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  • From: Jay Woods <woodsjay@cox.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] On the destruction of my landscape's ecosystems: a minor elegy in a melancholy key
  • Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 19:46:11 -0600

I didn't know you were aware of what I have been going
through with Omaha Parks and Recreation Code Enforcement.
You write it up much better than I could hope to do.

I found that they like the looks of broken concrete as a rock
fence as a retaining wall better than they did log walls.
Likewise, for some reason humping dirt into a berm with logs
buried in it was OK. A good attorney willing to go to district
court seemed to slow them down. They probably don't like to
listen to a sarcastic judge.

On Thursday, January 06, 2011 06:53:23 pm Bob Waldrop
wrote:
> Below is a little essay I just published regarding the results of
> today's visit of code inspectors to my property in Oklahoma
City.
>
> Bob Waldrop, Romero Catholic Worker, Oklahoma City
>
> http://www.bobwaldrop.net/?p=417
>
> When I moved to 1524 N 21 in Oklahoma City, there were
flat mostly
> empty lawns. Now a mini-urban eco-system flourishes. It is
> beautiful, it is interesting, even during the depths of winter.
But
> alas for me and my little niche of the ecology during this age
of
> peak oil denial, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and not
all
> beholders are created equal. Some of them carry guns and
may compel
> obedience to their own personal visions of urban beauty and
land
> use.
> In case you haven't figured it out, the code inspectors have
been
> here for a visit. And suddenly, things that have pretty much
been
> fine for a decade are violations. No appeal, no argument, no
> nothing. They have all the guns on their side, and that is a
> powerful argument.
>
> So we just spent an hour or so removing all of the beautiful
logs and
> such which have decorated our ecosystem and contributed
to the
> fertility of the property. Yes, they are weathered and slowly
> decaying, but that's their function in the eco-system. they
are
> giving nourishment to the land from which they grew, since
most of
> them derive from two elms that were on our property but
that were
> taken down during ice and wind storms, and one large dead
tree that
> was hit by lightening. A large chunk of that tree has been
slowly
> nourishing a peach tree that I planted, but no more, now it is
> laying on a pile awaiting disposition. There are no
comfortable
> places now on which I can sit and watch my garden grow
while petting
> my cats or my dogs.
>
> Yet these same inspectors have nothing to say about the
practices of
> many of my neighbors, and of Oklahoma City government,
who spray
> toxic cancer-causing chemical stews across the landscape
with
> careless abandon. Who cares if kids get leukemia or women
get breast
> cancer? Victorian England was the mature culmination of
landscape
> design, and we must replicate that everywhere. A place for
> everything, and everything in its place. Nature is our enemy,
it
> must not be nurtured, it must be whipped into submission.
When it
> comes to ecology, the ruling ethos Oklahoma City is "we
don't need
> none and we ain't gettin' none either."
>
> They even demand that I enclose my compost pile, even
though it is
> behind a fence and not visible from the street and I am
pretty sure
> they can't point to a single word of chapter and verse that
would
> actually mandate this. Fine if it makes them happy, but let's
not
> pretend that it is anything other than the abuse of power
that it
> is.
>
> We are going to attempt to mulch as much of this as we can,
some will
> be used for firewood, some of it is incredibly beautiful aged
wood,
> if anyone artistic is reading this, and can get by soon, and is
> interested in aged wood for craft purposes, it is laying in a
pile
> in front of 2120 N McKinley, which is the small house behind
our
> house at 1524 NW 21, which is the southeast corner of N Mc
Kinley
> and NW 21.
>
> I guess I'm not surprised that this is happening. I've been a
bit
> harsh on some of our political leaders lately, like Mary Queen
of
> Lynch Mobs Fallin, and Tyrant-Emperor Barak Obama, and
over the
> years, there is somewhat of a correlation between code
violations
> and my political rhetoric online. Plus, as systems go down
for the
> count, generally there is one last "push" for the old status
quo.
> Repressive regimes become even more so, wasteful and
gluttonous
> societies build billion dollar highways to nowhere. The feces
will
> always make it to the lowest level, and unfortunately these
feces
> have no nutritional content for compost or biogas.
>
> So OKC code enforcement can be quite proud of their own
little
> contribution today to pushing this nation towards the ash
heap of
> history. They were quite nice personally, one might have
been a
> little more hard coppish, but it wasn't an ugly confrontation
in
> terms of shouting and etc. I could have made it that way, I
was
> very tempted to denounce hem to their faces for what they
were, in
> the best style of the Tea Party, and as I have often done
online to
> a wide collection of characters in our ruling aristocracies.
And
> ten years ago I probably would have done that, and in fact,
did a
> little of it with some of the inspectors. But these days there
are
> only so many battles that can be fought. However tempting
it is to
> go to the wall to defend my own little patch's fertility
systems,
> there are bigger and more important battles to fight, and
right now
> I just don't have the time, energy, resources, and etc to go
to war
> with Oklahoma City over this. I'm even making plans to move
my
> elderberry patch, since if they are going to be moved in the
next
> year, now is the time to do it, and the inspectors implied that
> during the summer, they would be back with line-of-sight
violations.
> So some annual beds will trade places with the elderberries.
>
> Also in danger are my beautiful native roses (Rosa arkansas)
which
> line one of the streets, and every year we trim them so they
do not
> obscure the stop sign on the corner. She's going to check
on that
> and get back with me.
>
> I am not the only person in Gatewood neighborhood who
gardens close
> on to the curb. If not common, it is not isolated either. I can
