permaculture

[Rhonda Baird <rk.baird@yahoo.com>]

Bob,

Your point is well-made. I just attended a continental conference for the
Sisters of Earth. I only went because it was local to me. I LOVED
attending--loved being inspired by all the things shared there by the many,
many women who have been working to protect, serve, and regenerate the
Earth for decades. I loved seeing Nettie Weibe of Via Campesina speak.
Loved meeting Carolyn Baker.

AND the travel (let alone the food getting there, etc...) created more than
65 tons of CO2 according to the records. Those recording it were advocating
for just the same thing--regional gatherings more and continental
gatherings rarely and by other means.

--in service,
Rhonda Baird


On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:53 AM, Bob Waldrop <bob@bobwaldrop.net> wrote:

>
> On 7/22/2012 12:49 PM, loren luyendyk wrote:
> > Bob- when I said it is your karma what method of travel you choose, I
> meat that you (individual) will be the one who has to deal with your
> choice.  There are many low-carbon ways to transport ourselves these days,
> so I don't think this is much of an issue if this is important to you.
>  However, I do agree that we should design the convergence with low-carbon
> transport in mind, like near a bus route or offer rideshares on a llama
> cart.
> >
> I understood what you said, but I don't think you are understanding what
> I am saying. It's not just me who has to deal with my choice. It's the
> entire eco-system and all of its associated creatures. A choice to get
> on an airplane and travel across the world is a choice that poisons the
> atmosphere and contributes to anthropogenic climate change.  No one can
> do just one thing, that's a basic design principle.   It doesn't matter
> whether avoiding climate emissions is important to me, and not important
> to others. All choices are not equal. Some choices are worse than
> others.  Some choices do more damage than others.  If permaculture sets
> up what amounts to an attractive nuisance -- a national convergence that
> encourages people to drive individual cars and book airline tickets --
> then the permaculture movement is making a deliberate strategic choice
> to poison the atmosphere and contribute to climate change for our own
> selfish reasons.  Maybe repaying some karma by doing work at an area
> populated by lots of Native Americans would make a convergence
> worthwhile, as long as people take the bus.  But if people are going to
> fly from around the nation, we would be better off if we simply sent
> them money.
>
> Permaculture the US Movement has its own karma.  And if we are going to
> become just another way to promote tourism for people of privileged
> economic, social, and racial status at the expense of damaging the
> natural ecology -- poisoning the air, polluting the waters, killing
> birds, well, that's not very good karma.  What goes around comes around
> and I don't want to be on the receiving end of those consequences.  I
> think authenticity is one of the most important civic virtues when it
> comes to invisible structures and so if we are going to have a national
> convergence, either it happens in accordance with permaculture ethics or
> its not a permaculture conference.  It's a gathering of privileged white
> people doing what privileged white people like to do, which is burn
> hydrocarbons by traveling, while they comfort themselves with the
> thought that they are so special that their carbon emissions don't
> really impact the planet, so it is fine to fly around the world in
> pursuit of the perfect permaculture experience.
>
> I have a friend in Act-Up and he has a lot of influence on me so I'm
> just saying IT CAN'T BE ALLOWED!  lol.
>
> I think that the ethics constitute a mandate for organized permaculture
> that we ignore to our peril. We can trivialize the risks of burning the
> rest of our fossil fuel endowment if it makes us feel better about our
> choices, but I'm not seeing much in the way of permaculture in that.
> Privileged white people need to learn more about how to say "no" to
> their incessant urge to travel.  Stability -- becoming "one" with a
> particular local ecosystem and watershed and just staying home in your
> home town or close by -- is very kind to the planet.  Flying around the
> planet, even for good motives, is very harsh on the planet.
>
> So if we are going to have a convergence, I think the first thing to do
> is hang out a big sign that says "DON'T FLY TO ATTEND. TAKE THE BUS."
> People who don't have time to take the bus shouldn't go to the convergence.
>
> Bob Waldrop, Okie City
>
>
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