Page 10 - the NOISE December 2012

>> PEaKS, CONTINUED FrOM P. 8
it comes to Arizona Snowbowl and snowmak- ing with reclaimed wastewater. In other parts of the nation, snowmaking with reclaimed wastewater has been used as disposal and stor- age of treated sewage, never as full-immersion recreation.
Indeed, full-immersion recreation is strongly discouraged by ADEQ, as is witnessed through- out the state in postings along lagoons and ponds containing the substance. ADEQ forbids the use of reclaimed wastewater in swimming pools or in potable water reservoirs.
In its 2001 Rulemaking, ADEQ in fact never specifically ruled that snowmaking with re- claimed wastewater could be used for winter recreation, but merely for “commercial” uses, along with dairy livestock watering. In Califor- nia, the treatment was used to store pig slurry from industrial farms. In Vermont, Pennsylva- nia, and New Hampshire, the treatment is used in much the same way as Maine: as a winter- time disposal of municipal waste.
As if to cover itself, ADEQ assesses the risks thusly: “There is epidemiological evidence of disease transmission from the reuse of mini- mally treated wastewater ... health effects to farm workers ... wastewater aerosols emanat- ing from spray irrigation sites ... have provided evidence of the transmission of disease from such practices ... ADEQ is not aware of any epidemiological studies of populations who have been exposed to reclaimed water that has been treated ... this may be due to the fact that epidemiological studies have not been done because of the small size and mobility of study populations, the difficulty in determining ac- tual levels of human exposure, and the inability of current epidemiological techniques to de- tect low level or endemic disease transmission.”
So simply by not having evidence, ADEQ assumes the health risks are negligible. And when presented with documentation to the toxic epidemiological studies on plants found within an environment utilizing reclaimed wastewater consistently, such as in the Xiang and Schuch studies, two representatives from ADEQ, Senior Hydrologist Charles Graff and Water Quality Division Director Michael Ful- ton, were leery of giving a direct response.
In a roundtable session with this writer in mid-November, Mr. Fulton said: “Well, we’ve es- tablished permissible uses — it’s certainly up to the end user — and the supplier to decide how they want to use the water and where they want to use it. We don’t actually, in cases with Snowbowl or any other end user, we don’t ap- prove the end use, we have a “list of approved end uses.’”
And Mr. Graff, who had been previously briefed in this series said: “By the same token, we know that saline reclaimed wastewater burns turf on golf courses. And our rule allows the use of reclaimed wastewater to be used for turf irrigation — it’s used all over the state, on schoolyards, parks, you name it, residences. So to be consistent we’d have to take a look at every single plant out there and try to make a determination as to what the impact of re- claimed wastewater would be. I’m not saying there might not be an impact, but again, it is between the end user and the supplier of re- claimed wastewater.”
What happens to the trees on the mountain eventually happens to us. Due process sub- sumes Constitutional law must take into ac- count all concerns of an issue, not simply allow- ing the economic beliefs of one entity to trump scientific evidence, or the moral reservations of a community.
| Proofs on the documentation & studies found in this report will be available at thenoise.us/proofs by mid-month, along with the full interview with Messrs. Fulton and graff. Have something to add to this discussion? charles@thenoise.us
WHAT IS PERMACULTURE?
At its most basic level, Permaculture is about ecologically sound agriculture and there have been many who pioneered these concepts in their own ways, names such as Sepp Hol- zer, Howard Odum, and Rudolph Steiner’s Biodynamic Farming. The coining of the phrase and creation of Permaculture as an or- ganized curriculum was the combined work of Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. The world “Permaculture” combines the two words Permanent+Agriculture.
In simple terms Mollison, Holmgren, and the other early pioneers observed that for eons the ecological systems of nature have provided food systems and over time they got stronger, more productive and robust. By applications of Permaculture Design we can theoretically create infrastructures that create stronger and more robust local and global ecological systems. Holmgren and Mollison were able to expand the understanding of the complex eco- logical web to take into account other human systems that seem unrelated to agriculture, such as architecture, business practices, and social norms.
Most people think a Permaculture course is about plants. While plants are an important part of any Permaculture system, still they are only an element of any system. Permaculture is not about the specific elements, it is about the connections between the elements and a Per- maculture Design course will teach you how to ecologically connect elements in a system.
Like architecture, people use Permaculture to create the structures and infrastructures that support life in accordance with their be- liefs. Those who are spiritual will see Perma- culture as an expression of spirituality, those who believe that economics drives society will see Permaculture as a sound financial strategy, environmentalists will see it as a means of pro- tecting the environment, humanists will see it as a way to provide for people’s happiness.
