Planetary Permaculture?

[ecodharmamark]

Earth System Science - The science of the whole Earth system (http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/42794.html)

ABC The Drum - 10 January 2011

...

Earth System Science emphasises the interactions and feedbacks between changes in the earth’s various components - the atmosphere, the oceans, the land, the ice-caps and the biosphere comprising all living things - interactions which can fall through the cracks between traditional scientific disciplines. This is important because many of today’s human-induced changes to the earth’s environment are affecting each other and coalescing to become issues of major global concern.

...

A critical feature of Earth System Science is to recognise that human activities now form a major interactive part of the functioning and evolution of the entire planet. This is a significant departure from the past where humans have been studied separately from the environment around us. We have been regarded as villains impacting the planet’s natural systems, and victims suffering from the way the planet reacts, for example through changing climate.

...

Activity in Earth System Science is going through a growth spurt both in Australia and internationally. In December the Australian Academy of Science, with support from the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, ran the First Australian Earth System Outlook Conference. At this conference a decadal plan for the new science in Australia was launched by the Chief Scientist, Professor Penny Sackett: To Live within Earth’s Limits: An Australian Plan to Develop a Science of the Whole Earth System (http://www.science.org.au/natcoms/nc-ess/documents/ess-report2010.pdf).

...

[purplepear]

looks to me like the scientists have just invented Permaculture!

[sun burn]

What point are you making ecoH?

[DonHansford]

And not one mention of Permaculture, Biodynamics, or even *shock* *horror* Landcare! :@:

[ecodharmamark]

What point are you making ecoH?

G'day sunburn

I have not yet made any point, merely just bringing to the attention of the permaculture community the fact that the Australian scientific community (the CSIRO, and from reading the above linked report so it would also seem, the global scientific community) have only just decided to focus their future research and planning in a more holistic manner.

From the report (p. iii):

We believe that [Earth System Science], as a body of fundamentally interdisciplinary knowledge, offers the understanding necessary to move us towards a sustainable occupation of the planet. Here we set out a systematic and coherent plan to create an Australian scientific enterprise – combining inputs from the natural and social sciences, economics, and the humanities – which is devoted to understanding the planet’s life support systems. Its primary aim will be to discover the Earth’s biophysical limits and how to live within them.

It would seem to me (and to my good friend PP), that the above is the approach that we permies already take in our respective and collective permaculture endeavours, and while the good folk at CSIRO may not have come out and called it for what it is - permaculture (as my other good friend, Don has pointed out) - they are at least planning to move in a direction that I believe is the right way to go. Holism as opposed to particularism, for the total is always greater than the sum of the parts.

At only 100-odd pages, the report is an easy read. I would be very interested to learn of what others think of this 'new' collaborative direction that scientific bodies are planning to take.

Cheerio, Markos

Further reading:

Earth System Science Partnership (USA) (http://www.essp.org/)

Australian Academy of Science - National Committee for Earth System Science (http://www.science.org.au/natcoms/nc-ess.html)

[sun burn]

Giving a reason or one line summary as to why you are posting a quote is always helpful.


bringing to the attention of the permaculture community the fact that the Australian scientific community (the CSIRO, and from reading the above linked report so it would also seem, the global scientific community) have only just decided to focus their future research and planning in a more holistic manner.

This is a point. Would have been helpful in the OP.

[purplepear]

Giving a reason or one line summary as to why you are posting a quote is always helpful.



This is a point. Would have been helpful in the OP.

Helpful perhaps but hardly necessary, It is refreshing to draw ones own conclusions from a piece of text on occasion. Thanks for the article Marko I would probably not have seen it if you hadn't posted.

[ecodharmamark]

Giving a reason or one line summary as to why you are posting a quote is always helpful....

G'day again, sunburn

Given that we are posting in a 'news' thread, I would have thought the the object was to bring news to the people. 'Opinion', as you would be well aware, sunburn, usually flows on from 'news'. As such, do you have an opinion as to the OP?

Personally, and with regards to 'news', I always like to initially present it in an unbiased form, and then allow for discussion (as will hopefully be the case here) to flow from a point of relative neutrality.

Cheerio, Markos

[ecodharmamark]

Thanks for the article Marko I would probably not have seen it if you hadn't posted...

Welcome, PP.

How are you managing with the recent deluge? We are rejoicing in the fact that already this (calendar) year we have recorded over 100mm of rainfall.

