oil availability and to climate change
and David Holmgren
• care for the planet
• have concern for others
• take responsibility for your personal choices & actions
you are ready to adopt principles that will help humanity towards a sustainable occupation of the planet.
Start by connecting with what’s already happening in a large network of people, organisations, activities, ideas & learning opportunities:
Food
If you can’t grow your own, buy direct from farmers
markets or at least retailers who stock locally. Cut out foods that come
from long distances, are overprocessed or overpackaged
Cooking
Teach your family true cooking; the preparation
and preservation of fresh healthy foods
Investment
An efficient, compact, passive solar home that
catches its own energy and water is a great start to your ethical investment
portfolio.
Travel
Use a bike or public transport for both commuting
and tourism. WWOOFing is a great way of experiencing another culture through
working on and travelling between organic farms worldwide – and you don’t
need to be an expert!
Learning
Gain theoretical skills to make your lifestyle
more sustainable. The internationally accredited Permaculture Design Certificate
takes only 10 days but will change your understanding of systems that control
the planet.
Energy
The energy required for sustainable living can
be mainly (and safely) supplied either directly by the sun (radiation)
or through its influences on the atmosphere (wind, convection &
hydro) or plant growth (providing biofuels). Fossil fuels are finite and
precious resources to be shared with future generations.
Cities
Our oil-driven economy and the fabric of cities
will need to be adapted to a lower energy input with a neighbourhood, local
and regional focus
Useful Organisations
- Permaculture Association of SA – 25 years of experience www.permaculturesa.org.au
- Farmers Markets www.asfm.org.au www.farmersmarkets.org.au
- Soil Association of SA – organic gardening http://home-pages.picknowl.com.au/sasa/
- Rare Fruit Society of SA www.rarefruit-sa.org.au/
- Seed Savers SA http://saseedsavers.tripod.com/
- Slow Food Groups www.slowfood.com
- Aus & NZ Solar Energy Society www.anzses.org/
- Sustainable House Day www.solarhouseday.com/
- Home design www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome/
- Sustainable living www.sustainableliving.sa.gov.au
- Aldinga Arts Eco Village & Urban Ecology for sustainable building ideas www.urbanecology.org.au www.aldinga-artsecovillage.com.au/
- Bicycle Institute of SA www.bisa.asn.au
- WWOOF Australia - Willing Workers on Organic Farms www.wwoof.com.au
- The Food Forest - permaculture training & sustainable building ideas www.foodforest.com.au
- Community Gardens www.communitygarden.org.au/
- Beyond Energy SA www.adelaidepeakoil.com
- Peak Oil www.peakoil.net
‘Peak Oil’ is the point in time when half of the World’s naturally occurring oil has been used up. Of the half that is left, much will be so difficult to recover that it will use more energy to obtain than it embodies. We have used most of the first half in just two human generations.
Energy Descent
Energy Descent means moving steadily to a lifestyle
requiring less non renewable energy. It can become an exciting & dynamic
process involving innovation as well as the re-learning of old skills.
Do nothing?
If we don’t take action we’ll watch climate change
deliver the following outcomes in SA by 2030:
- Sea level rises 10cm; more storms and flooding; farewell to beaches
- 1 in 100 year flood events become 1 in 30 year events.
- Water salinity increases
- Rainfall & Murray flows decrease
- Evaporation increases leading to a 20% increase in irrigation required
- Hot spells double and flowering of orchards and crops is disrupted by warm winters
- Biodiversity is lost and species are marooned in the Mt Lofty ranges
Permaculture has been practising and developing strategies of sustainability for over 25 years.
‘Think globally – act locally’ works well, but there are actually 12 Permaculture Design Principles that are empowering templates for planning any project, process or enterprise:
• Observe and Interact
• Catch and Store Energy
• Obtain a Yield
• Apply Self-regulation and Accept Feedback
• Use and Value Renewable Re-sources and Services
• Produce No Waste
• Design from Patterns to Details
• Integrate Rather than Segregate
• Use Small and Slow Solutions
• Use and Value Diversity
• Use Edges and Value the Marginal
• Creatively Use and Respond to Change
See David Holmgren’s website for detailed explanation
of the permaculture principles: www.holmgren.com.au
Other essential reading - ‘Introduction to Permaculture’
by Bill Mollison and Reny Slay (Tagari books)