TAG: permaculture

Is Sustainable Agriculture an Oxymoron?

Toby Hemenway, Guest Waking Times Jared Diamond calls it “the worst mistake in the history of the human race.”(1) Bill Mollison says that it can “destroy whole landscapes.”(2) Are they describing nuclear energy? Suburbia? Coal mining? No. They are talking about agriculture. The problem is not simply that farming in its current industrial manifestation is destroying

What Permaculture Isn’t – and Is

Toby Hemenway, Guest Waking Times Permaculture is notoriously hard to define. A recent survey shows that people simultaneously believe it is a design approach, a philosophy, a movement, and a set of practices. This broad and contradiction-laden brush doesn’t just make permaculture hard to describe. It can be off-putting, too. Let’s say you first encounter permaculture as

The “Long Emergency,” Permaculture, and Towns that Food Saved

Andrew Willner, Guest  Waking Times We live in dangerous times, when economic collapse, climate chaos, and peak oil threaten the foundations of society, abundance, and all we hold dear. “Business as usual” will no longer suffice, because that way leads to certain pain, peril and impoverishment. Unspeakable acts of violence like the slaughter at the Sandy

Can Large-Scale Environmental Devastation Really Be Reversed?

Dr. Mercola Waking Times Throughout centuries of farming, animal grazing and deforestation, the earth’s natural resources have been exhausted. Deserts are encroaching into previous lush areas and water is becoming alarmingly scarce. Our soil is depleting 13% faster than it can be replaced, and we’ve lost 75% of the world’s crop varieties in just the

How to Send Less Trash to the Landfill

Jill Richardson, Contributor Waking Times My new neighbor knocked on my door and introduced herself as the vice president of the local homeowner’s association. “How friendly!” I thought. “She’s welcoming me to the neighborhood.” Then she wrinkled her nose and motioned toward an enclosed bin on my porch, saying, “Your — what is it? Came-post?

33 Tips on Turning Your Boring Lawn Into a Permaculture Food Forest

Waking Times Does the idea of getting fresh, nutritious food right out in front of you kitchen door sound like a good idea in these turbulent times? A growing movement to reclaim, restore, and re-localize our relationship to food is happening all around us, and you can participate by re-thinking what you do with the

An Introduction to Permaculture

Staff Writer Waking Times “How can we maximize hammock time?” – Bill Mullison, author of Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual Permaculture affects every part of your life, from how you design your room, to how you design your life. It encompasses how people are able to get along and make living decisions that make sense for the long

Where is All the Food?

Wayne Weiseman, Guest Writer Waking Times When a product enters the marketplace it is doomed to be bandied about, prodded, poked and eventually, if it is a “valuable” commodity, confiscated, manipulated, packaged, politicized, corporatized, chained to will-o’-the-wisp market forces and forever relegated to the dungeon of the landfill, what’s left of it. The pharaohs of

12 Innovations to Combat Drought, Improve Food Security and Stabilize Food Prices

Seyyada A. Burney, Nourishing the Planet Waking Times  Soaring temperatures and low precipitation could not occur at a worse time for many farmers in the U.S. Intensifying drought conditions are affecting corn and soybean crops throughout the Midwest, raising grain prices as well as concerns about future food prices. The U.S. Drought Monitor reports that

Havana: Feeding the City on Urban Agriculture

Havana, Cuba, is a world leader in urban agriculture. After the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, food production was decentralised from large mechanized state farms to urban cultivation systems. Today more than 50 per cent of Havana’s fresh produce is grown within the city limits, using organic compost and simple irrigation systems.

Homegrown Revolution (Video)

In the midst of a dense city setting in downtown Pasadena, radical change is taking root. For over twenty years, the Dervaes family have transformed their home into an urban homestead and model for sustainable agriculture and city living.


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