permaculture

["J. Kolenovsky" <garden@hal-pc.org>]

-- 
J. Kolenovsky
Peak Oil and Co2 
is changing our life-style. 
http://www.energybulletin.net/.
http://www.theoildrum.com/. See movie: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCMi1xJ30g4
            



-----Original Message-----
From: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of
permaculture-request@lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: July 11, 2008 12:21 PM
To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: permaculture Digest, Vol 66, Issue 10

Send permaculture mailing list submissions to
        permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
        http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
        permaculture-request@lists.ibiblio.org

You can reach the person managing the list at
        permaculture-owner@lists.ibiblio.org

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of permaculture digest..."


Today's Topics:

   1. salt plant farmers (Taylor Arneson)
   2. Does anyone have an email address for Spider Toomey       - PDC
      grad from CA (Dick Pierce)
   3. BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | 'Alarming' plight of  coral reefs
      (Lawrence F. London, Jr.)
   4. Boulder man faces $2000 fine/day for guerilla garden fencing
      - Boing Boing (Lawrence F. London, Jr.)
   5. BBC NEWS | Americas | Urban farming takes root in Detroit
      (Lawrence F. London, Jr.)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:32:28 -0700
From: "Taylor Arneson" <taylorist@gmail.com>
Subject: [permaculture] salt plant farmers
To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Message-ID:
        <fa97feb80807101032o638d898er3f3f020db355d147@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-fi-seafarm10-2008jul1
0,0,7364335.story


------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:14:31 -0500
From: "Dick Pierce" <dickpiercedesigns@gmail.com>
Subject: [permaculture] Does anyone have an email address for Spider
        Toomey  - PDC grad from CA
To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Message-ID:
        <d3fa65910807101714sa988f9dm2ba560df883ec408@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

I am trying to locate Spider Toomey, a CA PDC Grad. She called me about
a
month ago and I have misplaced her number. I thought that one of you out
there might have an email or phone number in MA.

Thanks if you can help.

-- 
DickPierceDesigns@gmail.com
Newport RI (summer) & Austin, TX
cell- 512-992-8858

Please check out www.permie.us for courses:

Dick's PC-Bio. on www.permie.us
Also on: You Tube Dick Pierce


------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:38:53 -0400
From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@intrex.net>
Subject: [permaculture] BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | 'Alarming' plight
        of      coral reefs
To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <4876C7BD.8020705@intrex.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed


<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7498502.stm>
Page last updated at 18:39 GMT, Thursday, 10 July 2008 19:39 UK
'Alarming' plight of coral reefs
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website

Bleached coral
Warming waters, a consequence of climate change, can devastate coral

A third of the world's reef-building coral species are facing
extinction.

That is the stark conclusion from the first global study to assess the
extinction risks of corals.

Writing in the journal Science, researchers say climate change, coastal
development, overfishing, and pollution are the 
major threats.

The economic value of the world's reefs has been estimated at over $30bn
(?15bn) per year, through tourism, fisheries 
and coastal protection.

"The picture is frightening," said Alex Rogers from the Zoological
Society of London, one of 39 scientists involved in 
the assessment.
        
Could you imagine if a single event wiped out 16% of the Amazon forest,
or 16% of ecosystems in the UK?
Alex Rogers, ZSL

"It's not just the fact that something like a third of all reef-forming
corals are threatened, but that we could be 
facing the loss of large areas of these ecosystems within 50 to 100
years.

"The implications of that are absolutely staggering - not only for
biodiversity, but also for economics."

The analysis shows that reef-building corals are more threatened than
any group of land-dwelling animals except amphibians.

'Incredible' destruction

The most dramatic decline in recent years was caused by the 1997/8 El
Nino event, which caused waters to warm across 
large swathes of the tropics.
        
CORAL - KEY FINDINGS
Known species of reef-building coral: 845
Enough data to assess 704
Critically endangered: 5
Endangered: 25
Vulnerable: 201
Near threatened: 176
Least concern: 297

The Red List definitions

When water temperatures rise, coral polyps - tiny animals that build the
reefs - expel the algae that usually live with 
them in a symbiotic relationship.

