Hi,
Long time no blog... just found this old blog o'mine while googling permaculture...
Anyhow, things are steaming along here with Transition Towns - a really clever way to apply sustainable system design principles to regional, local and community resilience.
A novel way to prepare for peak oil and also to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Things are happening really quickly for us. Transition Towns has taken off like a bushfire, so to keep up to date with what is happening, please visit www.seac.net.au there you will find all the latest courses, meetings, get together, ideas, articles and news on transition towns, permaculture and peak oil and climate change.
Be part of the solution and start your Transition Town plan now.
cheers,
S
Showing posts with label permaculture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label permaculture. Show all posts
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Permaculture Ethics
Permaculture is based on some pretty sound and well-proven foundations. Those foundations are found in the ethics and principles of permaculture.
First ethic of permaculture is
Care of Earth
this is where it all begin for permaculture, rebuilding the natural capital.
Soil building
Increasing organic matter in the soil
Keeping water in the soil
Protecting the soil
Treating soil as a valuable resource
Not degrading it
Not spraying it with chemicals
Not concreting over the top of everything
It extends to care of the landscape and care of the environment.
One of the most interesting things I noticed after I did my Permaculture Design Course (PDC) was the way I viewed the landscape. I could see where to place a swale, where to put a turkey nest dam, prevailing wind directions, how air and water moved across its surface and evidence of what was happening below the surface.
My PDC allowed me to see the landscape through permaculture eyes. It taught me how to read it like a book.
Caring for the soil, the Earth, the environment is crucial. But we all know that, it's just not many of us actually live it.
Next up we have
Care of people
Starting with self, kin and then community.
This reminds us to care for ourselves. Not in some greedy selfish way, but in a way that we honour ourselves as a resource. So many people in permaculture burn out. Volunteerism is rife and often little value is placed on education and teaching. Caring for ourselves means we renew our energies, we take care, we ensure we are resilent and strong for the things that lie ahead for all of us (climate change and peak oil). Then we care for our nearest and dearest, then that spread out into our community. We make connections, we network, we support others. We build community just as we build soil.
Third and final ethic has many names
Fair Share
Reduce consumption
Fair distribution
Redistribution of surplus
It all says the thing - take your fair share, but consider others (see ethics 1 and 2 for clarification on this one!).
We all know how unfairly the world's resources and finances are distributed. We live in a highly inequitable world. A cruel world that uses the poor to support the rich. Ensuring you take responsibility for what you consume and that you take as little as you need ensures you are doing what you can to right this wrong.
First ethic of permaculture is
Care of Earth
this is where it all begin for permaculture, rebuilding the natural capital.
Soil building
Increasing organic matter in the soil
Keeping water in the soil
Protecting the soil
Treating soil as a valuable resource
Not degrading it
Not spraying it with chemicals
Not concreting over the top of everything
It extends to care of the landscape and care of the environment.
One of the most interesting things I noticed after I did my Permaculture Design Course (PDC) was the way I viewed the landscape. I could see where to place a swale, where to put a turkey nest dam, prevailing wind directions, how air and water moved across its surface and evidence of what was happening below the surface.
My PDC allowed me to see the landscape through permaculture eyes. It taught me how to read it like a book.
Caring for the soil, the Earth, the environment is crucial. But we all know that, it's just not many of us actually live it.
Next up we have
Care of people
Starting with self, kin and then community.
This reminds us to care for ourselves. Not in some greedy selfish way, but in a way that we honour ourselves as a resource. So many people in permaculture burn out. Volunteerism is rife and often little value is placed on education and teaching. Caring for ourselves means we renew our energies, we take care, we ensure we are resilent and strong for the things that lie ahead for all of us (climate change and peak oil). Then we care for our nearest and dearest, then that spread out into our community. We make connections, we network, we support others. We build community just as we build soil.
Third and final ethic has many names
Fair Share
Reduce consumption
Fair distribution
Redistribution of surplus
It all says the thing - take your fair share, but consider others (see ethics 1 and 2 for clarification on this one!).
We all know how unfairly the world's resources and finances are distributed. We live in a highly inequitable world. A cruel world that uses the poor to support the rich. Ensuring you take responsibility for what you consume and that you take as little as you need ensures you are doing what you can to right this wrong.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
First permaculture groups
Yesterday a group of students from Crystal Waters visited our gardens to take a look through our food production systems and to talk Transition Towns.
They have been at CW for 4 months as part of a residential eco-village course with Max Lindegger.
It was great to catch up with Max and to talk about permaculture and how it has developed over since the 70's.
In 1976 an article was published in a Tasmanian organic gardening and farming magazine which included an interview with Bill Mollison about this new idea "permaculture".
It was probably the very first mention of the concept, this is two years before Permaculture One was published.
Max was in Queensland at the time and contact Bill to invite him up here to do a talk. Max then started Permaculture Nambour - which is most likely the first ever permaculture group.
Max placed an ad in the local paper and held meetings in his home. Geoff Lawton was there (he went on to start Permaculture Noosa which is still going strong - and Geoff continues to promote the formation of pc groups around the world). The idea was to have a permaculture group in every council shire.
