Permaculture Blog

http://www.kcet.org/news/redefine/rewild/aquatic/report-sacramento-delta-no-longer-a-delta.html Well I haven’t posted here in a while but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been active. I have continued to work with wonderful people and permaculture. I saw this article the other day. I have been saying for a while that we have destroyed 97% of our freshwater wetlands. The remaining 3% is the area the article is talking about. Oh my. I am frustrated and literally angry at the water companies desire to sell more water. If water had cost more, and did cost more for the water gluttons of the world primarily the US we could solve our water issues. With the reasonable amount of 50 gallons per person per day as free with no base charge we would not hurt the poor! We could then develop a per capita multiple tier rate system with more than three silly levels that more accurately reflected the use of water over 50 gallons a day . We would not hurt the poorer segments of our society, and we could easily, EASily, EASILY make the water gluttons of the world pay for their water use. Why in the world should I, and all the other non golfers be forced to massively supplement the golf courses? We could ensure that our fat, lazy water companies fixed their infrastructure and we would not be devastating the environment as we are. I sadly believe that we as a society are simply too lazy in some respects. I love high tech, I love rockets, but saving water isn’t as sexy as watching a rocket ship launch. Bob http://www.PuraVidaAquatic.com

Well it seems like ages since I posted but part of that time I have been working on a talk to try to give an overview and perspective of Permaculture and Microbiology. The flyer is attached below. And here is a link. http://www.meetup.com/SanDiegoPermaculture/events/206740302/ Bob310 429 8477 http://www.PuraVidaAquatic.com

http://thespacereporter.com/2014/05/the-clandestine-colonization-of-microbes-in-space/ Sigh! Wow! It would “create new life” No, it will contaminate someone else’s planet with organisms from our world . We have the potential to completely destroy someone else’s ecosystem. We will never know if mars’, or Europa’s life was very similar to ours and we destroyed it. Joe I think this is exactly what we were talking about before. Are we willing to put everything that we intend to physically land on another planet or moon into a sterile nutrient bath and then after a week on the table drink the results? If the rover or whatever is truly sterile nothing will grow and we’ll have some nice warm yummy soup to drink. If it was not sterile — maybe it’s what we deserve.

http://www.PuraVidaAquatic.com

That was the opening line for my original San Diego Permaculture – Facebook post. It then continued with the following quote.

For us, post-fire logging is the last and worst thing you should ever do in a forest,

said Chad Hanson, a forest ecologist and founder of the John Muir Project, an environmentalist group.

The scientific community is so strongly against this.

Intense fires create snag forests that are three times as rare as living, old-growth forests,

he said.

Wood-boring beetles lay eggs in the dead trees, spawning larvae that become food for the woodpeckers. Flowering plants and shrubs sprouting on the forest floor attract small, flying insects for bats and other animals that the spotted owl swoops in to eat,

Read the whole story here:

http://www.kswo.com/story/26183850/replant-after-wildfire-or-let-nature-take-over

And instead of a virtually trivial but feel good action such as “liking” this …. How about send a request that the loggers stay out of public owned natural habitats here:
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/contactus/national/contact/feedback/conservation/

You could copy and paste some of the following… I support Chad Hanson when he says: “post-fire logging is the last and worst thing you should ever do in a forest,” Please do not allow logging in the burned areas of Stanislaus National Forest, and Yosemite National Park’s backcountry, or any burned over forest habitat. Thank you …

IMO Permaculture is also about protecting areas of our environment other than our immediate yards.

Isn’t that what permanent sustainability means!

Bob

State May Declare Unique NorCal Fish Threatened http://www.kcet.org/news/redefine/rewild/fish/state-may-declare-unique-norcal-fish-threatened.html A quote from the above article – And the lake’s fringing wetlands, which provide crucial habitat for juvenile hitch, have been reduced as well, from about 9,000 acres in the 19th Century to less than 1,500 acres by the mid-1970s. Much of that converted wetland became farm fields, where irrigated crops …. Can’t be all the pesticides killing the microbiology of the remaining wetlands. You know all that icky stuff that is actually the basis of the food chain? Bob 310 429 8477 http://www.PuraVidaAquatic.com

I bought some milkweed seeds from a new seed company. And _again_ they didn’t grow. They also obviously had a fungus associated with them. As soon as I put them on damp soil, damp paper towel, anything damp the fungus just went crazy, and the seeds got all fuzzy.

