permaculture

[Andrew Millison <amillison@gmail.com>]

Has anybody heard of the work of Jim Channon? They made a movie about him
called "The Men Who Stare at Goats" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234548/

He's a former military, visionary and Permaculturist who collaborated with
the military to create the "First Earth Battalion". His big vision is to
utilize the existing structure of the Army, Navy, Airforce, and Marines to
become an Earth repair organization. His idea is that these are the most
powerful and logistically functional human organizations on the Planet, why
not put them to good use as consciousness shifts to Earth healing?

Jim is incredibly optimistic, and pretty out-there, but he was the first
person I've seen to show the potential of using the army for rapid
deployment to repair the biosphere. He goes into his plan in detail in his
book "Go Planet!". I just wanted to share these links because it seems very
relevant to what Scott is doing with the National Guard.

http://firstearthbattalion.org/
http://www.jimchannon.com/indexFlash.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Channon

Drink deep,

Andrew Millison
www.beaverstatepermaculture.com

On Sat, Aug 7, 2010 at 12:45 PM, Cory Brennan <cory8570@yahoo.com> wrote:

> The first principle of permaculture is to observe. Too often, we speak and
> judge before we observe. That is what has gotten us into this mess in the
> first place. If we observe the system and what it is actually doing before
> rendering judgment (such as actually finding out something about what those
> guardsmen are doing with the knowledge before deciding that "it isn't a good
> thing"), we will be in a better position to make design decisions that are
> truly regenerative.
>
> I've had people making armchair judgments of aspects of my projects as
> well, without getting the full story first. I agree with Scott, let us grant
> each other "people care" in the form of the freedom and respect to assume
> that those of us who are on the ground observing our own projects, might
> know more about the situation than those second guessing from the balcony
> seats.
>
> Cory Brennan
> permacultureguild.us
>
> --- On Sat, 8/7/10, LBSALTZMAN@aol.com <LBSALTZMAN@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > From: LBSALTZMAN@aol.com <LBSALTZMAN@aol.com>
> > Subject: Re: [permaculture] Fwd: On an ethics of Mr. Skvorak
> > To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> > Date: Saturday, August 7, 2010, 7:30 AM
> > Agreed! I thought the idea was
> > exciting and spread Permaculture in new
> > ways.
> >
> > Larry  Saltzman
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 8/6/2010 9:31:15 P.M. Pacific Daylight
> > Time,
> > scott@permaculture.org
> > writes:
> >
> > Before  one engages in judgment of some one else's
> > actions the least they
> > can
> > do is  check with the person whose action is being
> > judged.  I find  it
> > extremely unethical and distasteful for anyone to launch
> > into a self
> > serving
> > diatribe that is premised on judgment.  I don't like
> > it with  missionaries,
> > evangelicals, right winged politicos, or misguided
> > permaculturalists.
> >
> > I do not feel any need to justify my actions vis a
> > vis the Oklahoma
> > national
> > guard suffice it to say that these men are going  to
> > Afghanistan to work
> > with
> > farmers and herdsmen to repair an agricultural
> > infrastructure that was
> > destroyed by the Russians.  I respect their
> > mission and their dedication to
> > helping Afghan rural people.
> >
> > This is  another example of a person talking to hear
> > his head rattle.
> >
> > Scott Pittman
> > Director
> > Permaculture  Institute
> > www.permaculture.org
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From:  rafter sass [mailto:rafter@liberationecology.org]
> >
> > Sent: Wednesday, August  04, 2010 6:42 PM
> > To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org;
> > Northeastern  Permaculture (List)
> > Subject: [permaculture] Fwd: On an ethics of
> > permaculture...
> >
> > Hey folks,
> >
> > I'm FWDing an email on from Kevin  Skvorak, a good
> > permie who it appears has
> > been banned from this  list.
> >
> > Kevin's original email below, then my response
> > follows.
> >
> >
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > > From: regeneration  CSA <regenerationcsa@gmail.com>
> > > Date: August 4, 2010 7:26:06 PM  EDT
> > > To: "Northeastern Permaculture  (List)"
> > <northeasternpermaculture@lists.riseup.net>
> > > Subject:  On an ethics of permaculture...
> > >
> > > warm greetings folks,
> > >
> > > So, i am wondering if anyone would like to consider
> > some  conversations on
> > the ethical dimensions of
> > permaculture?   (no  pressure!)
> > >
> > > If you happen to feel so inclined to indulge
> > some  of my ponderings, here
> > they are:
> > >
> > >
> > > How can we frame  in (more) practical ways the
> > ethical principles of
> > permaculture?  How  do we analyze and discuss if
> > we are achieving our goals
> > of earth care,  people care, and fair share?  How
> > much of each does it take?
> > If two  out of three of these are embodied in any
> > given project, is this
> > enough to  qualify as permaculture?
> > >
> > > I want to offer an  example or two to help
> > illustrate.
