Every now and again, an uncomparable book passes through my fingers by chance, like finding Fast Food Nation among the magazine racks at a big-box super-market, Deep Economy (the wealth of communities and the durable future), by Bill McKibben was not vernacular to the Economics section of the Beverly Hills library. I thought I knew what to expect from this book, but it surprised me at every turn with striking, well researched figures and poignant analysis of both global economics and that of communities. Although it became evident that the author had been jet-setting to almost every continent to scribe this work, I could think of no better way to use that fossil fuel than educating Americans of the massive situation that our mindsets and industries consume and waste, and illustrate vibrant solutions to problems that plauge both worlds, the first and the third, with surprisingly similar solutions.
Bill touched on the sentimentality of use of the word community. I have been weary of the term and how it has been raped by the corporate media to legitimize their dominance and attempt to dispel the obvious and widely accepted truth that multinational corporations have destroyed community and ecological infrastructure since their outset as "beings" in the earlier twentieth century. From food to fuel and plastic to pensions, he covers so many aspects of the financial reality of American life and it's enormous effect on the rest of the world. As Eric Scholsser Francis Moore and Michael Pollan wrote of the bleak post of American agribusiness and still were compelled to end on a positive note, McKibben has done the same for globalization. Answering with flying colors the undisputed rhetoric of Adam Smith and his modern economic cheerleaders equatable to Ben Friedman in his take on global economics "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" and "The World is Flat".
Inspiring words and stories that valued the marginal and embraced, small, slow and sometimes up side down in a mono-directional speedway of monetary growth. Like Paul Hawkins' Blessed Unrest, this book paints a picture not often seen by Americans who watch TV and commute in an SUV, that another pond is possible, and if you dip your foot in it may not be as cold as you think. Among the dense, stellar research and scathing figures are heart warming stories that anyone can enjoy.
Although I was familiar with Bill McKibben before this book, I had not read any of his previous books and I was delighted to hear someone put into readable print the idea that the developing world and the over-developed world must come to a compromise. We first worlders change our highest values from net worth to net connection. Putting value back into our bioregional and keeping it there will benefit our short term economic woes, as well as our long term global environmental crisis.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
a gift to humanity
be soft, be humble like earth so that flowers of many colors can grow from you ~ Rumi
With every death come a new life and with the passing of a great architect, poet, humanitarian and writer will surely bring abundant life to many places on the planet that his life has not already brought. He is and will be dearly missed and his work will continue to inspire people of all races, ages and genders throught the world and maybe beyond. Racing Alone, to Sidewalks on the Moon, he has forged new ground and unearthed ancient routes on the path to wisdom and generosity to cultures.
Monday, March 03, 2008
reading the landscape of economy
The past few weeks I have attempted to focused my reading to macro economic issues, often as they relate to globalization, local ecology, micro-banking, fair trade and alternative and complementary currencies. There are so many wonderful books out there, that I wanted to share a few of the ones that have been helpful in my research.
Deep Economy - Bill McKibben
Interest and Inflation Free Money - Margrit Kennedy
Alternatives to Economic Globalization - International Forum on Globalization
Blessed Unrest - Paul Hawkins
Ecology of Commerce - Paul Hawkins
Natural Capitalism - Amory Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins, Paul Hawkins
Cradle to Cradle - William McDonough, Michael Braungart
Eco Pioneers - Steve Lerner
Critical Mass - Philip Ball
Hemp Horizons - John Roulac
Natural Wealth of Nations - David Roodman
It's All for Sale - James Ridegeway
Divided Planet - Tom Athanasiou
We Own It - Honigsberg, Kamoroff, Beatty
The Lure of the Local - Lucy Lippard
The Paradigm Conspiracy - Denise Brenton, Christopher Largent
Sustainable Cities - Bob Walter, Lois Arkin, Richard Crenshaw
Ecovillages - Jan Bang
Banker to the Poor - Muhammad Yunus
White Man's Burden - William Easterly
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
timelapse
“Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't
own it, but you can use it. You can't keep
it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it
you can never get it back.”
- Harvey MacKay
How time travels in html . . .