I am very sorry to learn of the loss of life (particularly in SE QLD). However, if something good can come out of it in terms of planning for a future where the "...primary aim [is] to discover the Earth’s biophysical limits and how to live within them", as is the focus of the news in the OP, then all effort will not have been in vain.

Cheerio, and keep your feet dry, Markos.

[Grahame]

Nice one Markos,

I am definitely hearing more of the 'good' and encouraging noises in the media recently. I think some people including economists are starting to realise that the country that gets 'sustainability' right is going to be the country to lead the human world into it's future.

I wonder if permaculture has been overlooked in the past because it doesn't have it's own TLA (Three Letter Acronym).

To be honest I don't mind if the term Permaculture is replaced with some TLA like ESS, provided the principles and ethics travel along with it. What ever we call it, I think it is time it became the mainstream. This is encouraging, but I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for the governments to adopt it.

I once worked for the Federal Government on a Methyl Bromide fumigation standard. There were fairly specific scientific recommendations on the 'safe' and effective use of Methyl Bromide. Unfortunately, the powers that be decided it was too hard for fumigators and never implemented it! :sweat:... The mind boggles. I guess it was easier to be seen to be doing something rather than actually doing something. That was the moment I truly understood the nature of bureaucracy.

The nature of the report is still very centralised in its approach.

I'm going to spend some time reading it carefully and will get back to the discussion.

Thanks
Grahame

[purplepear]

Welcome, PP.

How are you managing with the recent deluge? We are rejoicing in the fact that already this (calendar) year we have recorded over 100mm of rainfall.

I am very sorry to learn of the loss of life (particularly in SE QLD). However, if something good can come out of it in terms of planning for a future where the "...primary aim [is] to discover the Earth’s biophysical limits and how to live within them", as is the focus of the news in the OP, then all effort will not have been in vain.

Cheerio, and keep your feet dry, Markos.

No risk of wet feet here Marko - we need rain. We have had some showers - with an average of 6 mm on some days but have used lots of water on summer crops like tomatoes and corn and need some dam filling rain which seems to be avoiding us atm.

[sun burn]

I don't like any posts with no comment. It doesn't have to be an opinion. I like to know why someone is posting something that's quoted. I think its better netiquette frankly. I like it to be summarised so that i don't have to read it simply to find out what it is. A two word question is hardly a summary. I like to know what it is so that i know why i am reading it.

As to my opinion, I don't really have one except to say with regard to something that I think Graham said and now i can't find. It was his line about the country leading the world towards positive change. This and the whole topic is the sort of thing i was thinking of in the thread a while back where i thought societies/economies/governments/countries would make changes so that the worst case scenarios as predicted in Holgrem's theory would not be likely to happen. For me this is part of the scenario with continued developments, changes in technology and continued population and growth and pursuit of wealth. This example, you've given though might be the good side of those changes. (good as in a sustainable solution, rather than a technological solution). This post of mine is probably a bit hard to follow. I can't remember the name of the thread i'm referring to. Holgram's four scenios should remind anyone who has read it of the thread i speak.

Eco i am apologise for sounding rude about your thread but i really do find it irksome when people post quotes without comment or summary. I know I am not the only person who feels this way. I have seen other people say the same thing. Is it so hard to summaries clearly what you are posting when quoting from another source? HOw would you feel if in a lecture, the lecturer walked into the room and just read out of a book a few sentences. How about if you flicked on the tv news and all you saw was some footage from somewhere. You wouldn't know what you were looking at or why. I believe that quotes without context or introduction are wrong. I am not suggesting you have to give an opinion or a personal explanation just something that makes the posting seem sensible without me having to make guesses

[ecodharmamark]

I don't like any posts with no comment. It doesn't have to be an opinion. I like to know why someone is posting something that's quoted. I think its better netiquette frankly. I like it to be summarised so that i don't have to read it simply to find out what it is. A two word question is hardly a summary. I like to know what it is so that i know why i am reading it.

As to my opinion, I don't really have one except to say with regard to something that I think Graham said and now i can't find. It was his line about the country leading the world towards positive change. This and the whole topic is the sort of thing i was thinking of in the thread a while back where i thought societies/economies/governments/countries would make changes so that the worst case scenarios as predicted in Holgrem's theory would not be likely to happen. For me this is part of the scenario with continued developments, changes in technology and continued population and growth and pursuit of wealth. This example, you've given though might be the good side of those changes. (good as in a sustainable solution, rather than a technological solution). This post of mine is probably a bit hard to follow. I can't remember the name of the thread i'm referring to. Holgram's four scenios should remind anyone who has read it of the thread i speak.