> think of two houses in particular, right next to each other,
which
> have even more foliage than I do. They however do not blog
> criticisms of the powers that be, so they are left alone, and I
am
> glad of that.
>
> All of this is complaint driven, the inspectors do not come out
to my
> house on their own volition. Some real person or persons
called
> this trouble down upon me. I am glad they are leaving others
in the
> neighborhood alone. Sure, it's not very constitutional to
single
> someone out because of their politics, but we are like
imperial
> Rome. They maintained the symbols and fictions long after
the
> substance of the Republic has degenerated into the Empire,
and we
> follow their most august example. These days the
Constitution isn't
> much more than a sentimental symbol.
>
> Some may well wonder what the big deal is anyway,
including my code
> inspectors, who may eventually even read this since it will be
posted
> on the internet and tens of thousands of people may
eventually see
> it (my collection of websites generally receives about a
million
> user sessions a year, from 108 different countries). Well, the
big
> deal is fertility. Sure, I could haul in fertility, and I have to do
> some of that anyway. But as time goes on, I've been having
to haul
> in less fertility. When I take a soil sample to the county
> extension office for testing, the results are crazy. "I don't
know
> how you can grow anything there your nitrogen is so high."
I can't
> find one right now but I will dig one of them up and edit this
in a
> day or so to include the data.
>
> Why not allow nature to be part of the process of my urban
garden?
>
> Permaculture principles at play here include stacking
functions and
> redundancy for important/critical systems, and fertility is
most
> definitely a critical system where redundancy is necessary.
Not
> forgetting "use small and slow solutions." And "favor
> natural/biological solutions." All of which now become
problematic
> in my little schema of things.
>
> Well, permaculture is nothing if not about adapting to
changing
> circumstances. So we'll see what can be done, there is
always
> something to be done about a damaged eco-system. We'll
just have to
> think and observe for a while and see what we come up with.
> Something will sprout, I'm sure of it, one nice thing about
biology
> is that the hope of new life springs eternal.
>
> For the record. . . The logs in my garden serve these
functions:
> (1) Slowly composting and giving fertility to their area, (2)
> Habitat for beneficial insects, (3) Many of them are nice
places to
> sit, (4) Many of them are cat petting perches, (5) Many of
them
> serve as the borders of various beds and divisions in my
> eco-systems, (6) They were all deliberately placed where
they were
> to fulfill specific functions, (7) They are landscape art.
>
> They are not trash and debris, as the city defines trash and
debris,
> but because I am a special case, they are in fact magically
> transformed into trash and debris, and they must be
removed or the
> city will remove them for me and pay a private contractor a
> gold-plated price to remove the items, and then put a lien on
the
> title to my house so they get their money.
>
> So it goes, one more speed bump on our peak oil quick trip
to the ash
> heap of history.
>
> In the spirit of Christian charity, and called to do so by the
> Gospel, (even though I don't want to, lol.. . . people who pray
> should pray for my intention that I receive a more grateful
heart
> about this) . . I am willing to forgive all involved with this for
> the violence and destruction they are causing to my
household
> eco-systems. I just picked the music for the Sundays of
Winter
> Ordinary Time, and coming up in February, we Catholics will
hear two
> long readings from the Sermon on the Mount, with full and
complete
> instructions on how we should deal with those with whom we
have
> disagreements. The code inspectors were lucky that I
recently
> (yesterday!) had such a vivid reminder of the norms of
Christian
> life and praxis otherwise I might be contacting a lawyer
about now
> instead of writing this minor elegy in a melancholy key about
this
> government-mandated destruction.
>
> You know, as I write those words, I had a sudden glimmer
about how
> destructive government can be and typically is. I am very
lucky that
> the destruction at my place is being accomplished by due
process of
> law, and I am allowed to do the destruction myself, so I can
save
> and conserve what I can.
>
> Even at this late date, there remain some advantages to
being white.
>
> If I was in Afghanistan, the destruction likely would have
been
> accomplished with napalm, or fuel air bombs, or soldiers
kicking the
> door in, or terrorists planting roadside explosives, and if I was
in
> New York, I might have been on the receiving end of airliners
> transformed into missiles at the behest of enemies of our
particular
> government.
>
> Or I might be a child starving to death. Every minute that I
have
> spent writing this little elegy, 12 children elsewhere have
died
> from hunger-related issues. 720 an hour. 16,000 every day.
>
> So the destruction and due processed violence at my house
is a small
> thing in the greater scheme of things and in light of what is
> happening elsewhere. A lot of that happens, though,
because we
> Americans are such gluttons and poor stewards of the
resources of
> this finite planet. This system, however, will only tolerate a
> certain amount of independent thought and action on that
subject,
> and if you cross that line, it's defense systems mobilize and
treat
> you as the threat that you in fact are to their selfish gluttony.
>
> I will not forget what has happened.
>
> I will increase my already not-so-insubstantial efforts to
create
> alternative structures in the midst of the collapsing ruins of
the
> old. When Oklahoma City hits the ash heap of history, an
event that
> is likely to be sooner rather than later, we will all need such
> alternative structures.
>
> Got a local food system? Got a local energy system? Got
extra
> insulation? Got an alternative economic system?
>
> The time to build the cellar is before the tornado hits.
>
> The time to create alternative structures is before the ruins
of
> the old collapse entirely upon the ash heap of history.
>
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