Transition Culture Transition Initiativen in D/A/CH - Transition Initiativen in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz Sandpoint Transition Initiative | Helping to create a sustainabl Permaculture With its system of applied education, research and citizen- led design permaculture has grown a popular web of global networks and developed into a global social movement[citation needed]. The term permaculture was developed and coined by David Holmgren, then a graduate student at the Tasmanian College of Advanced Education's Department of Environmental Design, and Bill Mollison, senior lecturer in Environmental Psychology at University of Tasmania, in 1978. [1] The word permaculture originally referred to "permanent agriculture",[3] but was expanded to stand also for "permanent culture", as it was understood that social aspects were integral to a truly sustainable system as inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka’s natural farming philosophy. It has many branches that include, but are not limited to, ecological design, ecological engineering, regenerative design, environmental design, and construction. History[edit] Several individuals revolutionized the branch of permaculture. In Australian P.A.
The Transition Initiative Changing the scale of change by Jay Griffiths Art: Nikki McClure A WHILE AGO, I heard an American scientist address an audience in Oxford, England, about his work on the climate crisis. He was precise, unemotional, rigorous, and impersonal: all strengths of a scientist. The next day, talking informally to a small group, he pulled out of his wallet a much-loved photo of his thirteen-year-old son. If the Transition Initiative were a person, you’d say he or she was charismatic, wise, practical, positive, resourceful, and very, very popular. Part of the genius of the movement rests in its acute and kind psychology. Many people feel that individual action on climate change is too trivial to be effective but that they are unable to influence anything at a national, governmental level. How big am I? Scale matters. We speak of economies of scale, and I would suggest that there are also moralities of scale. The grassroots. FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, nation-states have attacked communities.
Sustainable city A sustainable city, or eco-city is a city designed with consideration of environmental impact, inhabited by people dedicated to minimization of required inputs of energy, water and food, and waste output of heat, air pollution - CO2, methane, and water pollution. Richard Register first coined the term "ecocity" in his 1987 book, Ecocity Berkeley: Building Cities for a Healthy Future.[1] Other leading figures who envisioned the sustainable city are architect Paul F Downton, who later founded the company Ecopolis Pty Ltd, and authors Timothy Beatley and Steffen Lehmann,[2] who have written extensively on the subject. The field of industrial ecology is sometimes used in planning these cities. There remains no completely agreed upon definition for what a sustainable city should be or completely agreed upon paradigm for what components should be included. It is estimated that over 50%[4] of the world’s population now lives in cities and urban areas. Practical achievement[edit]
Visualising sustainability « Computing for Sustainability New (Dec 2011): “Sustainable Lens: A visual guide” published by NewSplash available through Amazon. How to convey the essence of sustainability in a few sketched lines? I’m wading through the net and my bookshelves to find examples of the genre. I’m looking for schematics of the notion of sustainability itself rather than the underlying science – greenhouse, carbon, meso climate process, ground water, etc for which there are a zillion diagrams. The list is not meant to be exhaustive, but if I’ve missed your favourite diagram, leave a link and I’ll add it to the list. In no particular order, here’s 100 125 137 158 179 188 218 255 of what I’ve found. 1. “This model recognises that the economy is a subset of society (i.e. it only exists in the context of a society), and that many important aspects of society do not involve economic activity. 2. This model is very very common (google search sustainability Venn). 3. 4. 5. 6. 7 Venn 3 with overlaps named (see also WKU) 8. 9. 12. 13. 14. 16. 17.
Degrowth Degrowth (in French: décroissance,[1] in Spanish: decrecimiento, in Italian: decrescita) is a political, economic, and social movement based on ecological economics and anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist ideas.[2] It is also considered an essential economic strategy responding to the limits-to-growth dilemma (see The Path to Degrowth in Overdeveloped Countries and Post growth). Degrowth thinkers and activists advocate for the downscaling of production and consumption—the contraction of economies—arguing that overconsumption lies at the root of long term environmental issues and social inequalities. Key to the concept of degrowth is that reducing consumption does not require individual martyring and a decrease in well-being.[3] Rather, 'degrowthists' aim to maximize happiness and well-being through non-consumptive means—sharing work, consuming less, while devoting more time to art, music, family, culture and community. Background[edit] Resource depletion[edit] [edit] Serge Latouche[edit]
Soil science A sylviculturist, at work Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to the use and management of soils.[1] Soil scientists have raised concerns about how to preserve soil and arable land in a world with a growing population, possible future water crisis, increasing per capita food consumption, and land degradation.[2] Fields of study[edit] Research[edit] Dependence on and curiosity about soil, exploring the diversity and dynamics of this resource continues to yield fresh discoveries and insights. Mapping[edit] Most empirical knowledge of soil in nature comes from soil survey efforts. Classification[edit] Map of global soil regions from the USDA As of 2006, the World Reference Base for Soil Resources, via its Land & Water Development division, is the pre-eminent soil classification system. Europe[edit]
Blog » Blog Archive » Soil Chemistry Guidelines December 12th, 2009 by shrimppop This week saw the delivery of NOFA’s newspaper Natural Farmer, which is always chock full of amazingly useful information. The paper is quarterly and usually features a pull out section on a particular topic, this one being the topic of Nutrient Density. There’s a fabulous long interview with farmer and consultant Mark Fulford of Teltane Farms in Maine. In talking about soil nutrients, Fulford offered a very concise useful nugget about soil chemistry, which I’ve tried to capture in the table below. UPDATE: 20100115: Here’s a better version of the table with original following: Fulford talks about a lot of things in this lengthy article which I highly recommend. Fulford mentions a couple of good books on weeds: Weeds: Why They Grow, by J.
Keyline Plowing with Compost Tea Application | Permaculture Rese This article forms part of a series concerning the development of methods of compost tea application via the keyline plow which are published on taranakifarm.com. Read the first installments here. Part IV: Re-Inventing the Herbicide Tank – Giving Destructive Equipment New Purpose Compost tea brewing requires the use of specialist equipment. I’ve opted to retrofit an old herbicide spraying unit, giving it a new life in the plant friendly business. A few specifications to begin. Since the original unit was fitted with only a single hose with trigger gun applicator, I’ve had to reconsider the tubing completely. For this flow control system, I’ve settled on inexpensive garden variety irrigation valves (available from any hardware store), plumbed on 12mm plastic tubing. The next stage will involve running a sequence of tests to ‘calibrate’ the flow valves. Part V: Farm Like a Gardener A wise piece of advice; “garden like a farmer and farm like a gardener”. Healthy Soil : Accept No Substitutes.