permaculture

[John Fritz <johnfritz77@yahoo.com>]

Thanks for posting this Bob.  Dan's teaching was my first introduction to the 
concepts of Permaculture and it was good to read this again.  So concise and 
direct.  As I read it though I find myself thinking that most 'Merkuns would 
read the same words as a foreign language.
  Say what?
   
  John Fritz, NW Arkansas.
   
  
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:55:33 -0500
From: "Robert Waldrop" <bwaldrop@cox.net>
Subject: [permaculture] Living lovingly on the earth

Living Lovingly on the Earth is an article 
regarding the nature and design process of 
permaculture, written by Dan Hemenway, founder of 
Barking Frogs Permaculture.  It was originally 
published in 1982, and has been occasionally 
revised based on his experience. It is now 
available online at 
http://www.barkingfrogspermaculture.org/livinglovingly.pdf .

Bob Waldrop, OKC 



       
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Subject: [permaculture] BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Wastewater fears for
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<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7563295.stm>
Page last updated at 09:22 GMT, Monday, 18 August 2008 10:22 UK
Wastewater fears for urban farms
By Mark Kinver
Science and nature reporter, BBC News

A man collects wastewater in a can (Image: IWMI)
The survey found that 1.1m urban farmers used wastewater for irrigation

Urgent action is needed to remove pollutants from urban wastewater, which is 
often used in cities to grow food, an 
international study has warned.

Data collected by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) found 
that 85% of cities discharged the water 
without any appropriate treatment.

With many developing nations swiftly urbanising, the authors said people were 
at increasing risk of disease.

The findings are being presented at an international water summit in Sweden.

"As the world flips over from a predominantly rural to a predominantly urban 
population base, cities are going to take 
more and more water for agriculture," explained IWMI director general Colin 
Chartres.

"However, most of the water going into urban areas comes out the other end in 
the sewers," he told BBC News.

"We know that there is an informal sector within many cities that is using 
[wastewater] to grow vegetables, but there 
has been no data on how much of this water was being used or what the risks 
were."

Waste not, want not

The study, based on case studies from 53 cities in developing nations, 
examined where wastewater was being generated, 
how much was being used in urban agriculture, and to what degree the water 
was being treated.
A cabbage patch, irrigated with wastewater (Image: IWMI)
Food irrigated with wastewater can ease the pressure on supplies

With increasing food prices and growing concerns about water scarcity, the 
authors of the report highlighted a number of 
benefits of using wastewater to irrigate crops.

They said that it allowed food production in places where there was a lack of 
water, or where no alternative clean water 
sources were available.

It also recycled nutrients, meaning that farmers did not have to buy 
expensive fertilisers.

And irrigating farmland with wastewater also has environmental benefits, 
explained Dr Chartres.

"It is a pretty useful way of treating water in the sense that if the water 
just went straight into a river, it would 
cause a lot more eutrophication problems further downstream.

"So in a way it is performing an ecological service by cleaning up some of 
the water and recycling the nutrients."
Samples of wastewater (Image: IWMI)
Samples of wastewater taken at regular intervals from a river in India, 
showing how the water gets cleaner as it flows 
through natural wetlands

However, Dr Chartres warned that using wastewater for irrigation was not risk 
free, especially as the world became more 
urbanised.

"If this practice is going to be increasingly commonplace and more and more 
people are going to be eating food produced 
this way, then there needs to be a bit more concern about the heavy metals 
and other contaminants in there.
        
WHAT IS WASTEWATER?
Wastewater canal (Image: Sanjini de Silva)
Urban wastewater is usually a combinations of one or more of the following:
domestic effluent, including "blackwater" (excreta, urine) and "greywater" 
(water from kitchen sinks etc)
water from commercial buildings and institutions, eg hospitals
industrial effluent
storm and other urban run-off
(Source: IWMI)

"Ideally, the end product should be treating the water to a standard that 
means there is no risk, but most developing 
nations cannot afford to do this.

"Apparently, what happens now in areas with very polluted water is that the 
farmers do a smell test or a taste test," he 
added.

"If the water tastes too foul or smells too bad, then they won't use it to 
irrigate their crops - but that's a pretty 
dangerous way to go about things."

The IWMI report found that wastewater was being used in 80% of the cities 
surveyed.

This equated to 5.6 million farmers and family members dependent upon the 
wastewater in order to earn a living.

It added that very often industrial and domestic waste streams were mixed 
together. Ensuring the two were kept apart 
would reduce the risks from chemical contamination.

"It is really just about minimising the risks from field to fork with a 
series of simple measures," Dr Chartres explained.

"[These include] letting the water settle in a pond, so a lot of the eggs 
from worms drop out of the water, and 
irrigating around the crops rather than on top of them.

"When the crop is harvested, it also needs to be washed with fresh, clean 
water in the market, and that water needs to 
be constantly changed so everything else is not contaminated."

The authors said that the international community needed to develop policies 
and practices to reduce the health and 
environmental risks, while maintaining the financial and food production 
benefits.

The findings are being presented at the World Water Week summit in Stockholm, 
Sweden - a week-long conference attended 
by water and sanitation experts from more than 140 countries.

SEE ALSO
Summit targets world water issues
17 Aug 08 |  Special Reports
Unnatural roots of the food crisis
02 Jun 08 |  Science/Nature
Singer shines light on sanitation
12 Apr 08 |  Science/Nature
Clean break from cycle of disease
15 Mar 08 |  Science/Nature
Australians warned of water cuts
19 Apr 07 |  Asia-Pacific
Map details global water stress
21 Aug 06 |  Science/Nature
UN warns of future water crisis
05 Mar 03 |  Science/Nature
Indian children 'malnourished'
23 Oct 02 |  South Asia

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
IWMI
World Water Week, Stockholm
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