Eco i am apologise for sounding rude about your thread but i really do find it irksome when people post quotes without comment or summary. I know I am not the only person who feels this way. I have seen other people say the same thing. Is it so hard to summaries clearly what you are posting when quoting from another source? HOw would you feel if in a lecture, the lecturer walked into the room and just read out of a book a few sentences. How about if you flicked on the tv news and all you saw was some footage from somewhere. You wouldn't know what you were looking at or why. I believe that quotes without context or introduction are wrong. I am not suggesting you have to give an opinion or a personal explanation just something that makes the posting seem sensible without me having to make guesses

No worries, sunburn. No apology necessary, and no, I don't think your posts read as being rude. I do sometimes (as is the case here) have a little trouble understanding them, but that's all good in the permaculture mix.

As to my style of delivering 'news' - I'm not likely to change that in the near future. As I have previously stated in this thread, I like to offer topical points of information (read: 'news') as they originally appeared, and without (initially) my interpretation of the content. Sure, this time I did give a little hint as to my thinking in the OP by heading the thread 'Planetary Permaculture?', and it would seem that at least some of our fellow scribes took this subtle hint and ran with it.

I am sorry if you find my method of delivering information as irksome by having to 'make guesses', however it will be difficult for me to change my style of delivery as it is the way I have been offering information for a long time. Take for example, your example re: the lecturer who enters a room and delivers a couple of lines from a book. Personally, I find this a very effective way of opening a discussion. The 'teacher' is not expecting the students to 'believe' exactly what she has stated verbatim, rather it is an invitation for the 'students' to express like or opposing views in the process of discourse/debate.

In the future, I will try to remember your request to summarise any news items that I post, and this way I hope that you feel more comfortable in reading them.

Cheerio, Markos

[ecodharmamark]

No risk of wet feet here Marko - we need rain. We have had some showers - with an average of 6 mm on some days but have used lots of water on summer crops like tomatoes and corn and need some dam filling rain which seems to be avoiding us atm.

I read that you have not been receiving much in the way of precipitation, PP. I do hope that this situation changes soon.

We have now received over 170mm so far this calendar year (about 1/3 of our average annual rainfall), so we are off to a wet start. There are now widespread evacuations occurring across Victoria as I type. Localised flooding of about six catchments is now well underway.

I am only all too aware that once the current La Nina event cycles into a El Nino, we will be back to below average rainfall and the baked-dry conditions of the previous 10-years. So I am not one to complain about the rain! I do however feel very deeply for those that have lost lives/livelihoods as a result of flooding, and I will be working very hard in the future (as I have in the past)to advocate for better planning in relation to people building across natural watercourses - as is the object of my posting the OP.

Cheerio, Markos

[ecodharmamark]

Nice one Markos,

I am definitely hearing more of the 'good' and encouraging noises in the media recently. I think some people including economists are starting to realise that the country that gets 'sustainability' right is going to be the country to lead the human world into it's future.

I wonder if permaculture has been overlooked in the past because it doesn't have it's own TLA (Three Letter Acronym).

To be honest I don't mind if the term Permaculture is replaced with some TLA like ESS, provided the principles and ethics travel along with it. What ever we call it, I think it is time it became the mainstream. This is encouraging, but I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for the governments to adopt it.

I once worked for the Federal Government on a Methyl Bromide fumigation standard. There were fairly specific scientific recommendations on the 'safe' and effective use of Methyl Bromide. Unfortunately, the powers that be decided it was too hard for fumigators and never implemented it! :sweat:... The mind boggles. I guess it was easier to be seen to be doing something rather than actually doing something. That was the moment I truly understood the nature of bureaucracy.

The nature of the report is still very centralised in its approach.

I'm going to spend some time reading it carefully and will get back to the discussion.

Thanks
Grahame

G'day Grahame

As always, it is a great pleasure to be afforded the opportunity to learn from your unique insights into the murky world of 'bureaucracy'.

Yes, the report is rather 'centralised' in its format, but given it acts as a kind of 'blueprint' for further action (read: the forming of the 'group'), I still hold hope that it can adequately do its job.

We are all 'scientists', Grahame. Each and every day we all 'observe and interact' as we go about our daily activities. Let's hope that more and more people can be inspired to come together to work and act as one, as we all strive toward a truly 'permanent culture (of sustainable cycles)'.

Cheerio, have fun in the puddles, Markos.