Permaculture - A Quiet Revolution :: An Interview with Bill Mollison Bill Mollison calls himself a field biologist and itinerant teacher. But it would be more accurate to describe him as an instigator. When he published Permaculture One in 1978, he launched an international land-use movement many regard as subversive, even revolutionary. Permaculture — from permanent and agriculture — is an integrated design philosophy that encompasses gardening, architecture, horticulture, ecology, even money management and community design. Bill Mollison Mollison developed permaculture after spending decades in the rainforests and deserts of Australia studying ecosystems. Today his ideas have spread and taken root in almost every country on the globe. While Mollison is still unknown to most Americans, he is a national icon down under. I sat down with him to discuss his innovative design philosophy. Scott London: A reviewer once described your teachings as "seditious." Bill Mollison: Yes, it was very perceptive. London: When did you begin teaching permaculture?
Permaculture Miracles in the Austrian Mountains | Use Celsias.com - reduce global °Celsius - Iceweasel I'd like to introduce you to Sepp Holzer , a man who not only produces food in a very unlikely location, at a high and frigid altitude in Austria, but is also growing very unlikely crops there as well -- and all without the use of chemicals, and with minimal input of human labour. I guess you could call him a European counterpart of people like Bill Mollison and Masanobu Fukuoka -- as all three independently discovered ways of working with nature that save money and labour and that don't degrade the environment, but actually improve it. In Holzer's case, he was effectively running a permaculture farm for more than two decades before he even realised his unconventional approach could be termed 'permaculture'. What's more, the land he cultivates so successfully today had notoriously poor soil when he originally inherited it. Not anymore. Holzer states his path to success began when he realised he had to discard what he'd learned in agricultural college. Further Reading:
Robert Ayres -industrial ecology - 80s Robert Underwood Ayres (born June 29, 1932) is an American-born physicist and economist. His career has focused on the application of physical ideas, especially the laws of thermodynamics, to economics; a long-standing pioneering interest in material flows and transformations (industrial ecology or industrial metabolism) - a concept which he originated.[2] His most recent work challenges the widely held economic theory of growth. Trained as a physicist at the University of Chicago, University of Maryland, and King's College London (PhD in Mathematical Physics), Ayres has dedicated his entire professional life to advancing the environment, technology and resource end of the sustainability agenda. His major research interests include technological change, environmental economics, "industrial metabolism" and "eco-restructuring". He has worked at the Hudson Institute (1962–67), Resources for the Future Inc (1968) and International Research and Technology Corp (1969–76).
Permaculture eXchange | FAQ - Iceweasel Q: Is permaculture just gardening? In short, no. Permaculture is a design system for sustainability, which includes gardening in terms of food production, but it also includes other life systems such as energy-efficiency, water, recycling, and land stewardship. Q: Is permaculture just theory? Permaculture as a design science is theory, but there are many practical applications that have been put in place since it’s inception in the 1970′s. Many of the appropriate technologies advocated by permaculturists are well known and used in our every day lives, including solar and wind power, composting toilets, solar greenhouses, energy efficient housing, and solar food cooking and drying. Permaculture places a heavy emphasis on perennial food systems, polyculture and multi-cropping to ensure sustainability is built into systems. Q: What are some examples of permaculture in practice? Permaculture principles are already used in both urban and rural applications worldwide.
Fritjof Capra: The Science of Leonardo Bio Fritjof Capra Fritjof Capra, Ph.D., physicist and systems theorist, is a founding director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California, which promotes ecology and systems thinking in primary and secondary education. He is on the faculty of Schumacher College, an international center for ecological studies in England, and frequently gives management seminars for top executives. Dr. His most recent book, The Science of Leonardo, was published in October, 2007. Rev. Alan Jones, Ph.D., has been dean of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco since 1985. Jones was formerly the director of the Center for Christian Spirituality and Stephen F. Jones is the author of several books, most notably, Soul Making, The Desert Way of Spirituality, Passion for Pilgrimage and most recently, The Soul's Journey: Exploring the Three Passages of the Spiritual Life with Dante as a Guide. To download this program become a Front Row member. ZOOM IN: Learn more with related books and additional materials.