The corals lose their colour, with reefs taking on a bleached
appearance, and begin to die off because the algae are not 
there to provide nutrients.

The new analysis shows that before 1998, only 13 of the 704 coral
species assessed would have been classified as 
threatened. Now, the number is 231.

"It was a devastating event in terms of the destruction of corals, with
16% of reefs irreversibly destroyed - an 
incredible amount," said Kent Carpenter from Old Dominion University in
Norfolk, Virginia, in the US.

"The big problem is that if these bleaching events become more frequent
as temperatures rise, as we suspect will happen, 
then we will see whole tracts of coral wiped out."

Advertisement

See the effects of coral bleaching (Sea Web)

Adding to this, scientists have come to realise in recent years, is
ocean acidification. The water absorbs some of the 
atmosphere's extra carbon dioxide, making it slightly more acid, enough
to compromise the capacity of corals to build 
their skeletons, and snails to build their shells.

"We know that high sea surface temperatures are bad for coral, but we
also have an idea that some might be able to 
adapt," said Professor Carpenter.

"But ocean acidification is a much more insidious thing. We don't know
how bad it will be, but the evidence suggests it 
will be absolutely devastating, perhaps on the order of decades, perhaps
on the order of years."

Complex web

But carbon dioxide is not the only culprit.
        
We either reduce our CO2 emissions now, or many corals will be lost
forever
Julia Marton-Lefevre, IUCN

Overfishing in many regions - especially the use of dynamite to fish in
East Asia and heavy trawls that reduce reefs to 
rubble - the excavation of building materials from reefs, coastal
development, invasive species and pollution are all 
fingered in the new analysis.

The Caribbean shows how the threat jigsaw fits together.

Coastal development and farming produce effluent, which stimulates the
growth of types of algae that smother growing coral.

Meanwhile, fishermen are catching fish that would usually graze on these
algae.

In this stressed condition, coral then fall prey more easily to disease,
such as white-band disease which has swept 
through elkhorn and staghorn corals in the region.

The line taken by many scientists and campaigners is that these problems
should be easier to tackle than the rising tide 
of greenhouse gas emissions; so this is where attention should be
concentrated.
        
Natural predator

Enlarge Image

Along Australia's Great Barrier Reef, protected areas have been
established in the sea, and the use of fertilisers 
controlled on land to reduce pollution.

Recent research there has also shown that algae-munching fish can clean
up smothered coral.

But there is another view; that these measures can only reduce and delay
the inevitable impacts of rising greenhouse gas 
emissions.

The political response to climate change, said Alex Rogers, could be
likened to "fiddling while Rome burns".

"Could you imagine if a single event wiped out 16% of the Amazon forest,
or 16% of ecosystems in the UK?" he asked.

"I don't think politicians and the public are aware of the gravity of
the situation we're in regarding coral reefs and 
other marine ecosystems."

Beyond value?

About one quarter of marine species are believed to depend on coral at
some stage of their development. Many fish live 
their entire lives on reefs, while others use them as nurseries;
presumably if the coral dies out, so do the fish.

The economic impact of losing coral is also significant.
Diseased coral
Climatic factors make coral more vulnerable to disease

Estimating the monetary value of natural ecosystems is far from being an
exact science.

But one assessment published two years ago by the UN Environment
Programme (Unep) concludes reefs provide services worth 
on average between $100,000 and $600,000 (?50,000 and ?300,000) per
square kilometre each year.

That gives a total global value between $30bn and $180bn (?15bn and
?90bn) annually. In some regions, such as Sri Lanka, 
the value has been estimated to be 10 times the global average.

The same assessment concluded that protecting areas of reef costs about
0.2% of the value they bring.

The new assessment forms one element of a major project to measure
threats to ocean ecosystems, the Global Marine 
Species Assessment, a joint initiative of the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Conservation 
International (CI).

