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?
Villes en Transition - Le blé de Montreuil, du semis à la farine. - Après-midi du 2 novembre 2008, il fait froid aux Murs à Pêches et le vent qui souffle sur le plateau n’est pas de nature à nous réchauffer. Deux petites parcelles qui font moins de dix mètres carrés en tout, ont été repérées et nous sommes quelques-un(e)s à préparer la terre au râteau et à commencer à tracer de beaux sillons de quelques centimètres de profondeur. Le froid aidant, certains prennent l’initiative d’entamer le semis avant même que tout le monde soit arrivé. Cet article complète le dossier "Montreuil, Ville comestible" publié dans Passerelle Eco n°36 Le semis Les sachets de graines offerts par le collectif sont ouverts et on s’efforce de répandre précautionneusement les petites semences dans chaque sillon. La levée Le temps passe… la levée se fait au mieux, les petites herbes se montrent. Le fauchage Puis arrive l’été et le traditionnel moment du fauchage. Nous avions aussi invité Marc pour l’occasion. La battage Le vannage La mouture L’étape suivante était celle de la mouture.
Bill Mollison - Permaculture - 70s Bruce Charles 'Bill' Mollison (born 1928 in Stanley, Tasmania, Australia) is a researcher, author, scientist, teacher and Biologist. He is considered to be the 'father of permaculture',[1] however Joseph Russell Smith, was the first to write about a system of Permanent Agriculture in a book entitled Tree Crops, published in 1929.[2] Permaculture is an integrated system of design, Mollison co-developed with David Holmgren, that encompasses not only agriculture, horticulture, architecture and ecology, but also economic systems, land access strategies and legal systems for businesses and communities. In 1978, Mollison collaborated with David Holmgren, and they wrote a book called Permaculture One. Bill Mollison founded The Permaculture Institute in Tasmania, and created a training system to train others under the umbrella of Permaculture. He received the Right Livelihood Award in 1981 with Patrick van Rensburg. Bibliography[edit] Articles Mollison, Bill (15–21 September 1978). See also[edit]
Territoires en Transition France 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).
Rob Hopkins of Transition Town Totnes and Transition Culture As Lester Brown recently noted on this site, the coming decline of oil will be ‘a seismic economic event’. So what do we do when we learn that the ’black gold’ will soon start running out? Do we grab a gun and head for the hills, or do we redouble our efforts to build strong, resilient communities and economies that are not dependent on fossil fuels? Rob Hopkins is at the forefront of the latter approach. [Photo credit: Jersey Evening Post] Treehugger: The Kinsale Energy Decent Action Plan appears to be a first of its kind, namely an inclusive, community focussed approach to getting off oil. The Kinsale Plan was just done as a student project. TH: Many in the Peak Oil community believe in an Armageddon-type scenario, and its not uncommon to hear people say "I'm OK - I've got 20 acres and a gun." RH: I don't see that the survivalist response is really any kind of a realistic response to this situation. TH: Treehugger has documented the spread of Transition Towns.
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.
Birmingham Civic Dashboard The idea was born from a desire to show council activity and engagement with local citizens, creating a window on the city. Dashboards have been used in business intelligence for years, allowing managers to see activity logs and assess performance. Mudlark, a cross platform production company, is interested in ways to present data, and in particular in how to do that at a city level. (source: flickr.com ) The dashboard will allow people to view previously unavailable records of requests for services from the council. Designing around sample data, taken on the 9th December, highlights: Two enquiries about a public emergency Nine enquiries relating to odour Four notifications of death (council tax) One request for information on the nearest public toilet Human stories emerge from the data. The most common reasons are to see how a council is performing, and what the main issues are at any given time. Directorate Section within that Directorate Category of Request Specific type of request
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]
La ville résiliente - Framasoft Framafox 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]
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.
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]
James Lovelock: Humans are too stupid to prevent climate change | Environment Humans are too stupid to prevent climate change from radically impacting on our lives over the coming decades. This is the stark conclusion of James Lovelock, the globally respected environmental thinker and independent scientist who developed the Gaia theory. It follows a tumultuous few months in which public opinion on efforts to tackle climate change has been undermined by events such as the climate scientists' emails leaked from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the failure of the Copenhagen climate summit. "I don't think we're yet evolved to the point where we're clever enough to handle a complex a situation as climate change," said Lovelock in his first in-depth interview since the theft of the UEA emails last November. "The inertia of humans is so huge that you can't really do anything meaningful." One of the main obstructions to meaningful action is "modern democracy", he added. "That would be the sort of event that would change public opinion," he said.