It has been almost 9 months since my last entry, good thing no one noticed but me, hehe! It has been on my mind but alas, we all have our short comings. I feel like a fruiting mycelium body emerging after a long hard rain ready to express my spores upon the earth. Let me fill you in on what I have been up to in fifty words or less. Begining in August I began publishing the Los Angeles Permaculture Guild Newsletter every month, in email digest form, but now also available on the web for your viewing pleasure. I traveled to distant lands, namely Mexico, (to work with City Repair on the Gila Sol Project) and Big Sur (for the Permaculture Teachers Training Course at Esaleen). Working with Architects and Landscape Architects consulting for perennial arid gardens and food foresting has been my primary work outside of school. I have authored a sample food book proposal,
The Arid Food Book which will include interactive mapping and video cooking shows in it's final inception. And after taking some time off for the "holidays", I am back in the saddle so to speak. In the coming months, I am planning to liquidate many of my possessions in an attempt to prepare myself for a simpler time abroad in the Middle East and Europe, where I can immerse myself as new converges with old in studies and adventures.
Monday, June 25, 2007
art yard and craft hard
With warm regards, I hold to the house hold that produced such a well thought event on a nice summer afternoon. It couldn't have been better having no less than 2 picnics / bbq's, but a brand new skatepark in highland park, los angeles...schucks
featuring . . .
- - Succulent arrangements & repurposed art for sacred garden spaces
by Steve Mixdorf marking the official launch of Tao Spaces.
taospaces.com
- - See Andrew & Jennifer Draper's beautiful Vegetable and Herb gardens
and native plant garden, deck, tiled patio, pergola, and sheet-mulched
areas and/or talk to Andrew, Jen, Paul, and Steve about your gardening,
hardscaping, landscaping, remodeling, and catering ideas and
possibilities. beautygrows.com gatherparties.com
- - Rocket Stoves, solar cookers, tomato cage art, and more by Ray
Cirino - L.A. Times featured treehouse builder, cob expert, and
permaculture enthusiast. Ray is also well known for his large scale
Water Woman art project enjoyed by many at the Burning Man Art Festival
since 1996. raycirino.com
- - Chinese Lanterns and other Stained Glass art by Linda Parker.
lindaparker.org
- - Illuminated Wire and Fabric sculture by Sean Sobczak.
sandmancreations.com
- - Beautiful sculptural turned wooden bowls by Mark Fitzsimmons.
http://treecycler.org/
- - Unique hand-crafted meditation bowls by Greg Vineyard.
www.vineyardcreative.byregion.net
- - Abstract fine paintings on repurposed glass panels by Jason
Schaper. http://www.jasonschaper.com/
- - Handcrafted jewelry by Lisa Wahpepah with proceeds benefitting the
non-profit Descendants of The Earth and their work to preserve the
earth, indigineous tribal practices, and Native American ceremony.
- - And much much more: Fine Art by Nial McGaughey and others.
Biodiesel/WVO demonstration by Jennie Gaio. Electrical Conduit creations
by Paddy. Energy saving bulbs by Elizabeth Vejar. Too much to list.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
interior decorating on homeless hillsides
What does interior decorating have to do with the homeless. Well, everything. For starters, dome village has been essentially evicted, auctioning their fiberglass walls and roofs on ebay to the highest bidder. I have attempted to live on a private feral hillside consisting of some almond and fruit trees, a dilapidated shack without any pathway for about 1/4 of an acre. While I was able to begining to make trails, irrigation canals, earthbag domes, bathrooms and kitchens, no sooner than a few days after i put up a tent, complaints from the property owners and neighbors claiming "it looks like a homeless village down there" or "there are clothes everywhere". Needless to say I was saddened to see how one temporary housing unit and a few garments can change perceptions so rapidly.
It was as much a blessing as it was a curse. A realization came to me that these concept eco utilities and food forests would better serve the community in a more accessible place to a diverse group of people who might find eco utilities useful, and be inspired to create or improve their own habitat. I realize that this is more easily said then done, and social trends can be difficult to predict or influence, but there is a need for examples. Several locations in urban areas of Los Angeles are being scouted and developed by a professional team of misfits to inject pro biotic energy into the air, water and soil.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Gaia Tourism
After 3 long weeks I am back in Los Angeles, California. After visiting cities, towns and hamlets up and down the west coast, using several different modes of transport, I have been reinvigorated with new ideas, old thoughts and good food. I quite a few projects lined up, both digital and reality based to keep me busy for the next 6 months. Some of the places I have visited;
Lost Valley
Portland
Sebastapol
Mt. Shasta
Permaculture Army
SF Critical Mass
Coyote Creek
san juan buatista
Cal Poly
Earthflow
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Mike Davis serves a cold dish of reality for Los Angelinos, who may have fears deeply rooted in superstition and hysteria, among other misconceptions. Examining the likes of good weather, bad disasters, and ugly suburbs mike manages to pen a sharp social history, and informed ecological study of one of his favorite topics and home, southern California. From letting Malibu burn to tenement apartments and the bubonic plague the stage is set for a revelation of fact and fiction as he examines hundreds of novels and dozens of movies of disaster in Los Angeles. Together with his other southern California literature, "Magical Urbanism" and "City of Quarts" he is on the way to map out a new history from the propagandistic textbooks barely suitable for toddlers picture books.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Permaculture Workshops
~www.sustainablehabitats.org~
~www.gaiajournal.blogspot.com~
Day one. Saturday march 3, 2007-
10am – 4pm - info@sustainablehabitats.org
This Free Introduction to Permaculture Class is an outline of the
science and art of Permaculture. It will define the term, its history,
its founders and the curriculum of the design course certificate, its
ethics and foundations. It will describe the benefits and show some of
the most important work undertaken by permaculture designers.Learn the
truth from one of America's leading experts on raw milk. Mark McAfee,
is regarded by many in the industry as the foremost expert in raw milk
safety and raw dairy product markets and technology.
