BBC - Devon - Farming - Report on the Future of Farming and Food is published
Is Sustainable Agriculture an Oxymoron?
Agriculture: Unsustainable Resource Depletion Began 10,000 Years Ago
This is a guest post by Peter Salonius, a Canadian soil microbiologist.
According to Peter, humanity has probably been in overshoot of the Earth's carrying capacity since it abandoned hunter gathering in favor of crop cultivation (~ 8,000 BCE). The problem is that soil needs tightly woven natural ecosystems to properly recycle nutrients and prevent soil erosion. Earth's inhabitants have devised a whole series of approaches to increase the amount of food that can produced, starting first with hand-cultivation and culminating in the last century with the widespread use of fossil fuels. These approaches strip the soil of its nutrients and cause soil erosion. Even Permaculture cannot be expected to overcome these problems. According to the paper, eventually, to reach sustainability, the world will need to reduce its population to that of the hunter-gathers, and go back to living on the resources the natural ecosystems can produce.
According to Peter, humanity has probably been in overshoot of the Earth's carrying capacity since it abandoned hunter gathering in favor of crop cultivation (~ 8,000 BCE). The problem is that soil needs tightly woven natural ecosystems to properly recycle nutrients and prevent soil erosion. Earth's inhabitants have devised a whole series of approaches to increase the amount of food that can produced, starting first with hand-cultivation and culminating in the last century with the widespread use of fossil fuels. These approaches strip the soil of its nutrients and cause soil erosion. Even Permaculture cannot be expected to overcome these problems. According to the paper, eventually, to reach sustainability, the world will need to reduce its population to that of the hunter-gathers, and go back to living on the resources the natural ecosystems can produce.
The Oil Drum | Agriculture: Unsustainable Resource Depletion Began 10,000 Years Ago
... but actually the whole notion of 'civilization' is unsustainable:
Is Civilization A Universally Bad Idea? : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR
Endgame (Derrick Jensen books) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Against Civilization: Readings and Reflections: Amazon.co.uk: John Zerzan: Books
Rewilding bulletin: Civilization and Madness: An Interview with Zerzan and Jensen on Mental Health
Dartmoor:
The prehistoric settlers began clearing the forest, and established the first farming communities. Fire was the main method of clearing land, creating pasture and swidden types of fire-fallow farmland. Areas less suited for farming tended to be burned for livestock grazing. Over the centuries these Neolithic practices greatly expanded the upland moors, and contributed to the acidification of the soil and the accumulation of peat and bogs.[16]
Dartmoor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Why Britain's barren uplands have farming subsidies to blame | George Monbiot | Environment | theguardian.com
Easter Island:
End of Easter Island - YouTube
What Happened On Easter Island — A New (Even Scarier) Scenario : Krulwich Wonders... : NPR
An interesting, traditional alternative perhaps:
Transhumance today:
Beautiful Swiss Cows Ascend the Alps -- Alp Auffahrt - YouTube
Transhumance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heidi - YouTube
.
.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment