What is permaculture? (Suggestions)
Permaculture is the way that we interact with the earth. Bill Mollison coined the term in the 1970's, joins the two terms "permanent" and "agriculture".
"The only ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own existence and that of our children.” ―Bill Mollison
Permaculture does not only relate to taking care of the earth, but also taking care of ourselves and the people around us. There are three ethics of permaculture.
In the world of technology, it becomes difficult to meet these ethics. Technology has made consumption so much easier, can it cause not only harm to mental wellbeing, but physical health.
12 permaculture principles
The 12 permacultre principles were put in place in order to...
By implementing these principles to everyday life, we are able to live more fulfilled.
Ways we can use permaculture to help with mental and Physical health
Screen time dominates a large portion of our day. Time Magazine reported that in 2020, adults used their phones about 28.5 hours a week. That average increased 60-80% since the pandemic.
Observe and Interact
Interact with the space and people around you. The world does not only exist through the screen of your phone. Here are things you can do in your free time. It is recommended that you spend 3-4 hours not looking at a screen daily. It only takes 21 days to create a habit!
- Spend time with friends or family
- Clean or organize your space
- Go on a walk or bike ride
- Volunteer for your community
- Paint or craft
- Solve a puzzle
- Get ahead of work or priorities
- Meditate or yoga
- Write in a journal
- Listen to a new album all the way through
- Explore your area
Obtain a yield
When we portray a yield, we are providing ourselves of what is needed in the moment. That could be sleep, eating healthy, and caring for your mental health. The most basic example is that if you need food, grow a garden.
Another part of this principle is that when you are plentiful, and have surpassed your needed supply, share. Through creation, we can inspire others, while sharing to friends, family, and community members.
Active Health reported side effects to a device addiction. The list includes...
- Attention inefficiency
- Bodily aches and pains, especially in the neck and back area
- Dry and tired eyes due to inadequate sleep
- Awareness and guilt
- Constant need to be on phone when in company
Here are some new yields that you can obtain, then share with others.
- Creating and maintaining a morning and evening routine
- Show off art or creations that you do to alleviate stress (photography, knitting, painting).
- Create a habit tracker or to-do list, and show off the work put in
By sharing your progress, knowledge, or talent, you may inspire other people to make a change in their lives.
Apply self-regulation and accept feedback
Our phones allow us to have everything at our fingertips, which cause an unhealthy dependency. It is important to set a consistent limit, especially during the moments that count the most.
Studies say that the perfect limit for social media is 30-60 minutes a day. It is also beneficial to take a break from your screen every 20 minutes to decrease eye strain. Keeping up with these tips may aid in your mental and physical health.
For example, staying away from the blue light on your phone before you go to bed, will help you sleep better.
Use and value diversity
In 2020, Forbes reported that a study found that "anxiety and depression symptoms have more than tripled in Black and Latino communities this year, spiking after the murder of George Floyd". The article goes on to say that, "employees from diverse backgrounds can face lack of representation, micro-aggressions, unconscious bias, and other stressors that impact their mental health and psychological safety at work.”
It is important to fill the spaces you occupy, who carry different perspectives and ideas.
Design for our culture
Basically speaking, technology designs for culture tend to look like social media, video games, devices themselves for communication, machinery for agriculture, and even transportation. This section will go over the negatives, positives and potential solutions for technology meant for the culture of humans.
Navigating through the world of technology
Limit Screen Time
One solution would be to monitor your time on your smart phone or laptop or iPad/tablet. It's important to limit your time on these devices because there are harmful affects of staring at a screen for too long, namely, blue light.
2. Storage is Everything
It's also a good idea to use what are called, all-in-one apps. If you have a ton of information, it's easier and better to store it all in one place. I.e, putting all your emails into one app like your smartphone's email app or if you have multiple gmail accounts, log into all of them on the singular app.
3. Step away from the Screen
What's wrong with technology?
While online, people often have to use non-verbal cues when communicating with others which can lead to miscommunication and offenses. Talking to people online and not offline, can create strains on in person relationships, as well. These offline relationships can become fragile and tense.
Some negatives according to Richa Aggarwal on LinkedIn, are (of course) lack of quality time, limited outdoor activities, possible divorce, and setting a bad example. Naturally, spending too much time on devices and not engaging with your family members, can lead to some strains in relationships. And if parents let their children focus in on their mobile devices, or even television, they aren't going to want to be very active outdoors or in any exercise activity. Richa says this about technology leading to divorce, "There is a debate on internet addictions and people assert that some websites contribute to cheating on others which often leads to divorce." She also mentions that families sitting around watching television can lead to setting bad examples. She leads this to children being overly exposed to violence and sexual activities. It probably is best to censor certain shows or movies to a certain age where their children are mature enough to handle such topics and genres.