Contact / rsvp . . . david . . . 323 . 667.1330
~
Day two. Saturday march 10, 2007
10 am – sunset - info@sustainablehabitats.org
Come to silverlake where a community food center is being created in a
residential neighborhood. Learn sheet mulching and planting techniques
and tips on garden design.
Contact / rsvp . . . david . . . 323 . 667 . 1330
~
Day three. Sunday march 11, 2007
Sunrise – sunset – taylorist@gmail.com
Join us in highland park for food and drinks, the basics of earth bag
construction techniques, native plants, swale building in an
educational setting. Bring potluck food, family, pets and any tools
and skills that you have.
Contact / rsvp . . . Taylor . . . 310 . 429 . 1283
~
Monday, February 19, 2007
Fruit Gathering, Food Not Bombs and Biofuels
http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.photo.gif
Last week I took students from Los Angeles Leadership Charter School walking in residental area of Silverlake mapped by Fallen Fruit and talked to them about indigenous culture in Los Angeles for the last 10,000 years. Although we ate no native plants, many students tasted kumquats for the first time. The field trip was coordinated by the nutrition network(a program from my former Community College, (Los Angeles Trade Tech). The students also toured Food Not Bombs facility, AgLago, and Lovecraft Biofuels.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Farmlab and Truth
Farmlab Schedule
Begining last December, Not A Cornfield inc. has initiated a "salon" with different activists and artists each week. The first was Fritz Heag, an artist worknig on a project to redesign typical lawns into "edible estates". Fritz gave an informed history of the from lawn begining with English nobilty and finding it's way into surburbia. He carefully selects applicants who will continue upkeep and are friendly with their neighbors. He plans to complete 7 "estates" over the next year, one in each of the 7 climate zones of the US.
Other speakers include Friends of the LA River, Ballona Creek project and most recently "Helen Samuels will discuss her experiences working with young people on collaborative cultural restoration projects, environmental justice issues, and related topics". This has been the most inspiring speaker thus far that i have seen here. Her ability to connect social and environmental issues so seamlessly, it was truly a breath of fresh air. Her visit also facilitated an interesting discussion about american youth.
Also this past Saturday, I was able to visit the LA Eco Village for a slideshow by Kat Steele, founder of the Urban Permaculture Guild, who was one of the one thousand people chosen by Al Gore to give his slideshow presentation to people all over the country, in effect being able to reach more people who did not see Al Gore's movie, and create a dialouge that would not often be present in a movie theater.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Gaia University Flyer
Click on the picture of this flyer to go to the http://www.flickr.com site. Download the medium size to print (you can do 2 per page that way).
Monday, September 04, 2006
Tijuana, the moderns, and hydrogen hybrid huxters
This week has been a cornacopia of different flavors. After a 3 day workshop in Tijuana ending Saturday, I was tired. On wendsday I attend a Permaculture potluck. We met at David Kahn's residence to witness the transformation of his front lawn (now front swales). I almost didn't recognize his house with the white picket fence removed. David's projects are coming along nicely, his website is { www.sustainablehabitats.org/ } My guacamole was sucessfull after a slight hesitation when I told people it was "gleaned" from the avocado tree on the corner of gennesee and lexington.
On Thurday I was asked to attend an architectural meeting for a new hybrid house adaptation made of recycled steel shipping containers and glass in the Venice Canals. After much debate some of the materials were finalized and are being submitted to the California Costal Commission. Architect Whitney Sanders and his firm create a very modern atmosphere using creative materials and techniques. { http://www.sander-architects.com/ }
That evening at the Peterson Automotive Museum I attended a event hosted by Honda, Toyota and Rio Hondo College. There were several hybrid, electric and hydrogen vehicles on display. Several professors from their Alternative Fuel Program gave well informed, but predictable talks on Bio Fuels, Electric and Natural Gas vehicles.
