Nice paper! I didn't watch the video, though... I used to love watching TED Talks, but have been avoiding them lately. (I think, probably, maybe, because of a Hubski post ;p) Anyway, I've always had an interest in permaculture and love the zoning idea for cities; it just makes sense to me. Especially when I think about cities like Detroit -- imagine taking all those empty buildings and returning them to farmland. Blocks and blocks (you'd have to clear away a lot of stuff, of course) Lot of possibilities, imo, especially since nobody seems to want anything to do with it (haven't checked up on it in a bit, so I'm only assuming) Or, honestly, it could easily be scaled down to Town-size; most rural folks (like myself) I know already grow their own foodstuffs; permaculture right up to the town limits and even spilling over into parks. It's a lovely idea and I applaud you for writing about it - gets me motivated and helps idea spin. I'd love to hear more ideas and see more plans! -hats
Yes, the TED talk is misleading anyway. He never says it, but it makes you feel ok to eat meat. It just says that rotational grazing in arid areas, stops erosion. The only extra cows raised, should be eaten by the starving people in those places. It took a few days to clarify those points. I tried living in Detroit for a year and a half. My teachers said, not to eat anything out of the ground, only plants grown in raised beds. I don't understand chemically how hugel beds, stay productive. A respected person told me to dump human urine on them to replace nitrogen, used by the decomposing wood. I don't know what direction the government is taking things. They seem to want to clear it out more. Really sad. There is an assessment period in permaculture, where you do nothing until you understand the systems in place. I was done before then. I'm too shy, people thought I was stuck up. Pleanty of people who don't have anything, but their own interests in mind, have done better there, because they have more social skills. It is also too depressing for me, and I need access to basic government hep.