It will form part of the new IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, due to
be published in October.

The IUCN's director general, Julia Marton-Lefevre, said world leaders
faced a stark choice.

"We either reduce our CO2 emissions now, or many corals will be lost
forever."

Advertisement

Trawlers damage reefs (SeaWeb)

Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

SEE ALSO
Nature loss 'to hurt global poor'
29 May 08 |  Science/Nature
Fish key to reef climate survival
20 Mar 08 |  Science/Nature
'Ocean thermostat can save coral'
08 Feb 08 |  Science/Nature
Gorillas head race to extinction
12 Sep 07 |  Science/Nature
Necklace noose loosened for coral
14 Jun 07 |  Science/Nature
'Only 50 years left' for sea fish
02 Nov 06 |  Science/Nature
Corals get climate survival guide
01 Nov 06 |  Science/Nature

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Science
IUCN
Red List
ODU
ZSL
Unep report - In The Front Line
Conservation International
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

TOP SCIENCE/NATURE STORIES
'Alarming' plight of coral reefs
Date set for Mars sample mission
Moon's interior 'did hold water'




------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:49:35 -0400
From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@intrex.net>
Subject: [permaculture] Boulder man faces $2000 fine/day for guerilla
        garden fencing - Boing Boing
To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <4876CA3F.6060107@intrex.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed

You would think they would encourage residents to grow their own food,
stay at home more, use less
non-renewable resources and learn more skills useful in keeping
themselves healthy and the environment clean
and green, especially during these national financial and energy crises.
- LL


<http://www.boingboing.net/2008/07/10/boulder-man-faces-20.html>



Boing Boing - A directory of wonderful things
Boulder man faces $2000 fine/day for guerilla garden fencing
Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, July 10, 2008 5:42 PM | permalink

Scott Hoffenberg, who lives in my hometown of Boulder, Colorado, is
growing a vegetable garden in the space between the 
sidewalk and the street on University Avenue. A neighbor complained
about the trellises and fencing in the parkway, and 
Hoffenberg has been ordered to remove them or face a $2,000 per day
fine.

     [L]ast month, an enforcement officer from Boulder?s Environmental
and Zoning Enforcement office showed up and said 
a neighbor had complained about the garden.

     ?She said to take it all down ? the tomato cages, the trellises,
the posts, the basketball hoop, everything,? 
Hoffenberg said.

     ...

     Hoffenberg has until July 14 to take down the trellises and
fencing. At that point, Arthur said, he could be cited, 
and a judge could impose a fine. Or the city could remove the
impediments, since they?re on public property, Arthur 
said, if they?re not able to reach a compromise.

Boulder, curbside gardeners spar over right-of-way (Boulder Daily
Camera) (Thanks, Nina!)




------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:52:09 -0400
From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@intrex.net>
Subject: [permaculture] BBC NEWS | Americas | Urban farming takes root
        in      Detroit
To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <4876CAD9.2090801@intrex.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed


<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7495717.stm>
Page last updated at 10:59 GMT, Thursday, 10 July 2008 11:59 UK
Urban farming takes root in Detroit

By Matthew Wells
BBC News, Detroit

Could growing fresh vegetables help save crumbling inner cities around
the world and tackle hunger?

Reginald Moore and Rod Shepard hoe the ground
Putting in the spade-work at one of the charity's gardens

That is the ambitious aim of a charity called Urban Farming, which has
its headquarters in Detroit, the capital of the 
US's wilting car industry.

The idea is very simple: turn wasteland into free vegetable gardens and
feed the poor people who live nearby.

Motown has lost more than a million residents since its heyday in the
1950s and it is common to see downtown residential 
streets with just a few houses left standing.

Taja Sevelle saw the hundreds of hectares of vacant land in the city and
came up with the idea of creating an organic 
self-help movement that would be "affordable (and) practical".