What is right about technology
Of course, there have also been good advancements in technology over the years.
Farming is now mechanized and automated which makes it easier for farmers to grow and harvest crops quicker.
Even though I mentioned excessive online use and communicating through the internet, there are some positives to it. Forbes documents, "[c]ommunication, enriched with online channels, video calling, and 5G technologies, has reached new heights, connecting people from all corners of the globe."
Because of Covid outbreaks in 2020, technology advanced the classroom. Online class over zoom made it possible to still allow children and young adults to continue their education despite the barrier. Even as classes can be performed in person now, these online classes still allow for more flexible learning.
Design for our Earth
Technology revolving around our planet, namely the Economy; Ecology; Resilience; and Regeneration, has come a long way since the beginning of time. We've gone from the discovery of fire to the invention of the wheel all the way to adding four to a moving vehicle which lead to other variants of travel. Of course there's the internet and technology you can hold in your hand. As with all things, there are pros and cons to technology, especially regarding planet Earth. In this section, we will discuss the positives, negatives, and of course solutions to better technology for our home in deep space.
How can we help the earth?
The GSA, U.S General Services Administration, has come up with a few design principles of non-renewable resources; to minimize waste; and to create healthy, productive environments such as:
- Optimize site potential
- Minimize non-renewable energy consumption
- Use environmentally preferable products
- protect and conserve water
- enhance indoor environmental quality
- optimize operational and maintenance practices
There was an executive order in 2018, Executive Order 13834, that regarded Efficient Federal Operations and superseded Executive Orders 13423, 13514, and 13693. The GSA goes on to say...
"It directs federal agencies to manage their buildings, vehicles, and overall operations to optimize energy and environmental performance, reduce waste, and cut costs. It calls for agencies to cost-effectively meet goals including:
- Achieve and maintain annual reductions in building energy use, and implement energy efficiency measures that reduce costs
- Reduce potable and non-potable water consumption, and comply with stormwater management requirements
- Ensure that new construction and major renovations conform to applicable building energy efficiency requirements and sustainable design principles".
What can we work towards helping?
Although we cannot save the earth in a day, there are things that we can do to make it last.
We can dispose of our waste better
Recycling goes a long way:
At least 75% of the waste Americans dispose of could have been recycled, according to ecofriend.com. Plastic bottles, paper, cans, foil, glass and electronics can be recycled.
In need of a green thumb, try composting:
Composting is when we recycle what we do not eat. Food scraps could either be donated or could be fed to earth worms to create organic compost. This helps cut down on our carbon footprint.
Follow More Permaculture Principles
There are other permaculture principles that relate to the earth other than "Obtain a yield".
Catch and Store Energy: The way that energy can be used to benefit us. For example, we can make use of solar or water energy in a number of ways. In a way that benefits us, would be to use it to power wind turbines.
Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services: Encourages is to make the best use of supplies provided by nature in order to reduce the need to buy what we do not need.
Produce No Waste: The way that we can produce items, but waste nothing in the process. The best example is the "circle of life." Everything serves a purpose. Mufasa explains this principle perfectly in The Lion King.
Aim to fix what is broken
There is a lot of change occurring with the health of the earth. The earth's climate has been acting peculiarly with the change of the seasons. It is up to us to recognize the issues we are experience and aim to do better.
In November of 2021, President Joe Biden signed a $1 trillian infrastructure bill that would aid with climate change. CNBC reported that the year prior, a record number of disasters caused $95 billion in damages.
The bill's benefits:
- Help provide clean energy
- Create a national network of charging stations for electric vehicles
- Expand access to clean drinking water
Resources
https://www.tenthacrefarm.com/what-is-permaculture/
https://nmdprojects.net/teaching_resources/12_permaculture_principles.html
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-use-12-principles-permaculture-grow-sustainable-organizations
https://bvtack.com/31446/feature/30-things-to-do-instead-of-looking-at-your-phone/#:~:text=30%20things%20to%20do%20instead%20of%20looking%20at,clothes%208%20Take%20a%20yoga%20class%20More%20items
https://permacultureprinciples.com/ethics/fair-share/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrealoubier/2021/06/01/is-society-moving-in-the-right-direction-with-technology-rapidly-taking-over-the-world/?sh=1059c31c7c09
https://www.forbes.com/sites/onemind/2020/07/14/the-essential-role-of-mental-health-for-a-diverse-inclusive-workplace/?sh=6687e3aeac4d
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pros-cons-technology-family-life-richa-aggarwal-richa-aggarwal-
https://time.com/6174510/how-much-screen-time-is-too-much/
https://permacultureprinciples.com/permaculture-principles/_5/
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/15/biden-signs-infrastructure-bill-how-it-fights-climate-change.html
https://www.gsa.gov/real-estate/design-excellence-program/design-excellence-program-overview/sustainability/sustainable-design
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