> > >
> > > Recently, Scott Pittman,  director of the
> > Permaculture Institute taught
> > some National Guardsmen on  their way to Afghanistan
> > some Permaculture
> > basics.  For me this very  tricky, if not perhaps
> > untenable for a movement
> > (for want of a better word)  that is espousing the
> > values Permaculture is.
> > >
> > > In fairness, it  seems to me there can be a
> > couple of different
> > perspectives on this. One is  that it doesn't matter
> > who, or how, or in what
> > context permaculture is  delivered in, it is "all
> > good" as long as it gets
> > out there, and there are  no contradictions in
> > offering this info to the US
> > National Guard.  Ok.  One may hold such an
> > opinion i suppose.
> > >
> > > There is also another  way to view it, one that i
> > believe more
> > holistically
> > embodies the values we  teach.  While there may
> > be some "good" that was
> > delivered to the   few national guardsmen
> > that attended the course, it was
> > far outweighed by  the bad. (providing greenwash for a
> > pretty bloody,
> > unprincipled imperial  effort; possibly/probably
> > damaging/sabotaging any
> > reputation that  permaculture might have developed
> > among the people of
> > afghanistan in the  future; etc etc. Hence, imo this
> > was a less than optimal
> > "ethical"   choice.
> > >
> > > A much better ethical one (again imho) would
> > have  been to refuse to offer
> > these token classes to some US soldiers engaged in  an
> > occupation, but
> > instead make an effort to offer them to like valued
> > afghan led efforts on
> > the ground, unembeded in what appears (it seems to
> > me) to be an ongoing US
> > led corporate/military/industrial/etc colonial  effort
> > of the most naked
> > kind. (It is a bad thing. the war is bad.)
> > >
> > > This is all easier said that done I know, and
> > afghanistan remains a
> > pretty
> > dangerous place for democratic and civil society groups
> > that would  be the
> > natural allies of Permaculture.   And it
> > will likely  remain a very
> > dangerous
> > place for such people, as long as the US military
> > remains.   A dilemma one
> > might say...
> > >
> > > And there  are actually a lot of other
> > Permaculture identified efforts
> > that
> > appear to  be on pretty shaky "ethical" ground. like
> > all the  "permaculture"
> > developments going in in global south "third world"
> > countres, owned, and
> > for
> > the benefit of (usually) global north, mostly of
> > european origin folks. Be
> > this as it may - i don't want to waste folks  computer
> > time going into all
> > this.  Because of course there also many
> > wonderful, creative, and highly
> > ethical Permaculture efforts going on as  well.
> > (this isn't another blanket
> > condemnation of permaculture! i  swear)
> > >
> > > What I am most interested in is "how" we
> > dialogue  about this stuff, under
> > what framing? what principles?  what  "context"?
> > >
> > > Maybe we just need to be more specific when we
> > talk about "fair share".
> > For instance does fair share include an inherent  debt
> > by US and other
> > "developed" industrial consumers to the majority of
> > the worlds population
> > not living such a consumer "lifestyle"?  Dow we
> > owe "Regenerative
> > Reparations"?    (anyone can use this
> > without  attribution whenever they
> > like!)
> > >
> > > Do we talk about carbon  or "climate debt".
> > The language that came out of
> > the Cochabamba  meetings on climate change is very
> > thoughtful on this issue:
> > >
> > >  http://pwccc.wordpress.com/category/working-groups/08-climate-debt/
> > >
> > > and, i suppose another question to ask might be, how
> > well do our  existing
> > principles work in this regard?  Are they achieving
> > the goals  of creating
> > an
> > adequate intellectual framework on which to fully assess
> > and  discuss our
> > work?   Is the vagueness on the part about
> > our  existing principles a well
> > thought/intentional in this regard? Is it  tactical
> > choice?   Do we perhaps
> > feel that the vagueness helps us  as we attempt the
> > broadest possible "tent"
> > of permaculture?   i  am not sure....
> > >
> > > I am not meaning to be to terribly
> > confrontational with all this, (tho,
> > alas it is my current nature it  seems)  and it
> > is just something I am
> > meditating on at the  moment.
> > >
> > > And for me "ethics" is not because we  want to
> > achieve some vague feeling
> > of goodness, but because we want to be  effective.
> > >
> > > so for me, much of this all is "context"  I
> > am meditating a lot on the
> > question of context these days.
> > >
> > >
> > > peace and love,
> > > kevin
> > >
> > > p.s.  If anyone  wants to fwd this to the
> > national listserve, (i have been
> > banned by  LL)  i would be gratified as i would
> > honestly, and deeply value
> > any  insight on these issues from many of the minds
> > and hearts on that
> > listserve  as well.
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Regeneration CSA
> > > at  Outback Farm
> > > 81 Clove Valley Rd
> > > High Falls NY 12440
> > >  845 687 0535
> > > http://www.regenerationcsa.org/
> >
> >
> > I have often  thought that Pc ethics are taught in a
> > watered-down and
> > feel-good style,  that does more to create good vibes