By the way, if hydrogen has gallons, they would be $9.00 each?
{ http://www.petersen.org/default.cfm?docid=814&EventID=23 }
On Thurday I was asked to attend an architectural meeting for a new hybrid house adaptation made of recycled steel shipping containers and glass in the Venice Canals. After much debate some of the materials were finalized and are being submitted to the California Costal Commission. Architect Whitney Sanders and his firm create a very modern atmosphere using creative materials and techniques. { http://www.sander-architects.com/ }
That evening at the Peterson Automotive Museum I attended a event hosted by Honda, Toyota and Rio Hondo College. There were several hybrid, electric and hydrogen vehicles on display. Several professors from their Alternative Fuel Program gave well informed, but predictable talks on Bio Fuels, Electric and Natural Gas vehicles.
By the way, if hydrogen has gallons, they would be $9.00 each?
{ http://www.petersen.org/default.cfm?docid=814&EventID=23 }
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Yucca, b(yikes) and Tofu
Saturday morning began with a Christopher Nygeres class on fibers and basketry. While such things are indeed labor intensive, they were not as difficult as I had previously imagined. Within a few hours of leisurely strolling through the San Gabriel Mountains a group of 10 had made baskets (or in some cases, drink coasters), in addition to making a brush and rope from yucca fibers. I also started my first fire without the use of fossil (or veggie oil) fuels. We used a flat piece of Willow, and a stripped branch, spinning the branch with a piece of leather to create a burning coal. Then added dry grass and blowing air on the coal. Couldn't have been more simple, (unless you use a lighter).
While I was waiting at the Art Center College of Design for my dad to get off work I had a peek into the exhibit b(yikes!)
June 25 — August 31, 2006
Art Center College of Design
1700 Lida Street
Pasadena, CA 91103
This exhibit is more of a road map to the most eccentric cycles ever created. Including 2 bikes that ride on water, one controlled by a goldfish and motion sensor, and one made almost completely of bamboo.
Summertime in Los Angeles is not known for it's mild temperatures and this season is no exception. Anyone at this weekend's tightly packaged tofu festival { http://www.tofufest.org/ } will attest that it was hot, and the festival was the coolest place to be in Little Tokyo, however, a little more shade trees would have been quite nice. There was quite a large turnout for this event on Sunday, since it's hip to be square there was a tofu eating contest, live performances and a cook off featuring celebrity iron chefs. If only local raw foods could get this much attention...
While I was waiting at the Art Center College of Design for my dad to get off work I had a peek into the exhibit b(yikes!)
June 25 — August 31, 2006
Art Center College of Design
1700 Lida Street
Pasadena, CA 91103
This exhibit is more of a road map to the most eccentric cycles ever created. Including 2 bikes that ride on water, one controlled by a goldfish and motion sensor, and one made almost completely of bamboo.
Summertime in Los Angeles is not known for it's mild temperatures and this season is no exception. Anyone at this weekend's tightly packaged tofu festival { http://www.tofufest.org/ } will attest that it was hot, and the festival was the coolest place to be in Little Tokyo, however, a little more shade trees would have been quite nice. There was quite a large turnout for this event on Sunday, since it's hip to be square there was a tofu eating contest, live performances and a cook off featuring celebrity iron chefs. If only local raw foods could get this much attention...
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Books
Ecovillages:A Practical Guide to Sustainable communities
by Jan Martin Bang
Ecovillages have arisen around the world in response to the social fragmentation of modern life and its alienation from nature. They provide a variety of ways of living in community with others and with nature and are linked worldwide through the Global Ecovillage Network. While interest in this approach to sustainable living is rapidly increasing, there is relatively little literature on the topic and none that brings the design principles of permaculture to bear on the successful design of these communities. Ecovillages explores the new departures in personal, social and ecological living represented by this phenomenon. This book explores the background and history to the ecovillages movement, and then provides a comprehensive manual for planning, establishing and maintaining a sustainable community, using a permaculture approach
The Natural Step for Communities
by Sarah James and Torbjorn Lahti
"resonates that any true sustainable grassroots revolution depends not just on inovation but democratic process"
Maps of the Mind
by Charles Hampden-Turner
An eclectic collection of charts and concepts that illuminate the mind and it's labyrinths.