Beginning three years ago, armed with $5,000 (?2,500) and a pamphlet,
the singer and entrepreneur managed to win a wide 
cross-section of support around the city. Now her charity is expanding
across the US.

Ms Sevelle is also keen to discuss her ideas with the new Mayor of
London, Boris Johnson.

With a handful of full-time staff, Urban Farming co-ordinates the
cultivation of what amounts to 500 family-sized 
gardens across Detroit.

No greed

Visiting one of the largest allotments, on a site that had been derelict
since Detroit's infamous 1967 riots, locals 
spoke about an astonishing transformation.

Derelict building overgrown with weeds and vegetation in Detroit
Derelict streets highlight Detroit's tough past and present

"There is something that every hand in this area can do," said Rose
Stallard, who is keen to enlist as many volunteers 
as possible to help tend the garden and its precious crops.

As she organises a band of eager helpers to pull greens from the rich
top-soil, Ms Stallard says food is more expensive 
than ever and neighbourhood shops are scarce.

"That's one cucumber you didn't have to pay 69 cents for," she adds,
with a smile.

There are no fences but one local said greed had not been a problem.

"People are only taking what they need, because they know it's for
everybody," he said.

Collective wisdom

Many of the regular gardeners come from rehabilitation programmes linked
to the county jail.

Offenders say they have earned self-respect, as well as local thanks,
for literally doing the spade-work.

"It's good for me to know that I'm helping somebody, instead of hurting
somebody," said Reginald Moore.

Taja and Rose discuss crops
Taja Sevelle and Rose Stallard are keen to expand their work

"All this is positive. Next year, you'll see this all over," added Rod
Shepard.

Providing free food on the doorstep brings people together and spreads
collective wisdom, according to local city hall 
manager Gail Carr.

"Fresh fruits and vegetables are something that we all need. And we
really, really need to educate our children in that 
area.

"If we don't, we're going to have a lost generation to many diseases
such as diabetes," she said.

The local sheriff's liaison officer, Beth Roberts, said that crime
figures had improved wherever Urban Farming took root.

Growing crops also marked a return to slower but better times, she said.

"We used to do this in our backyards. This used to be a culture, a way
of life, so we're restoring that through urban 
farming."

Future plans

As the charity expands, it remains to be seen if enough local people
will do the groundwork to keep the gardens blooming.

Showing off prize greens from a Detroit urban farm
Time to benefit from all the hard work
But the idea of permanent social change, away from the old industrial
core, is something that Detroit sorely needs, 
according to the editorial page editor of the Detroit News, Nolan
Finley.

"Today's reality is that we have a lot of vacant space, and not much
economic opportunity," he said.

"You could have urban farming - you could have livestock in some of
these stretches of empty land.

"You could reforest it into tree farms so you're not maintaining a
sidewalk, a power line, for a street that has two 
houses on it."

The conversion from Motown to Growtown may seem far-fetched, but given
Detroit's economic woes, marketable ideas are in 
big demand.

E-mail this to a friend         Printable version
Bookmark with:

     * Delicious
     * Digg
     * reddit
     * Facebook
     * StumbleUpon

FOOD PRICE CRISIS

KEY STORIES
Stop wasting food, Brown urging
China to increase grain output
Pakistan's poor hit as food prices soar
Long era of cheap food is over
Corn prices surge to record high
UN plan to increase food supplies
FEATURES
Indian child Face of hunger
Malnutrition worsens with rising prices in India
Biofuel: Hero to zero?
Ethiopia's 'green' drought
Tortilla price shock
Could GM crops help feed Africa?
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
Challenges for the food summit
Cost of food facts
Q&A: Rising world food prices

PERSONAL STORIES
Impact on six families
HAVE YOUR SAY
Should we try to waste less food?

RELATED BBC LINKS
Growing fruit and vegetables

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Urban Farming
Food Up Front
Sustain
Growing Power





------------------------------

_______________________________________________
permaculture mailing list
permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture


End of permaculture Digest, Vol 66, Issue 10
********************************************