My Mulcher - Iceweasel Date Of Project: Summer 1996 I built this mulcher a few years ago after we got a compost. I found out that the compost was filling up quite fast and wasn't decomposing as fast as it should. Someone said that it would compost faster if all the leaves and stuff were mulched. The mulcher can be thought of as an oddly shaped lawnmower. One big feature of this mulcher is that is will mulch almost everything. This mulcher is much better then commercial models in that it is very simple. Frequently Asked Questions Please read the following FAQ before emailing me about this project. Are plans for the mulcher available? No, sorry. Do you sell these? No. Can I make an electric mulcher? Yes! Will this mulcher handle branches and sticks? This mulcher is designed primarily for leaves and other soft plant matter. Back to Projects Page | Mail Me | Search
C. K. Prahalad Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad (Kannada:ಕೋಯಮ್ಬತುರೆ ಕೃಷ್ಣರಾವ್ ಪ್ರಹಲಾದ್) (8 August 1941 – 16 April 2010)[1] was the Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor of Corporate Strategy at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business in the University of Michigan. During his life, he was frequently ranked as one of the most prominent business thinkers in the world. He was renowned as the co-author of "Core Competence of the Corporation"[4] (with Gary Hamel) and "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid"[5] (with Stuart L. Hart). On April 16, 2010, Prahalad died of a previously undiagnosed lung illness in San Diego, California.[6] He was 68 at the time of his death, but he left a large body of work behind. Early life[edit] Prahalad was the ninth of eleven children born in 1941 in to a Kannada speaking family in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Professorship and teaching[edit] Achievements[edit] Writings, interests, and business experience[edit] C. Honors and awards[edit] See also[edit]
Jean Pain Compost Heating | Ingienous Designs - Iceweasel Jean Pain was an ingenious French inventor who composted woody biomass on his farm to make fertile soil while collecting large amounts of emission-free energy. The Jean Pain Mound is a large pile of chipped forest wood brush (up to 40 tons) with a bioreactor in the middle and plastic piping spiraling through the pile to absorb the heat of decomposing wood mass. It produces: methaneheat for hot watercompost from wood chips His exciting discovery is the basis of an integrated and holistic energy and soil solution to build decentralized and resilient communities around the globe. Figure 1: A Jean Pain Compost (Source: Compost Power Network) The Compost Power Network is a not-for-profit educational networking organization dedicated to expanding the use of regenerative soil-building energy systems based on woody biomass and who have a mandate to: Their team includes experts on: forestrypermaculturecompost sciencerenewable energybiogas engineeringlocal economic development Design-Build Notes
Fritjof Capra - Tao of physics - 70s Fritjof Capra (born February 1, 1939) is an Austrian-born American physicist.[1] He is a founding director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California, and is on the faculty of Schumacher College. Life and work[edit] Born in Vienna, Austria, Capra attended the University of Vienna, where he earned his Ph.D. in theoretical physics in 1966. He conducted research in particle physics and systems theory at the University of Paris (1966–1968), the University of California, Santa Cruz (1968–1970), the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (1970), Imperial College, London (1971–1974) and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (1975–1988). He has written popular books on the implications of science, notably The Tao of Physics, subtitled An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism. He is fluent in German, English, French and Italian. In 1991 Capra co-authored Belonging to the Universe with David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk. Bibliography[edit] See also[edit]
Columbines School of Botanical Studies - Iceweasel Herbal Smoking Mixtures Workshop Herbal Smoking Mixtures Workshop taught by Howie Brounstein of the Columbines School of Botanical Studies and author of Herbal Smoking Mixtures, a groundbreaking Etext released over 10 years ago! This 5 hour intensive workshop includes reasons why people smoke, herbs to quit smoking, herbs for body and flavor, preparing mixtures, and ceremonial, recreational, and medicinal uses of herbal smokes. We will discuss and sample specific smoking herbs and explore the intricacies of developing your own mixture. Bring a clean pipe or a pack of rolling papers. Saturday July 16, 2011 11 AM to 5 PM At Dicentra Farm, outside of Corvallis, Oregon Camping available in natural setting $75 includes free smoking samples $50 deposit required Deposit required to reserve you spot Contact 541-687-7114 for more information or to make a reservation Click here for lecture posters and additional information Herbal Smoking Mixtures by Howie Brounstein Introduction Why Smoke?