Street Gallery: A Guide to 1000 Los Angeles Murals
Robin J. Dunitz
Old, but good reference to a wide range of painted, tile and mosaic murals, both interior and exterior, in Los Angeles County. See history through a populist lens and diverse communities in almost every decade for the last 100 years.
Civilizations: Culture, Ambition and the Transformation of Nature
by Filipe Fernandez-Armesto
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto theorizes a resolution to the nature of civilization, that societies become civilized by taming and warping nature. Exploring 17 habitats the book zeroes in on features that reflect the quality of life and source of survival in civilizations across ten millennia.
Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
by Toby Hemenway
Easy to use and understand tour through the permaculture garden.
Farms of Tommorrow Revisited: Community Supported Farms-Farm supported Communities
by Trauger Groh and Steve McFadden
Ten examples of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms with first-hand information and advice from the farmers themselves. Valuable to anybody interested in the CSA movement in the United States (or the world), or to farmers wishing to start their own CSA program. Helpful appendices on getting started, acquiring land, sample budgets, and typical CSA shares are included
Fostering Sustainable Behavior: an Introduction to community-based social marketing
by Doug McKenzie-Mohr and William Smith
Published in 1999, this 176-page book details how to uncover the barriers that inhibit individuals from engaging in sustainable behaviours. It provides a set of "tools" that social science research has demonstrated to be effective in fostering and maintaining behaviour change. The guide also details how to design and evaluate programmes. The strategies detailed here, and the methods suggested in order to implement and evaluate them, form the basis of an emerging field that the authors refer to as "community-based social marketing" (CBSM)
Sustainable Cities: Concepts and Strategies for Eco-city Development
Edited by B Walter, L Arkin, R Crenshaw
"Sustainable Cities shows how urban developement and the environmentcan co-exist in a sucessful partnership that will result in better air quality, cleaner water, more nutritious food, less commuting time, quieter and more nature oriented surroundings, a richer community life, less urban stress and improved health for the people who live and work in cities"
Second Nature: Adapting LA's Landscape for Sustainable Living
Edited by Patrick Condon and Stacy Moriarty
TreePeople's grand vision, with practical details for turning L.A. into a sustainable space to live. Site designs for single-family, multiplex, public, and commercial sites.
The First Angelinos by William McCawley
In a well-organized, clearly-written manner, William McCawley has taken the scraps out of the basket and fashioned a beautiful quilt that brings light and life to an oft-maligned people. He has done an amazing amount of research in putting together this volume. If "God is in the details", then it is the details of religion and custom that elevate a people from the mere "diggers" I learned about in school to an intelligent society well-adapted to its environment. This is an essential resource for anyone studying or teaching about California (including fourth-grade teachers), and invaluable to those who simply enjoy learning more about Southern California history.
Discovering Green Lanes
by Valerie Belsey
Valerie Belsey shows how to identify them on the ground, how to recognise them on antique maps, and how to locate documents and other records which will reveal who used them in past times. She also discusses their ecological value, the current controversy about who should be able to use them, and how to get involved in restoring and protecting lanes in your area. Discovering Green Lanes includes useful contact information, key dates in highway history and sample survey forms for recording wildlife in your local green lane.
Extreme Simplicity
by Christopher and Dellores Nyerges
The book describes their efforts to do "integral gardening" on every bit of usable land, to produce food (for people and wildlife), medicines, fragrance, shade, and useful tools. They describe how they went about raising earthworms, chickens, rabbits, bees, a goose, a pig, and their dogs in their typical back yard. The Nyerges' also take the reader along their journey to installing a wood fireplace, solar water heating, and a solar electric system. Though there is much "how to" in this book, it is full of personal stories and rich reading of the learning they experienced along the way. There is a section on recycling, and a unique section about the economics of self-reliance.
California's Utopian Colonies
by Robert V. Hine
Study originally published in 1953, in the years before the hippies and their experiments in communal living-focuses on Fountain Grove, the Theosophical colonies Point Loma and Temple Home, the Icaria Speranza Commune, Altruria, the Kaweah Co-operative commonweath and Llano del Rio. Includes a new introduction by the author, maps, illustrations, bibliographical note, index. xviii, 209 pp.
A Field Guide to Roadside Technology
by Ed Sobey
The author says he was inspired to write the book by the questions his kids asked him on drives and his not being able to provide answers. Sobey's book explains types of bridges, power plants and industrial sites, what all those covers and plates in the sidewalks and streets are, and what all those wires and devices hanging from utility poles do.
