Permaculture

So, one of my latest intrigues is a concept known as permaculture. I do not really remember how I discovered the term "permaculture" but I ran across it recently, googled it, and developed a growing interest.

Here is how one site defines permaculture:

"Permaculture is an ecological design system for sustainability in all aspects of human endeavor. It teaches us how build natural homes, grow our own food, restore diminished landscapes and ecosystems, catch rainwater, build communities and much more." (http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index.php/site/classroom/)

I've been interested in sustainable development for years, and in things like community gardens and the "greening" of urban spaces, but this concept really just takes these interests to a new level. There could very well be some odd things in the permaculture movement-probably overemphasizing the role of humans in "creating their own destiny" or "being one with the land"- that I don't align with, but the premise is something that I really like: creating a sustainable culture by considering the importance of systems and how they work together.

I just read through some criticisms of the permaculture movement, they are equally interesting and some discuss the fact that permaculture seems fabricated whereas working with natural systems yields greater returns. I agree with this criticism, to a point. What do you do when the natural ecosystem has been destroyed?--a rebuilding process is clearly necessary to make the ecosystem effective. Anyway, it's late and i'm rambling...I guess this discussion is "to be continued."

Stay tuned. Upcoming topic, by request: My evaluation of Disney World: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. And, yes, we went there.