The Sunshine Coast has Permaculture Noosa, Permaculture Maroochy and I believe there used to be a Permaculture Caloundra. These reflected the three coast councils - they have now amalgamated into the Sunshine Coast Regional Council, so it's time to look at the formation of Permaculture Sunshine Coast too.
But back to Permaculture Nambour - Nambour is the nearest 'big' town to where I live and I'm planning on relaunching it this spring (sounds like a fashion collection doesn't it?).
Whether its Permaculture Nambour or Transition Town Nambour, I don't know yet. There are a group of people who are interested in being part of it.
It doesn't reflect the council boundaries, but Nambour is set to become somewhat of a sustainability hub in the future, so permaculture certainly has a place there.
I heading up to Crystal Waters in the next week or so to take a look around (haven't been there for a while) and to talk more about permaculture with Max and his group of international students.
It will be interesting to see how this new manifestation of permaculture - in the form of energy descent action planning and transition towns - will unfold for all our futures.
They have been at CW for 4 months as part of a residential eco-village course with Max Lindegger.
It was great to catch up with Max and to talk about permaculture and how it has developed over since the 70's.
In 1976 an article was published in a Tasmanian organic gardening and farming magazine which included an interview with Bill Mollison about this new idea "permaculture".
It was probably the very first mention of the concept, this is two years before Permaculture One was published.
Max was in Queensland at the time and contact Bill to invite him up here to do a talk. Max then started Permaculture Nambour - which is most likely the first ever permaculture group.
Max placed an ad in the local paper and held meetings in his home. Geoff Lawton was there (he went on to start Permaculture Noosa which is still going strong - and Geoff continues to promote the formation of pc groups around the world). The idea was to have a permaculture group in every council shire.
The Sunshine Coast has Permaculture Noosa, Permaculture Maroochy and I believe there used to be a Permaculture Caloundra. These reflected the three coast councils - they have now amalgamated into the Sunshine Coast Regional Council, so it's time to look at the formation of Permaculture Sunshine Coast too.
But back to Permaculture Nambour - Nambour is the nearest 'big' town to where I live and I'm planning on relaunching it this spring (sounds like a fashion collection doesn't it?).
Whether its Permaculture Nambour or Transition Town Nambour, I don't know yet. There are a group of people who are interested in being part of it.
It doesn't reflect the council boundaries, but Nambour is set to become somewhat of a sustainability hub in the future, so permaculture certainly has a place there.
I heading up to Crystal Waters in the next week or so to take a look around (haven't been there for a while) and to talk more about permaculture with Max and his group of international students.
It will be interesting to see how this new manifestation of permaculture - in the form of energy descent action planning and transition towns - will unfold for all our futures.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Permaculture One
I was looking through Permaculture One the other day at a friend's house. It was written in 1978 (I think) and was essentially the thesis that came from David Holmgren (student) working with Bill Mollison (mentor/tutor).
It is Permaculture's first book.
In about the second paragraph there is a mention about how this concept is to prepare for our 'fast-depleting energy'.
Way back then, the warnings were there to prepare for a decline in energy production - very few listened.
I'll be interested in seeing how the current oil/energy crisis will affect the popularity of permaculture.
Will we have groups forming everywhere like mushrooms?
Will there be a huge increase in demand for permaculture skills?
Will there be a huge rise in the number of people doing PDCs?
Will we see a weekly tv show called 'Permablitz' where people have their backyards made over into food producing cornucopias?
I'll wait and watch from the vegie patch me thinks!
It is Permaculture's first book.
In about the second paragraph there is a mention about how this concept is to prepare for our 'fast-depleting energy'.
Way back then, the warnings were there to prepare for a decline in energy production - very few listened.
I'll be interested in seeing how the current oil/energy crisis will affect the popularity of permaculture.
Will we have groups forming everywhere like mushrooms?
Will there be a huge increase in demand for permaculture skills?
Will there be a huge rise in the number of people doing PDCs?
Will we see a weekly tv show called 'Permablitz' where people have their backyards made over into food producing cornucopias?
I'll wait and watch from the vegie patch me thinks!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
What is Peak Oil - first draft
What is peak oil?
Well, I find defining peak oil a little difficult for a few reasons.
Firstly I’m not a scientist, so I have to rely on what the scientific experts are saying. But I do understand that if something takes millions of years to form deep within the Earth, as oil does, and if use it faster than the Earth is making it, it will run out.
That’s what non-renewables are. They don’t renew – well not in our lifetime. Renewables on the other hand such as solar and wind give us energy, but do not deplete the original source (eg the sun doesn’t become depleted if we have solar hot water system on our roof).
This I can understand, it makes sense to me.
Peak oil is the plateau at the top of the curved bell shape diagram that’s becoming increasingly associated with the problem.
Now what exactly that plateau or peak shows needs further defining.
To convert crude oil, straight out of the ground into what we pump into our petrol tanks at the servo takes time, decades in fact.
There is discovery, exploration, drilling, extraction, processing, refining, and perhaps even more steps in the whole oil process. Currently we use 4 barrels of oil for everyone we find.
