back to the garden - carbon and humus

permaculture is about discovering nature/god's patterns and implementing them in our agriculture, and indeed our culture as a whole. if life has a number, it's the number six: carbon.

carbon exists in many forms. of course, it is concentrated in fossil fuels, the burning of which puts carbon into the air as greenhouse gases.

but carbon is also found in living things. the burning of forests and the erosion of living soil, or humus, also puts carbon into the air.

david holmgren, in Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability, writes that a "valuable storage of carbon is created when we simply allow plant material to rot back into the soil. Organic matter, especially carbon-rich bulky plant materials, is the fuel for soil micro-organisms, which in turn are the key to the cycling and availability of plant nutrients." p. 36.

"Changing the management of farmland to use organic and permaculture strategies and techniques can rebuild this storage of carbon... It is arguably the greatest single contribution we can make to ensure the future survival of humanity." p. 37.

"Alan Yeoman ... has arguewd that loss of humus from agricultural soils is as large a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions as motor cars, and that achievable increases in humus across the world's farming soils could reabsorb the whole of the damaging imbalance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere." p. 39

to be continued...

sustainable differences

in an open journal post, i mentioned that even within the local community there are divergent views which cause paralysis. take 'sustainability' fer instance. in my girlfriend's group, some members believe that we cannot sustain our culture at the current energy levels and we must prepare for a low-energy future. others in the group believe we'll find a technological solution that will enable us to continue our high-energy lifestyle with some degree of sustainable adaptation .

high-energy or low, even the notion of sustainability is uncertain. david holmgren writes, in Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability (p. xxx):

The lack of any reasonable definition of sustainability has left it open to inevitable appropriation by the corporate spin doctors. But even the most genuine and useful sustainability concepts including permaculture contain an ambiguity about sustainability as a state or a process. Once we accept the reality and magnitude of energy descent, we begin to ask what "sustainability", "sustainable systems" or "sustainable system design" might mean. Even the idea of permanence at the heart of permaculture is problematic to say the least.

...In articulating Permaculture as the Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability, I am suggesting that we need to get over our naive and simplistic notions of sustainability as a likely reality for ourselves or even our grandchildren and instead accept that our task is use our familiarity with continuous change to adapt to energy descent.

[emphasis is in the original]

"We are a throw-away society and that is a measure of our poor stewardship of our wealth."

Ain't that the truth.

The greater truth is that we each possess an infinite capacity to change and the ability to choose change for the better.

Day 5's post has a lot of great ideas.
Day 5: Abandon disposables
from Thirty Days Towards Sustainability

"Bruce Cockburn: Telling the Truth About the Human Condition"

E Magazine interview:

"Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn's 29th album, Life Short Call Now (Rounder) is being released this month and it continues to showcase his unique position as a sometimes-angry analyst of the world scene...

"Cockburn, a devout Christian, is a regular reader of E Magazine and a passionate advocate for environmental causes. His songs take on such challenging topics as the International Monetary Fund's lending practice and the damage caused by land mines. This interview with him took place in New York City, near the beginning of a U.S. tour that continues through September 17."


read more from Bruce Cockburn: Telling the Truth About the Human Condition. ... the last paragraph is perhaps the best part.

30 Days Towards Sustainability

A new series highlighting practical actions people can do to move towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

last night of beta

the final topic was about generosity, specifically monetary generosity. i enjoyed the nicky gumble talk vey much, and the discussion afterwards, too. our small group was even smaller tonight: six, including the two leaders. the discussion was as much about acquisitiveness as it was about generosity, and it ranged from personal experiences to global concerns, to which last night's film, an inconvenient truth, was influential.

what next? many ideas were cast about, but nothing firm because, as k pointed out, september schedules have to settle into place before we can decide; also, its a diverse group and the members will probably seek individual paths.

sustainable lifestyles symposium - day 6

it ended as it began: me, susan, jay, and alta working in the kitchen in the afternoon; this time cleaning and packing up. occasionally i'd run out to the parking area to say goodbye to someone. in the morning we gathered a final time to wrap-up, which at times was very emotional.

so much hope for transformation: in our personal lives, in our communities, in our planet.

i have pages of notes to sift through. in the coming weeks and months i hope to have the time and energy to post and share and to gather your thoughts and feelings.

sustainable lifestyles symposium - day 5

i worked in the kitchen a lot today. alta and kathleen are wonderful. talked with kathleen about her years living in hell's kitchen in nyc, how she was forced from the textile industry by changes in nafta, took up theology at st. mike's, is now a big sister and alta's dear friend and looking for... for something. i rode jay's tadopole, where upon i lost my blackberry which led to a curious string of happenings (it was found, btw). in the evening we went to share's solar power talk. then we celebrated: music, drumming, dance, dress-up!

