Permaculture Magazine Replies October 31, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Permaculture, Science and Rationaltiy , 3commentsDear Graham
I sympathise with your reservation about geomancy. Did you know, however, that all the major oil and water companies employ dowsers? It is far cheaper than using geophysical equipment and they find it effective.
Lastly, the study of energy in the landscape is being experimented with by the Austrian Traffic authorities. Let me give you some details:
In Austria, the highways authority has started using stone monoliths to prevent accidents at black spots. They are said to restore the natural flow of energy and reduce drivers¹ tiredness. On the A9 Pyhrn motorway in Styria the authorities erected two massive white quartz megaliths with the help a geomancer, Gerald Knobloch. They were located away from the road and the project was kept secret. Previous attempts at warning signs had failed to eradicate the problem. Over a two year period the accident rate fell from six fatalities per year to none. The 100% success rate cannot be disputed and the Austrians intend to use this technology in blackspots elsewhere. Knobloch explains that rerouted water flows, bridges and construction projects disrupt natural energy flows which affect drivers and create Œsleep zones¹.1
1 The Sunday Times, June 1 2003.
I do not think that this is a question of religion or faith, it is rather akin to our understanding of quantum physics and the consequent effects of energy in an interconnected field. It may be controversial but it cannot be ignored. Permaculture is an inclusive and broad movement and as an editor I give virtually no space at all for these type of views. I steer an uneasy path between the demands of all my readers but I am also sensitive to your views and the need to persuade the mainstream of the validity of permaculture. I will again review my editorial policy.
Yours,
Maddy
Comments are Now Open October 30, 2007
Posted by Graham in : General , add a commentA technical problem with posting comments on Zone5, probably caused by faeries playing mischief, has now been sorted. Please join the lively debate re “Woo-Woo in Permaculture”
Seed Saving October 29, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Food, Gardens, General , 1 comment so far
A recent trip to Madeleine McKeever, founder of Brown Envelope Seeds, down near turk Head on the south coast, provided the permaculture class with a fascinating introduction to the world of seed-saving. (more…)
No place for Woo-woo in Permaculture October 28, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Permaculture, Science and Rationaltiy , 28commentsOpen Letter to Permaculture Magazine in response to the article “Geomancy and Permaculture” by Alanna Moore
Dear Permaculture Magazine
Many thanks for the recent edition of PM54 with its many excellent and useful articles. You continue to do an excellent job of promoting quality permaculture ideas and reporting on sustainable projects around the world.
I have written before about the confusion that seems to permeate much of the alternative/environmental movement between “pre-rational” animism that rejects science and “post-rational” beliefs that include science (see PM 36 “Zone Zero Zero”) and am dismayed to see this confusion still alive and well in the article Geomancy and Permaculture by Alanna Moore. (more…)
The City of Saba October 27, 2007
Posted by Graham in : General , 1 comment so farI have always loved the poetry of Rumi. Writing 800 years ago in the 13th Century, his language is beautiful and intoxicating, whatever about the “mystical” meaning of it, even to an atheist like me. Rumi takes an often side-ways look at the human condition, and his absurd rendition of people’s shallow beliefs, their pre-occupation with materialism, trivia and what others think of them is at times reminiscent of Voltaire. What is most extraordinary is how relevant his gentle mocking is to today, and the power of his words coming down through the centuries to get us take stock, pause and consider what might be really important in life. This is a poem I came across the other day that seems to have particular relevance for the inhabitants of the modern world: (more…)
Surfing the Collapse October 26, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Environment, Food, Peak Oil , 2commentsThree important reports out in the last week highlight how utterly unsustainable the current human system is, locked in as it is to a process seeking the impossible, the unnatural and the undesirable: unending growth. (more…)
Pumpkin Seeds October 14, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Food, Gardens, Permaculture , 2commentsIf I were only to grow one vegetable, I think it would be pumpkins- easy to grow, nutritious and delicious, many of the smaller varieties- like Pompeon or the orange-fleshed Uchiki Kuri
are as sweet as sweet potatoes and store really well- until March or even April.
This year for the first time I grew a variety more know for its naked seeds- Lady Godiva. This variety is grown for its seeds which are “naked” ie they dont have husks so can be eaten straight out of the fruit, or dried and stored.
A neighbour gave me some seeds late in the season, so I didnt start them until late June but they still did quite well.
Here are the seeds from one of the pumpkins. Highly nutritious in themselves, being rich in magnesium, manganese and phosphorous, and a good source of iron, copper, protein, and zinc, pumpkin seeds store for even longer than the fruit and are well worth growing for this reason.
Permaculture Tribe October 7, 2007
Posted by Graham in : General, Permaculture , add a commentThe Practical Sustainabilty Course in Kinsale has a record number of students this year, being completely over-subscribed in the new intake and with over 20 returning for the second year.
Hundreds of students have passed through the course which is now in its seventh year, an indication of the real demand and growing interest in all things sustainable.
People often ask, “What do the students go onto do afterwards?” and so it is great that there is now a new site Permies Portal created by Jeannie Timony to help network students past, present and future. If you have been a student at Kinsale please sign up on the sight and tell us what you are doing- we’d love to hear from you!
Book Review: Peak Everything October 4, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Food, General, Peak Oil, Permaculture , 9commentsPeak Everything- Waking up to the Century of Declines By Richard Heinberg 224 pp New Society (2008)
“Our central survival task for the decades ahead, as individuals and as a species, must be to make a transition away from the use of fossil fuels— and to do this as peacefully, equitably, and intelligently as possible.”
(from the introduction.)
Richard Heinberg is the acceptable face of Peak Oil. His uncompromising message of the impending collapse of modern society due to resource depletion in his previous books The Party’s Over, Powerdown, and The Oil Depletion Protocol is delivered with too much eloquence and compassion to earn the sobriquet “doomer” and yet he is not afraid of taking on the “difficult” issues of population and collapse. (more…)
