentum of our party. 
Claude and Adriane both represent the very best 
in political and community leadership. I couldn’t 
be more excited to have them at my side,” said May.