> > and excitement than it
> > does to  challenge students, or help designers
> > navigate the sometimes-murky
> > waters  of choosing clients and partners.
> >
> > The way I think about the ethics, and  the way I train
> > future designers,
> > revolves around the idea of putting some  meat - and
> > maybe even teeth -
> > behind the ethics.
> > That "care" is a tricky  term, after all - because it
> > can refer to emotion
> > alone. I like to think  that, as used in the ethics,
> > it actually refers to
> > the action of caring -  of taking care of. So the
> > question becomes, how do
> > we
> > know when we are  taking care of the earth, of
> > people?
> >
> > We can and should choose  indicators and benchmarks,
> > to help us know when we
> > are following the  ethics, and when we are coming up
> > short. Specific
> > measures
> > are up to the  designer, but there a few questions
> > that I think the ethics
> > demand that we  ask:
> >
> > Care for the Earth: What, really, is our measure of
> > ecosystem  health? The
> > most popular in the Pc movement seem to be biodiversity
> > and  energy capture,
> > but I
> > would easily accept topsoil  depth, presence of top
> > predators,
> > decreases in nutrient or contaminant  runoff in
> > surface waters,
> > structural/functional diversity, etc. etc.
> > What matters to me is not which indicator, but that there
> > IS  one -
> > that we have ways to measure our results - and see if we
> > measuring  up.
> >
> > Care for People: What is our measure for social health?
> > Trickier,  even,
> > than
> > measuring ecosystem health, but we still have to *actually
> > think  about it*
> > if we want to
> > accomplish it. The way that I  interpret this ethic is
> >
> > How is this project  helping this community USE AND
> > CONTROL
> > it's own resources sustainably - or  regeneratively?
> > How is this project helping a  community take control
> > of its
> > own destiny - to self-determine?
> > Maybe not as easy to come up with a number or a measure
> > for  this,
> > but I want to hear you (and me) at least make an honest
> > case
> > for how your work is doing this.
> >
> > Redistribute  Surplus: Trickier still, most often
> > neglected, and exactly as
> > crucial as  the other two. This one merits a little
> > digression.
> >
> > Most into to Pc presentations start with an
> > "Evidence"  section.
> > That's classic Pc, as many folks are aware - to spend just
> > a few  minutes on
> > doom and
> > gloom, and then focus on solutions  for the rest of
> > the time. I
> > present the usual littany of bummers for my  evidence
> > section -
> > deforestation, soil loss,
> > climate,  peak, etc. etc., and then as the last item,
> > I put up a
> > slide on  "Inequality." I use this graphic for the
> > slide:
> >
> >
> >
> http://contexts.org/graphicsociology/files/2009/05/conley_champagne_distribu
> > tion.png
> >
> > Then I have a little discussion on "Why is inequality
> > an  ecological
> > problem?"
> > These are generally very productive.
> >
> > My own answers are -
> > (1) Because of  the environmental EFFECTS of
> > inequality: poor
> > communities are unable to  defend themselves against
> > toxic discharges, and
> > have no  buffer against instability in the eco-eco
> > systems, so bear
> > disproportionate  effects - ESPECIALLY
> > disproportionate
> > compared to their  impact.
> >
> > (2) Because inequality is an environmental  DRIVER: as
> > long as their
> > are people who are calling the shots about  production
> > and extraction who
> > are
> >
> > making a killing, and  can buffer themselves from the
> > effects
> > indefinitely, AND those who do the  work and bear the
> > effects don't have any
> > decision
> > making power about production and extraction, THERE WILL
> > BE  NO
> > SUSTAINABILITY. Research supports this statistically:
> > in  counties,
> > states, and nations (3 different studies) the  more
> > inequality, the
> > worse environmental outcomes.
> >
> > (3)  And finally, because it's just freaking
> > ecological, isn't it?
> > The movement  of energy and matter through complex
> > living systems is the
> > stuff of ecology, and we can use that lens and those
> > tools  to
> > understand it, and to change it.
> >
> > SO, back to the  3rd Ethic. The way I see it, the
> > question that the
> > 3rd Ethic "Redistribute  Surplus" demands of us is:
> > How is my work  helping, in some way, to begin to
> > flatten the
> > terrible mountain of  inequality that lies between us
> > and true
> > sustainability?
> > Or, to reverse the metaphor, how is my work helping
> > to  fill
> > the chasm that separates the 20% world from the 80% world,
> > that MUST  be
> > filled to
> > regenerate our culture and  biosphere?
> >
> > As for Scott's flirtation with the
> > military-industrial  complex, I'm
> > actually
> > not all that interested in having an opinion.
> > I'd  rather hear more, and ask some questions, than
> > figure out if it was OK
> > or  NOT OK. ;)
> >
> > Thanks again, Kevin, for spurring discussion of
> > crucial  topics.
> >
> > Best,
> > Rafter
> >
> > rafter sass
> > Liberation Ecology  Project
> > liberationecology.org
> > 518-567-7407
> > skype:  raughter
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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