Lynn Margulis" Margulis, Lynn Alexander (1938-), an American biologist, helped advance the study of the origins of cells. She developed the symbiotic theory, which states that bacteria played a major role in the development of living cells. This theory has become known as the serial endosymbiosis theory, or SET. Margulis was born on March 5, 1938, in Chicago. She was the oldest of four daughters of Morris Alexander, a lawyer and businessman, and Leone Wise Alexander, a travel agent. At the University of Chicago, Lynn met Carl Edward Sagan, then a graduate student in physics, who would later become a famous astronomer and author. She and Sagan next moved to California, where Margulis received a doctoral degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1965. Margftlis taught at Boston University for 22 years, from 1966 until 1988. In the 1960's and 1970's, Margulis endured doubt and even ridicule from other scientists as she pursued her theory.
the power of community review | urban sprout - Iceweasel I never get round to reviewing Hollywood movies I see, not that I watch many of them any way. There just doesn't seem to be much point. Basically all you need to know is the basic plot, who is in it and whether it is worth watching or not. Last night I watched The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil and it was very interesting. It's hard for us to predict how this will happen, but Cuba has already experienced it because of the embargo against it. A reversal of this whole commercial farming system back to people growing their own food and bartering or selling it. The benefits of this system to the health of the people and social fabric of the community was almost unquantifiable. This documentary is showing again on Sundays, get the details from our green events. If you are interested but won't be able to catch the last screening, you can get a lot of information from the website of the documentary.
Lynn Margulis - 5 kingdoms of nature - 70s Lynn Margulis (born Lynn Alexander;[1] March 5, 1938 – November 22, 2011)[2] was an American biologist and University Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[1][3] She developed a theory of the origin of eukaryotic organelles, and contributed to the endosymbiotic theory, which is now generally accepted for how certain organelles were formed. She showed that animals, plants, and fungi all originated from Protists. She is also associated with the Gaia hypothesis, based on an idea developed by the English environmental scientist James Lovelock. Research[edit] Endosymbiosis theory[edit] Lynn Margulis attended the University of Chicago, earned a master's degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1960, and received her Ph.D. in 1963 in the faculty of Biological Sciences from UC Berkeley in Botany. In 1995, prominent evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins had this to say about Lynn Margulis and her work: [edit]
Water Harvesting and Storage Permaculture Research Institute - Permaculture Forums, Courses, Information & News by Adrian Buckley, Permaculture Designer, B. of Community Design, Calgary, Canada Good soil is nothing without water! Fortunately, there are simple and inexpensive methods available to us for capturing and storing rain water to meet our irrigation needs. Water, Access, Structures Permaculture design always starts with water, then access ways are planned, and finally, structures. Water The best place to store water is in the soil. Beavers’ dams function to encourage stream and river water to seep into the ground around their dams, hydrating the ground and creating springlines in downhill regions. If we want to keep water at plants’ roots, we must capture water during rain events and store it in the soil, so that it stays on our site longer. Swales Swales follow a similar pattern to the beaver: they change over-land water flow into under-land water flow. Water is held long enough in the swale for it to seep into the soil below. Access Your swales also function as your access paths.