What is sustainable living?
In this sustainable living lesson you will:
- Learn one definition of sustainable
living
- Learn that sustainable living means
different things to different people
What do you think sustainable Living means?
What do you think it means to live in a more sustainable way?
A. Living within Earth's limits
B. Reducing our impact on the earth's resources
C. Making lifestyle and consumer choices to limit our use of
resources
D. Living more simply
E. Taking care of nature so nature can take care of us
F. Meeting our needs without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their needs
G. Creating a balance between our natural systems, our economic
system and our social system
H. All of the above
The best answer would be H. Sustainable
living and sustainability mean different things to different people.
Here's a definition from Teaching Tolerance, "A Standard to
Sustain," Number 24 (Fall 2003), p. 14: "It [sustainability] has
come to mean the ability to meet present needs without damaging or
depleting the environmental, economic or social resources that
future generations will need." And that is what permaculture is all
about.
Activities
Lesson Two
What is permaculture?
In this lesson you will learn:
- One definition of permaculture
- The term permaculture has many
definitions
- The origin of permaculture
- Who is practicing permaculture
"Permaculture is a philosophy of working
with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful
observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; of looking
at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any
area as a single-product system."
Bill Mollison (from the permaculture.net website)
This definition of permaculture expresses a
basic concept in permaculture - examining and following nature's
patterns. Permaculture advocates designing human systems based on
natural ecosystems. But, there are many other definitions of
permaculture, just as there are many definitions of sustainable
living.
The term permaculture is a contraction of
the words "permanent," "agriculture,” and “culture.” Although the
original focus of permaculture was sustainable food production, the
philosophy of permaculture has expanded over time to encompass
economic and social systems. It is a dynamic movement that is still
evolving. For example, some practitioners are integrating
spirituality and personal growth work into the framework of
permaculture.
What is the origin of permaculture?
Permaculture was created in the 1970's by
Bill Mollison, an Australian ecologist and University of Tasmania
professor. He had spent many years out in nature as a wildlife
biologist observing how natural systems work and became very
distressed at the destruction that he saw going on around him. He
decided that instead of being angry about what was happening and
reacting against the destruction he wanted to work on creating a
positive solution And he thought the solution would be living based
on the patterns he had observed in nature.
By observing nature, Mollison came up with
several important insights. He observed that natural systems, such
as forests and wetlands, are sustainable. They provide for their own
energy needs and recycle their own wastes. He also observed that all
the different parts of a natural ecosystem work together. Each
component of the system performs important tasks. For example, bees
help to pollinate, birds provide pest control, certain plants pull
nitrogen out of the air and fix it into a form that other plants can
use. So everything does useful work. He applied these and other
insights to design and create sustainable agricultural systems.
In the 1970's he and his student David
Holmgren wrote and published some books explaining his ideas. In the
1980s he published his design manual and started teaching
permaculture design courses to spread his ideas around the world. By
the 1990s permaculture had started spreading throughout the US,
although it's more well-known in other countries around the world.
To this day, it's continuing to grow as a global grassroots movement
and people primarily learn about it through permaculture design
courses and workshops that generally happen outside of academia.
Who is practicing permaculture?
Besides permaculture practitioners who study
and learn about permaculture and consciously use permaculture to
live in a more sustainable way, there are many people who practice
permaculture without realizing it – concerned environmentalists,
organic gardeners, conservationists, land use planners, urban
activists, recyclers, indigenous peoples and anyone working toward
creating a sustainable human civilization. The reason for this is
that the philosophy of permaculture draws on a lot of
ideas and
practices that have been around for a long time.
Have you heard the terms ecological design,
sustainable design, applied ecology or green design? These are other
terms that describe the basic philosophy of using nature as a model
to foster sustainability. The difference between these approaches
and permaculture is their scope and focus. Permaculture draws on
these systems and incorporates them into a broader framework.
Permaculture is a comprehensive system that can be applied to all
aspects of one's life although food production remains an important
focus. As mentioned earlier, it is a dynamic, living philosophy
which is continuing to evolve.
How can you practice permaculture?
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Because permaculture is a
comprehensive, dynamic system it can be practiced in
different ways and at different levels. To help you begin to
use permaculture in your life, the rest of this course will
present (1) the ethics - the philosophical core of
permaculture, (2) some principles - guidelines for applying
permaculture, (3) strategies - goals to help you focus as
you apply permaculture, and (4) techniques - concrete ways
that you can apply permaculture.
You, too, can become a permaculture
practitioner! |
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Activities
- Go to
http://www.permaculture.net and read other definitions of
permaculture.
- Write down the definition that speaks
to you.
More Sustainable Living
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