Earth Policy Institute Press Teleconference – How Food Shortages Could Bring Down Civilization
Conferences, Consumerism, Economics, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, News, Population, Presentations/Demonstrations, Society, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton — by Earth Policy Institute April 21, 2009
Teleconference: Thursday, April 23, 11:00 AM EDT
Environmental Analyst Lester Brown: How Food Shortages Could Bring Down Civilization
Washington, DC — On Thursday, April 23, 2009, at 11 a.m. EDT, environmental analyst Lester Brown will discuss how food shortages could be the weak link that brings down civilization. In an article featured in the May issue of Scientific American, Brown reveals that the biggest threat to global political stability is the potential for food crises in poor countries to cause government collapse. Those crises are brought on by rising demand and ever worsening environmental degradation.
Comments (0)Calling for Volunteers for IPC9 and the Permaculture Centre, Malawi, Africa
Conferences, Courses/Workshops, Developments, News, Presentations/Demonstrations, Project Positions, Social Gatherings — by Craig Mackintosh April 17, 2009
The ninth International Permaculture Conference (IPC) and Convergence is inching closer. Previous conferences have been held in Australia, USA, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Nepal, Croatia and Brazil. This time it will run from November 2-6 in Malawi, Africa (Kumbali Village, Lilongwe), and will include site tours of Permaculture projects in Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The theme for IPC9 is "Plan Africa – Food & Empowerment".
There are a few volunteer positions for this event that need filling. If you’ll be free during this period and would like to help make the IPC9 a success for the people of Africa and the wider international community by getting constructively involved in this exciting work, please click here (PDF) to read about these interesting posts and to find out how to apply.
Comments (2)Homegrown Revolution
Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Presentations/Demonstrations, Urban Projects — by Craig Mackintosh April 7, 2009
Most of you will be familiar with the fantastic work of the Dervaes family, with their little ‘urban homestead’ in California. They are truly blazing a ‘path to freedom’ that we can all aspire to and follow – producing enormous quantities of food in a sustainable way on a handkerchief-sized plot of land just metres from a Los Angeles freeway.
The family recently put together a short DVD for a lecture at UCLA. It’s called ‘Homegrown Revolution‘. It’s an inspiring watch, so I’ve embedded it below.
The Dervaes family has been busy on other fronts too. This year they started Freedom Seeds, offering open-pollinated, non-Monsanto owned seeds, and last year they launched Freedom Gardens, an online social network for backyard gardens, which is really taking off with some great information being exchanged amongst gardeners from around the world.
Comments (2)Food Forests Across America Campaign Hits the Airwaves
Consumerism, Food Forests, Food Shortages, News, Presentations/Demonstrations — by Craig Mackintosh April 6, 2009
Food Forests Across America: it’s more than just a wonderful concept – it’s a campaign. If you missed our recent post on this, do check it out.
Eric’s latest news is that tomorrow – Monday April 6th at 8pm Pacific Standard Time – the campaign will hit the airwaves by way of a one and a half hour call-in talkback show on Visionary Culture Radio with Laura Fox. Special guests on the show include:
- Erik Ohlsen – Founder & Director – Permaculture Earth Artisans
- Ethan Roland – Founder & Director – AppleSeed Permaculture
- Marisha Auerbach – Founder & Director – Herb ‘n Wisdom
- Max Meyers – Director – Mendocino Ecological Learning Center
- Jay Ma – Co-Founder, Director of Programs & Development – Living Mandala
- John Valenzuela – Veteran Permaculture Designer, Educator & Consultant
You have the opportunity to call in and get involved in the discussion, or just listen in online. Click here for full details on how to do so.
Comments (0)Intro to Permaculture
Presentations/Demonstrations — by Craig Mackintosh October 5, 2008
Permaculturist, Ethan Roland, gives a quirky, upbeat intro to Permaculture, with promises of more to come.
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Convergence of Issues Leads to Southern California Permaculture Convergence, August 29-31, 2008
Conservation, News, Presentations/Demonstrations, Social Gatherings, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Storm Water, Water Contaminaton, Water Harvesting, peak oil — by Craig Mackintosh August 31, 2008
Cooling off after the first day of the Southern California Permaculture Convergence,
hosted by the Quail Springs Learning Oasis and Permaculture Farm
Yesterday the Southern California Permaculture Convergence got underway. The word ‘convergence’ is the operative word here, and, ironically, to me at least, has a double meaning. Over the last couple of weeks, being here at Quail Springs just reminds me of the convergence of issues we face as a race, just as we ‘converge’ to network, share instruction and ideas, and find new ways to work together to face those same issues.
Let me explain, using an example very close to where we are today.
Comments (4)Geoff Lawton – “All the World’s Problems Can Be Solved in a Garden”
News, Presentations/Demonstrations — by Linda Buzzell August 30, 2008
Linda Buzzell, M.A., M. Journalism, M.F.T. is a member of the Santa Barbara Permaculture Guild. She took her Permaculture Design Course in 2006. She is the founder of the International Association for Ecotherapy
Photo credit: Craig Mackintosh
On Thursday August 28, 2008 one of the world’s top permaculture designers, Australian Geoff Lawton, spoke to a standing-room-only audience at Santa Barbara City College in Santa Barbara. The presentation was sponsored by the Santa Barbara Permaculture Network and the SBCC Center for Sustainability, led by biology professor Dr. Adam Green.
Comments (1)The Santa Barbara City College Hears ‘The Plan’
News, Presentations/Demonstrations — by Craig Mackintosh
The Quail Springs Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course (for 2008) closed Wednesday – and with a bang. Six groups of students put forth impressive design proposals for the design brief they were given, resulting in 47 new PDC graduates joining the worldwide permaculture community – a community that we are inspired can become a powerful ‘peace army’ to bring hope and real solutions to a beleaguered world. We look forward to hearing from these new friends as they build on their knowledge and carve out avenues for practical application. It was a privilege and inspiration to meet them all.
No sooner was the course ended, and Geoff and Nadia were off to Santa Barbara to answer an invitation to speak to an attentive crowd at the Santa Barbara City College. Thanks to Wes Roe & Margie Bushman for the invite and organising.
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