But it started me thinking about how some seeds produce biologically active compounds and even anti-microbial agents. Oregano is a good example.

And I thought maybe that is why companion planting does so well at times. The antimicrobials and beneficial compounds produced by one plant benefit the second.

I fully believe that given enough time and research, we will be able to figure out compounds like that and resolve a lot of the phenomenology that is currently in place.

Let’s all jump up and down now and scream and panic. Let’s panic and let CalFire have so much more power to tell homeowners to spray more Roundup and butcher more ecology. Like they told me. They told me to cut off the branches of old growth oak trees to 10 feet (so that there will not be good shade underneath.) Without shading …. The weeds will get more light and grow faster, but the ground will dry out faster. Then the weeds will all die faster. Oh, but wait we can pour Roundup all over and keep the weeds down the permaculture way. Hey let’s just automatically do whatever Calfire asks and cut down all the old oaks on a _north_ facing slope. Cut down old oaks that have not burned for 400 500 years or more. Oaks that, in the middle of August, have miners lettuce growing underneath them. (a shade loving, moisture loving plant ) Because with the fires we have just had those 500 yr old oaks are now magically a fire hazard and will burn. In Calfire’s opinion — tomorrow. With the oaks gone we can …. Pour more roundup around, plant iceplant, and make California more beautiful. Even better yet let’s just pave over all of California. That would be the right and safe way wouldn’t it. Not criticizing the fire fighters themselves who do an amazing job. But this is analogous to criticizing the military for not supplying appropriate battle armor without being accused of attacking the troops. My heart goes out to the transient who was killed, and all of the people displaced, and property damage in these last fires. But think people! Do not let Calfire feed the flames of panic so we destroy even more native habitat. The animals are having a tough time with the fires too and Cal Fire instead of demanding a 50-foot defensible Zone is now talking a 100 ft zone. They are literally demanding that the owner rip out native habitat. This the is not the permaculture way. Does Cal Fire have any checks and balances? Are they working with any kind of ecological preservation personnel or organization? What habitat organization is cal fire working with? what environmental organization and do those organizations have any experience with micro habitat and micro environments. As much as california likes to claim have no money we need to have somebody with ecological and micro habitat knowledge to provide consultation to homeowners to protect our environment. Bob 310 429 8477 http://www.PuraVidaAquatic.com

http://www.thewestsidestory.net/2014/07/09/14128/bird-population-decline-likely-due-controversial-pesticide/ “researchers noticed that in areas where surface-water concentrations is high and a certain neonicotinoid called imidacloprid is being sprayed, bird populations are dropping at about 3.5 percent a year.” Hmmmmmm it couldn’t be that they are neurotoxins

Permaculture is about sustainability. And in my opinion cruel and unusual treatment of animals should not be sustainable. So I have recently become a vegetarian based on how poorly – carelessly – thoughtlessly – terribly – most food animals are treated. I tell you I saw a video of animals being “gathered” up, and I wouldn’t treat my dirty laundry like that. But I used to enjoy certain dairy products and I recently came across a blog that had a recipe for vegan butter. check out … http://www.vegetariat.com/2014/07/making-ethical-butter/ I have had some, and its very, very good!

I took these pictures the other day

and ended up sending them to Miranda Kennedy, who is in charge of the Finch Frolic Garden Facebook web pages. https://m.facebook.com/pages/Finch-Frolic-Garden/251343911703713?_rdr She sent me the following wonderful response.

> The fly is definitely a hover fly (Family Syrphidae), but not like any other I’ve seen, with those exotic striped eyes. Truly exotic, because it’s actually an African (& Mediterranean and Middle Eastern) species that colonized Florida and was first recorded in California in 2006. It’s Eristalinus taeniops, known as the Band-eyed Drone Fly or apparently ‘Mosca Tigre’ or Tiger Fly. They’re pollen and nectar eaters like other syrphids and therefore pollinators. Syrphids purposefully mimic bees and wasps for the possible protection. What’s really fun about the drone flies is that their larvae are called “rat-tailed maggots” because of the long skinny tubes projecting from the back of their abdomens which lets them breathe underwater (they are aquatic). Fun. :D

And that’s apparently why it was where it was. It was exploring my constructed wetland. Viva le diversity.