permaculture

["Scott Pittman" <scott@permaculture.org>]

I tried to comment on "Liberation Ecology" website but after three attempts
I give up, I've got writers cramp!

Many of you have probable heard my rant about the 3rd ethic but here is an
extremely truncated version.

The third ethic of permaculture, as I learned it from Bill Mollison in 1985
was: "a return of all excess to the care of people and the earth".  Since
then there has been all sorts of truncations trying to maintain the sound
bite quality of the first two ethics; while I understand the desire to
maintain some form of mnemonic continuity when reciting the ethics, I must
protest the loss of meaning!

Neither "fair share" nor "redistribute surplus" does justice to the 3rd
ethic.  For me excess is the clue to this ethic.  All processes have
byproducts or excesses and it is the process of designing to deal with those
excesses that is critical.  Cow manure is an excess until it is recycled
back into the earth from whence it came where it then is caring for the
earth and people.  Excess is also often not available for caring for
anything like salt and pharmaceutical laden manure.  It is the forethought
of the designer that avoids these "type 1 error's".

I also find excess wealth another pollutant that must be confronted by the
permaculture designer.  Where is the billionaires place in care of the earth
and people??; Certainly not by hoarding his excess to the detriment of both
people and the earth.  This is my "too much" principal in design.

If we examine all of the excess in our current culture we find that most of
it has direct deleterious effect on humans and on the earth.  Excess carbon,
excess pharmaceuticals, excess biocides, excess greed, and etc all can be
dealt with if we use the lens of the third ethic to enlighten our design and
thought process.

Thanks for the conversation Rafter, and please let me know how to comment
directly on your web page!

Scott Pittman
Permaculture Institute      

"Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. 
On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing." 
~Arundhati Roy

-----Original Message-----
From: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of rafter sass
ferguson
Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2012 6:18 PM
To: permaculture; permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org;
permaculture_uk@yahoogroups.co.uk; NE PC Listserv
Subject: [permaculture] Toward Financial Permaculture: New Farms in the
OldSystem

Two new posts (one newer than the other!) at Liberation Ecology, both
revolving
around the topic of "We know what we want - now how do we make a
difference?"* *

Revisiting "Putting Teeth in the Ethics"

> "If I don't occasionally review the Ethics, and change some current or
> planned behavior as a result,then they by definition make no difference."


http://liberationecology.org/2012/12/27/teeth-in-the-ethics-revisited-toward
-financial-permaculture/

And "New Farms in the Old System"


> "I don't want to make lifeboats and pleasure gardens for the rich, and I
> don't want to have to wait until after the apocolypse for permaculture to
> make good economic sense."


http://liberationecology.org/2012/12/28/toward-financial-permaculture/

~r




-- 
Rafter Sass Ferguson, MS
Doctoral Student | Crop Sciences Department
University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign
liberationecology.org
518 567 7407
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