sustainable lifestyles symposium - day 4

several of us discussed food policy and govenance with tony mcquail. then 8 of us drove to whole village, a sustainable, intentional ommunity and farm near caledonia where brenda gave us an orientation. on the drive down and back, i got to talk with different people: janie and i grew up in the niagara region and share a desire to bring food awareness to urbanites; tony and fran each talked with me about their farm lives; and jay answered all our questions about bikes and trikes. and gord and tony's discussion on vegetarian and meat diets was enlightening. and i found out, much to my surprise, that ian is not a teacher, but a former businessman turned quaker chaplain. the evening we watched and discussed The Power of Community: How Cuba survived peak oil.
pat, tony and fran, and ian had all been to cuba.

while washing dishes with tony, i asked him about being a quaker. i've been lucky enough to spend a whole day with this deeply thoughful, integrated, spiritual, peaceful, considerate human being.

sustainable lifestyles symposium - day 3

i stayed home today to work with family matters. i missed out on some cool stuff, but i had a great time with wes. i got out there for supper (the food is amazing, btw -- alta is an amazing person and cook). i washed dishes with bruce gillis and found out a lot about site 41 and living in nunavut. the evening's speakers were fran and tony mcquail, well-known ecological farmers near goderich. afterwards, i got the banjo out and an impromptu singalong happened with john, ravi, pat, alta, sue, and myself.

sustainable lifestyles symposium - day 2

jillian hovey of the Sustainable Living Network gave three worKshops on permaculture and after supper a slideshow of homes made from natural materials and using natural means of cycling energy, water, and waste. she also brought hundreds of books for sale from www.sustainablelivingbooks.com
of which i bought two: Permaculture: Principles and Pathways beyond Sustainability by david holmgren and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by jared diamond.

jay showed a group of us her tadpole trike on which she rides year-round (i don't know if this is the exact model or manufacturer, but it's pretty close).

sustainable lifestyles symposium - day 1

sunday, breezy and sunny at camp neekaunis on georgian bay.

arrived at 2 pm, registered for the sustainable lifestyles symposium, and pretty soon at work in the kitchen making vegan tortiere an roast vegetables for 2 dozen or so. already making heart-friends and sharing life-stories.

met at 5 with everyone for an intro to each other and the symposium. after supper, a teleconference with lois barber of the world future council and pru moore of 2020 vision.

met people with lots of experience and skills in facilitating and/or healing.

bought two books from sustainable living books

homework tonight: strategic planning workbook for my personal future for a low energy, low carbon world. wish i had more time to write in depth.

eco-catastrophe and the new creation

as a teenager when i first became aware of the politics of food, i made a sign with crayons on yellow construction paper and tacked it to my bedroom wall: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.

through a series of fortunate coincidences, or perhaps because i am dancing ever closer with the True Music, i came across this quote by John Robbins:

"Maybe we aren't on a one-way road to oblivion. Maybe we're standing at a crossroad, facing what may be the most important choice human beings have ever faced, a choice between two directions. In one direction is what we will have if we do nothing to alter our present course. By doing nothing, we are choosing a world of pollution and extinctions, of widening chasms and deepening despair, a world where humanity moves ever farther from achieving its highest aspirations and ever nearer to living its darkest fears.

"Our other choice is to actively engage with the living world. On this path we work responsibly and joyfully to make our lives, and our societies, into expressions of our love for ourselves, for each other, and for the living Earth. In this direction we honor our longing to give our children, and all children, a world with clean air and water, with blue skies and abundant wildlife, with a stable climate and a healthy environment.

"If you live with fear for our future, you are not alone.

"If you live with dreams of a better world, you are not alone."

John Robbins, The Food Revolution

confession: i've never made it to the end of the bible; never read revelation; afterall, isn't that where all those rapture-crazed fundamentalists find their inspiration? i'm not interested in the rapture; not interested foresaking this world for the next; don't go in for some elitist club of predestined select; jesus came to save us all; and to foresake this beautiful jewel of god's creation seems downright sinful. but evidently, from the discussions in the small groups, the book of revelation lives up to its name; however, it is a very difficult and controversial writing, with many schools of interpretation.

nevertheless, there will be an end of days and a second coming of christ in a world made new. a popular view is that this world will be destroyed and a new one created, like noah and the flood.

but, in conversation with pastor kitson, we discussed an alternative: that this world will be transformed to the new, through a cleansing and purging, as in a crucible.

and i dimly remember a conversation with kate long ago and late into the day, that perhaps in the new world we will come to see god in each one of us and so bring about the second coming.

and perhaps, then, we are in the midst of this transformation, and each of us stands at our personal crossroad, and collectively we stand at the crossroad of creation.

the personal is political, the inward is outward, and within you without you.

so, as you and i stand at the crossroad, be careful we don't take the wrong turn and follow those on the path of destruction, for "their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ."