City of Quartz
by Mike Davis
Excellent source for political history of Los Angeles this century. Very sensitive to social trends and problems. Well written, with lots of informationthat is relevant today. Also bought Magical Urbanism by the same author but have not read it yet. If you have let me know if you like it or not.
Sustainability on Campus
by Peggy Barlett and Geoffrey Chase
Good source for students who are interested in making changes on campus. Have not finished yet, but looking forward to it. Published by MIT press, which is a pretty good source. Stories about many colleges and how they went about helping some of the ecosystems on and off campus.
Reefer Madness
by Eric Schlosser
I really enjoyed they way this book is formatted with only three main chapters. They all seem disconnected at first but he really pulls them together well. It centers around the black market economy and how it is connected to many different, obvious and not so obvious areas. Fast Food Nation, the authors first book, is also very well written.
Crossing the Rubicon: The decline of American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil
by Michael Ruppert
The introductory chapters include the author's expereince as a police officer witnessing CIA, LAPD and gang involvement in drug trafficing. And how those activities relate and connect to "terrorist" organizations. Well put together timelines of nine eleven and the activities of our white house employees confirm foul play, and constant and consistant perculiarities and incongruencies of different branches of governement were astonishing.
by Jan Martin Bang
Ecovillages have arisen around the world in response to the social fragmentation of modern life and its alienation from nature. They provide a variety of ways of living in community with others and with nature and are linked worldwide through the Global Ecovillage Network. While interest in this approach to sustainable living is rapidly increasing, there is relatively little literature on the topic and none that brings the design principles of permaculture to bear on the successful design of these communities. Ecovillages explores the new departures in personal, social and ecological living represented by this phenomenon. This book explores the background and history to the ecovillages movement, and then provides a comprehensive manual for planning, establishing and maintaining a sustainable community, using a permaculture approach
The Natural Step for Communities
by Sarah James and Torbjorn Lahti
"resonates that any true sustainable grassroots revolution depends not just on inovation but democratic process"
Maps of the Mind
by Charles Hampden-Turner
An eclectic collection of charts and concepts that illuminate the mind and it's labyrinths.
Street Gallery: A Guide to 1000 Los Angeles Murals
Robin J. Dunitz
Old, but good reference to a wide range of painted, tile and mosaic murals, both interior and exterior, in Los Angeles County. See history through a populist lens and diverse communities in almost every decade for the last 100 years.
Civilizations: Culture, Ambition and the Transformation of Nature
by Filipe Fernandez-Armesto
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto theorizes a resolution to the nature of civilization, that societies become civilized by taming and warping nature. Exploring 17 habitats the book zeroes in on features that reflect the quality of life and source of survival in civilizations across ten millennia.
Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
by Toby Hemenway
Easy to use and understand tour through the permaculture garden.
Farms of Tommorrow Revisited: Community Supported Farms-Farm supported Communities
by Trauger Groh and Steve McFadden
Ten examples of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms with first-hand information and advice from the farmers themselves. Valuable to anybody interested in the CSA movement in the United States (or the world), or to farmers wishing to start their own CSA program. Helpful appendices on getting started, acquiring land, sample budgets, and typical CSA shares are included
Fostering Sustainable Behavior: an Introduction to community-based social marketing
by Doug McKenzie-Mohr and William Smith
Published in 1999, this 176-page book details how to uncover the barriers that inhibit individuals from engaging in sustainable behaviours. It provides a set of "tools" that social science research has demonstrated to be effective in fostering and maintaining behaviour change. The guide also details how to design and evaluate programmes. The strategies detailed here, and the methods suggested in order to implement and evaluate them, form the basis of an emerging field that the authors refer to as "community-based social marketing" (CBSM)
Sustainable Cities: Concepts and Strategies for Eco-city Development
Edited by B Walter, L Arkin, R Crenshaw
"Sustainable Cities shows how urban developement and the environmentcan co-exist in a sucessful partnership that will result in better air quality, cleaner water, more nutritious food, less commuting time, quieter and more nature oriented surroundings, a richer community life, less urban stress and improved health for the people who live and work in cities"
Second Nature: Adapting LA's Landscape for Sustainable Living
Edited by Patrick Condon and Stacy Moriarty
TreePeople's grand vision, with practical details for turning L.A. into a sustainable space to live. Site designs for single-family, multiplex, public, and commercial sites.
The First Angelinos by William McCawley
In a well-organized, clearly-written manner, William McCawley has taken the scraps out of the basket and fashioned a beautiful quilt that brings light and life to an oft-maligned people. He has done an amazing amount of research in putting together this volume. If "God is in the details", then it is the details of religion and custom that elevate a people from the mere "diggers" I learned about in school to an intelligent society well-adapted to its environment. This is an essential resource for anyone studying or teaching about California (including fourth-grade teachers), and invaluable to those who simply enjoy learning more about Southern California history.