But let’s go back a step and clearly state that this is GLOBAL PEAK OIL. Some country’s oil peaked decades ago, some are still abundant. But if you put all the oil reserves together, we’ve peaked. Unfortunately those countries with oil are also incredibly politically unstable.
Okay, back to finding out what the top of the bell is really telling us.
I’ll defer this to the people at the Post Carbon Institute. The Post Carbon Institute was started by Richard Heinberg as a way to start action on peak oil preparation. Out of the PCI we now have the relocalisation network (about 170 groups around the world all linked up), Global Public Media (public broadcaster focussing on peak oil news and interviews), the Oil Depletion Protocol website and the list goes on…
Suffice to say, the Post Carbon Institute understand peak oil.
They tell us that peak oil means…
This is GLOBAL PEAK OIL EXTRACTION we are facing.
Global Peak Oil Discovery occurred in 1964.
[And in case you’re wondering Peak Gas is expected to hit in 2020 so don’t even think gas is the solution.]
But it doesn’t mean we are going to run out of oil overnight.
Global peak oil extraction – this is our peak oil – it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.
Our future will be two very serious things converging;
1) a decline in the cheap energy we have become so reliant on (oil accounts for 95% of global energy used for transportation and we have built our societies and our economy on the stuff) and
2) an increase in demand (with huge populations of people including; China and India coming into their industrialised eras as ours declines)
Chevron, the parent company of Exxon and Texco said in its Will you Join Us? campaign.
"It took us 125 years to use the first trillion barrels of oil
It will take us 30 years to use the next trillion."
Footnote; no other energy source will meet the same levels of abundance, demand and cheapness as we have enjoyed with oil over the past 150 years.
The only solution we have is to reduce consumption and relocalise our societies to build resilience and strength to take the hits coming our way – of food, materials, plastics, products, building materials, furniture, clothing, shoes, in fact anything and everything made from oil – which includes our very food supply – if we are survive peak oil.
I support the call for the equivalent of a war-like response to peak oil from our leaders (that is in terms of the amount of resources and finances currently being spent on defence)– nothing less.
Well, I find defining peak oil a little difficult for a few reasons.
Firstly I’m not a scientist, so I have to rely on what the scientific experts are saying. But I do understand that if something takes millions of years to form deep within the Earth, as oil does, and if use it faster than the Earth is making it, it will run out.
That’s what non-renewables are. They don’t renew – well not in our lifetime. Renewables on the other hand such as solar and wind give us energy, but do not deplete the original source (eg the sun doesn’t become depleted if we have solar hot water system on our roof).
This I can understand, it makes sense to me.
Peak oil is the plateau at the top of the curved bell shape diagram that’s becoming increasingly associated with the problem.
Now what exactly that plateau or peak shows needs further defining.
To convert crude oil, straight out of the ground into what we pump into our petrol tanks at the servo takes time, decades in fact.
There is discovery, exploration, drilling, extraction, processing, refining, and perhaps even more steps in the whole oil process. Currently we use 4 barrels of oil for everyone we find.
But let’s go back a step and clearly state that this is GLOBAL PEAK OIL. Some country’s oil peaked decades ago, some are still abundant. But if you put all the oil reserves together, we’ve peaked. Unfortunately those countries with oil are also incredibly politically unstable.
Okay, back to finding out what the top of the bell is really telling us.
I’ll defer this to the people at the Post Carbon Institute. The Post Carbon Institute was started by Richard Heinberg as a way to start action on peak oil preparation. Out of the PCI we now have the relocalisation network (about 170 groups around the world all linked up), Global Public Media (public broadcaster focussing on peak oil news and interviews), the Oil Depletion Protocol website and the list goes on…
Suffice to say, the Post Carbon Institute understand peak oil.
They tell us that peak oil means…
This is GLOBAL PEAK OIL EXTRACTION we are facing.
Global Peak Oil Discovery occurred in 1964.
[And in case you’re wondering Peak Gas is expected to hit in 2020 so don’t even think gas is the solution.]
But it doesn’t mean we are going to run out of oil overnight.
Global peak oil extraction – this is our peak oil – it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.
Our future will be two very serious things converging;
1) a decline in the cheap energy we have become so reliant on (oil accounts for 95% of global energy used for transportation and we have built our societies and our economy on the stuff) and
2) an increase in demand (with huge populations of people including; China and India coming into their industrialised eras as ours declines)
Chevron, the parent company of Exxon and Texco said in its Will you Join Us? campaign.
"It took us 125 years to use the first trillion barrels of oil
It will take us 30 years to use the next trillion."
Footnote; no other energy source will meet the same levels of abundance, demand and cheapness as we have enjoyed with oil over the past 150 years.
The only solution we have is to reduce consumption and relocalise our societies to build resilience and strength to take the hits coming our way – of food, materials, plastics, products, building materials, furniture, clothing, shoes, in fact anything and everything made from oil – which includes our very food supply – if we are survive peak oil.
I support the call for the equivalent of a war-like response to peak oil from our leaders (that is in terms of the amount of resources and finances currently being spent on defence)– nothing less.
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