"If you live with fear for our future, you are not alone. If you live with dreams of a better world, you are not alone."

we are what we eat. may we eat well.

purpose

preamble
(i just noticed that the symbol in blogger for creating a new post is a green cross: .)

i've had many dialogues as of late with kate, jim, wes, sue, and with the beta group. i made some preparatory notes for a meeting with pastor kitson, and i present them here. jim and i didn't discuss everything in my notes. of course we discussed things beyond my notes; i'll try to include some of these as i remember them. i'll probably make this a series of posts.


membership at knox
after the basics 101 course, we were invited to become members of knox, and several of us did so last sunday. i have chosen not to, not yet. i've vowed to give myself a year at knox, a year until easter 2007, a year to wait and see.

wait
wait to prove myself out, because i am often rash and jump into things

see
see what my purpose truly is


my purpose
i came to god, as you may recall from my posts in march, seeking a purpose to the universe and my purpose within it. it's simple:

my purpose is to fulfill god's purpose for me.

god has a general purpose for all of us:
Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them."

and:
Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."

within these general purposes i must seek god's purpose for me. becoming a christian is only the beginning. i have so much to learn, and i'm blessed to have a wonderful community at knox midland in which to share that learning:

• learn about god
• learn about my community, church and unchurched
• learn about my family, my friends
• learn about my self

direct purpose or indirect?
so, is it my main purpose to serve god directly through worship and evangelism ( to "love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence" and "Go out and train everyone you meet") where i am explicitly a christian; or is it my main purpose to serve god indirectly through stewardship of god's creation, such as environmentalism, where i am not explicitly a christian. (by explicit i mean that it is made clear to all that everything i do serves god, like calling your business "Born Again Environmental Assessments" rather than "Georgian Bay Environmental Assessments" or making explicit scriptural references in my assessments and reports).

similarly, is it better — better for me — to work for the salvation of souls or is it better for me to work for the salvation of wetlands, if in the salvation of wetlands i am being a steward of god's creation?
God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth."


to be continued...
next: eco-catastrophe and the new creation

fallow time

my posts over the last few months have mostly been snippets of lyrics and such. i haven't posted my own thoughts and feelings since early april.

this week i'm feeling low-energy; i'm also pensive and uncertain. in my twenties, not recognizing this low for what it is, i would have tailspun into depression, but now, in my forties, i know myself better: this is an emotional and intellectual fallow period.

what i need is a little more time to myself: good sleep, fresh fruit, long walks and sunshine.

"where in the empire do you want to live?"

enigmatic question on tammy's t-shirt. any thoughts? feelings? directions? googlemap urls? encoded missives?

a matter of joy

"Fear seems to rule our lives, our politics and our world. Fear of terrorism, fear of death, fear of old age, of loneliness, of illness, of being attacked or abused. Fear is the cause of environmental problems, which cannot be solved by fear of global catastrophe. There are better reasons to care for the Earth. Environmentalism is a way of life, not a way of crisis management. Caring for the Earth community, which includes the human community, is a matter of joy, and not a matter of compulsion.

"With best wishes,

Satish Kumar

Editor and publisher

More: http://www.resurgence.org/2006/kumar237.htm

Nothing fails like success

No matter how hard you try
Life won't give a moment's rest
And now you've come to know that
Nothing fails like success

-- Harry Manx "Nothing Fails Like Success" Mantras For Madmen Dog My Cat records 2005

bwg

here's the embryo of a song based on a prayer by jim kitson

the melody and chords are in my head; i'll work them out later


BWG

O God,

I Believe
your Son died for me
and now intercedes
for me before your throne

I Welcome
your Holy Spirit
to bring to birth
and empower new life

I Glorify
Your holy name
and through all you do
and through me forevermore

Amen


it could be sung again with a slight change in pronoun:

We Believe
your Son died for us
and now intercedes
for us before your throne

We Welcome
your Holy Spirit
to bring to birth
and empower new life

We Glorify
Your holy name
and through all you do
and through us forevermore

lubbock or leave it

the dixie chicks ask a good question on this song from their new album, taking the long way:

Dust bowl, Bible belt
Got more churches than trees
Raise me, praise me, couldn't save me
Couldn't keep me on my knees
Oh, boy, rave on down loop 289
That'll be the day you see me back
In this fool's paradise

Temptation's strong
(Salvation's gone)
I'm on my way
To hell's half acre
How will I ever
How will I ever
Get to heaven now

Throwing stones from the top of your rock
Thinking no one can see
The secrets you hide behind
Your southern hospitality
On the strip the kids get lit
So they can have a real good time
Come Sunday they can just take their pick
From the crucifix skyline

Temptation's strong
(Salvation's gone)
I'm on my way
To hell's half acre
How will I ever
How will I ever
Get to heaven now
Get to heaven now

International airport
A quarter after nine
Paris Texas, Athens Georgia's
Not what I had in mind
As I'm getting out I laugh to myself
Cause this is the only place
Where as you're getting on the plane
You see Buddy Holly's face

I hear they hate me now
Just like they hated you
Maybe when I'm dead and gone
I'm gonna get a statue too

Temptation's strong
(Salvation's gone)
I'm on my way
To hell's half acre
How will I ever
How will I ever
Get to heaven now
Get to heaven now
How will I ever

Get to heaven now