Discovering Green Lanes
by Valerie Belsey
Valerie Belsey shows how to identify them on the ground, how to recognise them on antique maps, and how to locate documents and other records which will reveal who used them in past times. She also discusses their ecological value, the current controversy about who should be able to use them, and how to get involved in restoring and protecting lanes in your area. Discovering Green Lanes includes useful contact information, key dates in highway history and sample survey forms for recording wildlife in your local green lane.
Extreme Simplicity
by Christopher and Dellores Nyerges
The book describes their efforts to do "integral gardening" on every bit of usable land, to produce food (for people and wildlife), medicines, fragrance, shade, and useful tools. They describe how they went about raising earthworms, chickens, rabbits, bees, a goose, a pig, and their dogs in their typical back yard. The Nyerges' also take the reader along their journey to installing a wood fireplace, solar water heating, and a solar electric system. Though there is much "how to" in this book, it is full of personal stories and rich reading of the learning they experienced along the way. There is a section on recycling, and a unique section about the economics of self-reliance.
California's Utopian Colonies
by Robert V. Hine
Study originally published in 1953, in the years before the hippies and their experiments in communal living-focuses on Fountain Grove, the Theosophical colonies Point Loma and Temple Home, the Icaria Speranza Commune, Altruria, the Kaweah Co-operative commonweath and Llano del Rio. Includes a new introduction by the author, maps, illustrations, bibliographical note, index. xviii, 209 pp.
A Field Guide to Roadside Technology
by Ed Sobey
The author says he was inspired to write the book by the questions his kids asked him on drives and his not being able to provide answers. Sobey's book explains types of bridges, power plants and industrial sites, what all those covers and plates in the sidewalks and streets are, and what all those wires and devices hanging from utility poles do.
City of Quartz
by Mike Davis
Excellent source for political history of Los Angeles this century. Very sensitive to social trends and problems. Well written, with lots of informationthat is relevant today. Also bought Magical Urbanism by the same author but have not read it yet. If you have let me know if you like it or not.
Sustainability on Campus
by Peggy Barlett and Geoffrey Chase
Good source for students who are interested in making changes on campus. Have not finished yet, but looking forward to it. Published by MIT press, which is a pretty good source. Stories about many colleges and how they went about helping some of the ecosystems on and off campus.
Reefer Madness
by Eric Schlosser
I really enjoyed they way this book is formatted with only three main chapters. They all seem disconnected at first but he really pulls them together well. It centers around the black market economy and how it is connected to many different, obvious and not so obvious areas. Fast Food Nation, the authors first book, is also very well written.
Crossing the Rubicon: The decline of American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil
by Michael Ruppert
The introductory chapters include the author's expereince as a police officer witnessing CIA, LAPD and gang involvement in drug trafficing. And how those activities relate and connect to "terrorist" organizations. Well put together timelines of nine eleven and the activities of our white house employees confirm foul play, and constant and consistant perculiarities and incongruencies of different branches of governement were astonishing.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
South Central Farm and Zach De La Rocha
| A short music video of Zack De La Rocha, Son De Madera and Quetzal at the south central farm. Music recorded by Sherman Austin. Video of concert and eviction by Taylor Arneson http://www.southcentralfarmers.com/ http://www.southcentralfarmers.org/ | |
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Wild Foods, Electric Cars and Land Use Interpertation
A week ago this very Sunday evening, I was watching {"The New World" (really bad)} on this very laptop, in my tent, on the sidewalk adjacent to The South Central Farm. Imagining all that has happened on this continent from Columbus to Villarigosa sends through my body. Many changes both for the good and bad, where do we go from here? Into the acceptance of a fascist "New World Order" ? Into the creation and maintenance of a new economy of nature? Or are we stuck somewhere in between. Do you know what i mean?
In the morning I woke up early to the sounds of an industrial machine, know as the Alameda Corridor. http://www.acta.org/
As I left downtown for the inland mountain areas of Pasadena, I wonder what i will discover today. I found Christopher Nyerges
{ http://www.christophernyerges.com/ } in the parking lot a few minutes early. We were going on a wild foods hike with a group of summer camp kids near the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratories { http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ }. Here we were able to identify several edibles varieties of plants including dandelions, miners lettuce and apazote. We found cultivated varieties of Fig, Zucchini, Tomatoes and wheat growing wild near the water. We also found powerful medicines used by the native tribes of southern California and elsewhere. Jimson weed is a powerful narcotic that has killed and hospitalized youth experimenting with it's powerful compounds. Also South American Tree Tobacco, a common invasive in southern California brought accidentally through trading. It contains roughly 100 times more nicotine than the common manufactured cigarette.
