World Habitat Day: The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October every year as World Habitat Day to reflect on the state of human settlements and the basic right to adequate shelter for all. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat. For the rest of us Habitat Day is every day!
"whether you are a vegetarian or a carnivore you may still crave the companionship of pets. If you're interested in the environment you may want to think about chickens, they eat your green waste and then they lay delicious fresh eggs as a way to pay you back".
Click on Going Green NBC to watch Kahn's nationally televised segment
David Kahn
Efficient Transportation
The Next Natural Building Workshop:
Edendale Farm in Altadena Designing & Building an Outdoor Kitchen and Entertainment Space One of the advantages of living in Sunny Southern California is enjoying the outdoors. Yet very few are eating or cooking outside daily.
This hands-on workshop will use permaculture design and natural building skills to complete a beautiful space that is functional, economical and sustainable. Special Workshop Children are welcome: + RSVP
Starts at 9:00AM- 4:00 PM Every Saturday. Part One:
Site and Kitchen Design
Earthen Oven Theory & Techniques
Space is limited RSVP below- For more information and registration or other Permaculture Classes and Advanced Design Certificate Workshops seeDetails
"Permaculture"
Using ecology as the basis for designing integrated systems of food, shelter, renewable energy and community. Permaculture is the perfect solution for creating sustainable lifestyles in the city. Learn how to cope with peak oil and the energy descent society of the future. Become the solution! Learn how LA can be a model for sustainable cities.
Article about Ovens: by Mark Twain
*SOME NATIONAL STUPIDITIES*
*(1891-1892)*
"THE slowness of one section of the world about adopting the valuable ideas of another section of it is a curious thing and unaccountable. This form of stupidity is confined to no community, to no nation; it is universal. The fact is the human race is not only slow about borrowing valuable ideas--it sometimes persists in not borrowing them at all.
Raw milk really is a wonder tonic, say devotees, who meet secretly to buy it and swear it reverses chronic diseases. but is it safe to drink? The official word: No. By Hannah Wallace
BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- Humans are stripping nature at an unprecedented rate and will need two planets' worth of natural resources every year by 2050 on current trends, the WWF conservation group said on Tuesday.
Populations of many species, from fish to mammals, had fallen by about a third from 1970 to 2003 largely because of human threats such as pollution, clearing of forests and overfishing, the group also said in a two-yearly report.
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 topsoil and biodiversity. Agriculture in any form is
inherently unsustainable. At its doorstep can also be laid the basis of
our culture’s split between humans and nature, much disease and poor
health, and the origins of dominator hierarchies and the police state.
Those are big claims, so let’s explore them.
I Don’t Want To Hear About
Green Buildings Any More
"I
think sustainability has become more and more of a buzz word. Everybody wants
to get on the bandwagon by saying that what they’re doing is sustainable. And
even at the best of times, what it means is using certain kinds of products and
materials while leaving the social, ecological and emotional structure largely
unchanged. Maybe that’s not quite so with regard to ecology. There are efforts
being made there to deal more seriously with wetlands and forests and so forth,
but it’s so much one little thing at a time, completely missing the larger
context of life on earth."
They laughed at him and said it couldn't be done. Nothing could be grown in that salt laden dustbowl. But Geoff and Sindhu Lawton had other ideas. They travel the world teaching others how to repair trashed environments that are beyond hope of becoming productive. In this story, Geoff talks about re-greening the deserts of Jordan. By applying the principles of permaculture, they managed to salvage a heavily salted environment and turn it into a green oasis.