Friday afternoon Russell Sydney { http://www.rsydney.com/stc.html } and I went up to Santa Barbara for the premiere of the Movie "Who killed the Electric Car?" { http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/ } a fascinating look at the political climate behind the electric car production in California. We got a chance to tell folks in Santa Barbara about the Sustainable Transport Club and also to meet the owner of the Santa Barbara Electric Bike Company { http://www.sbebc.com/ }.
Saturday I visited the Center for Land Use and Interpretation { http://www.clui.org/ } . I have always wanted to visit, and my intuition was right. I think they are on the right track for illuminating industrial environmental concerns from a very professional and well informed point of view.
In the morning I woke up early to the sounds of an industrial machine, know as the Alameda Corridor. http://www.acta.org/
As I left downtown for the inland mountain areas of Pasadena, I wonder what i will discover today. I found Christopher Nyerges
{ http://www.christophernyerges.com/ } in the parking lot a few minutes early. We were going on a wild foods hike with a group of summer camp kids near the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratories { http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ }. Here we were able to identify several edibles varieties of plants including dandelions, miners lettuce and apazote. We found cultivated varieties of Fig, Zucchini, Tomatoes and wheat growing wild near the water. We also found powerful medicines used by the native tribes of southern California and elsewhere. Jimson weed is a powerful narcotic that has killed and hospitalized youth experimenting with it's powerful compounds. Also South American Tree Tobacco, a common invasive in southern California brought accidentally through trading. It contains roughly 100 times more nicotine than the common manufactured cigarette.
Friday afternoon Russell Sydney { http://www.rsydney.com/stc.html } and I went up to Santa Barbara for the premiere of the Movie "Who killed the Electric Car?" { http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/ } a fascinating look at the political climate behind the electric car production in California. We got a chance to tell folks in Santa Barbara about the Sustainable Transport Club and also to meet the owner of the Santa Barbara Electric Bike Company { http://www.sbebc.com/ }.
Saturday I visited the Center for Land Use and Interpretation { http://www.clui.org/ } . I have always wanted to visit, and my intuition was right. I think they are on the right track for illuminating industrial environmental concerns from a very professional and well informed point of view.
Film Screening
::FILM SCREENING & "100 Mile" POTLUCK::
Join Path to Freedom and Messiah Lutheran Church/Iglesia Luterana Mesias for a screening of...
THE GREAT WARMING (80 min) -- Narrated by Alanis Morisette and Keanu Reeves
It's more than just the heat....
We are living at the dawn of a new epoch. Year by year, degree by degree, Earth is growing warmer... a legacy of the Industrial Revolution, population growth, and our addiction to technology, speed and power.
Just as other generations spoke of a Great Plague and a Great Depression, our children will be compelled to endure The Great Warming - and find a way to conquer its consequences.
When: Sunday, August 13th
Time: 6:00 pm
Where: Messiah Lutheran Church is located just down the road from Path to Freedom at 570 E. Orange Grove Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91104, on the southwest corner of Orange Grove Blvd and Madison Avenue.
Cost: $5 - $15 suggested donation / Space is limited so please rsvp
RSVP at http://www.pathtofreedom.com/calendar
{ if you decide not to attend, please be considerate, and send us an email informing us of your cancellation}
Join Path to Freedom and Messiah Lutheran Church/Iglesia Luterana Mesias for a screening of...
THE GREAT WARMING (80 min) -- Narrated by Alanis Morisette and Keanu Reeves
It's more than just the heat....
We are living at the dawn of a new epoch. Year by year, degree by degree, Earth is growing warmer... a legacy of the Industrial Revolution, population growth, and our addiction to technology, speed and power.
Just as other generations spoke of a Great Plague and a Great Depression, our children will be compelled to endure The Great Warming - and find a way to conquer its consequences.
When: Sunday, August 13th
Time: 6:00 pm
Where: Messiah Lutheran Church is located just down the road from Path to Freedom at 570 E. Orange Grove Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91104, on the southwest corner of Orange Grove Blvd and Madison Avenue.
Cost: $5 - $15 suggested donation / Space is limited so please rsvp
RSVP at http://www.pathtofreedom.com/calendar
{ if you decide not to attend, please be considerate, and send us an email informing us of your cancellation}
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