It is important to understand they are all correct because the exact purpose of a Perma- culture Design depends upon the goals of the designer. Being a system that aspires for as in- clusive of a holistic picture as possible, Perma- culture crosses many disciplines, philosophies, and goals. The one thing that all Permaculture Designers agree on though is Permaculture is about designing architecture, infrastructure, technology and lifestyle habits in harmony with the natural cycles of Earth. This can be be- lieved from a deep ecologist point of view, car- ing for Earth for its own sake, or as an anthropo- centric view, caring for Earth because without Earth, there will be no humanity.
THE PERMACULTURE ETHICS
There are three accepted central Permacul- ture ethics adapted from the work of Mollison
and Holmgren: Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share. In Earth Care, Permaculture begins with the care for the health of the ecology and all it’s plants and animals. In People Care, a system is only as good as it’s service to the needs of the people. In Fair Share, everything and everyone receives enough of the resources to meet their needs.
In addition to the Three Permaculture Ethics, there are 12 Permaculture Design principles coined by David Holmgren. These principles are mainly to be used as design principles, but they can also be applied to many aspects of life.
THE HOLMGREN 12
Permaculture Principle #1: Apply self-reg-
ulation and accept feedback. We must con- sciously choose to regulate ourselves in accor- dance within the limits of our natural environ- ment. Part of that process of self-regulation is accepting the feedback from your actions and changing in response to that feedback, be it from people, animals or the environment.
Permaculture Principle #2: Catch and store energy. While solar, wind and hydro are the most commonly perceived forms of natural energy, they are by no means the only forms of energy available around you. In a Permac- ulture sense, “energy” is more a matter of your perception and design imagination, than read- ing words off a list. Energy can be said to be embodied in the energy of the slope of a hill, the energy of a party, the energy of a brick, the energy of a sunrise, of a block of coal, any of these, and more, can be considered “energy” for purposes of Permaculture function and design. This principle has two parts: one is to catch the energy, and the other is to store the energy. The ambient energy of the ecology is around you always, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. A good system would in some man- ner be catching these energies, storing them in some manner, and then using them when needed later, such as composting for example.
Permaculture Principle #3: Creatively use and respond to change. Things change. A Permaculture Designer understands that eco- systems evolve. Even systems you have de- signed and installed perfectly will still change over time. There is no “bad” ecological evolu- tion as long as you are prepared to adapt and change, and make the best you can of the new conditions.
Permaculture Principle #4: Design from pat- terns to details. The whole point for a Permac- ulture Design is for it to fit into the “bigger” pic- ture, so before you even dig that first hole you need to understand that bigger picture. In this context, a pattern is a repeating phenomenon in nature: wind patterns, flow patterns, rain patterns, migration patterns. If your design dis- rupts these patterns then the ecology of your design will fall apart. By understanding pat-
terns your design will not just cause no harm, but will help to strengthen these patterns.
Permaculture Principle #5: Integrate rather than segregate. A good Permaculture Design tries to integrate together as many elements as possible. Locking them all together so that they achieve more working as a team than they could working separately. In Permaculture, this way of thinking applies in all things.
Permaculture Principle #6: Observe and in- teract. Observation involves much more than just the eyes. You observe with all of your sens- es and all of your mind. How does it smell, how does it sound, what does it remind you of? Take the time to observe with each of your senses and observe under all different circumstances! Go at night, at dawn, when it’s sunny, when it’s rainy, when it’s windy. You want to observe the full spectrum of the life of your site! Remember, this principle is also about interacting with the environment you are observing, such as going for hikes and walks across the property, sitting in the grass, playing frisbee, or even making small permaculture projects. Interact! But all the while you are observing.
Permaculture Principle #7: Obtain a yield. Nature produces a variety of products in its yields. Fruit trees not only produce edible fruit, and more trees, they also produce oxygen, clean water, and provide habitat for a variety of insects and animals. Being modeled after Nature’s systems, Permaculture systems should produce useful things, be they edible, medici- nal, construction materials, beneficial micro- climates, or any other type of useful output.
Permaculture Principle #8: Produce no waste. Waste may be the only true human invention. Every other species throughout the entire history of the Earth uses resources for its own purposes and then one way or another, puts them back in the system so they may be used by another species. On and on. There is no true thing as a “waste material,” only wasted op- portunities to produce a yield. After their first function is completed, almost any material can be reused, recycled, or repurposed into some- thing beneficial. The only limit to its potential is the imagination and skill of the designer.
Permaculture Principle #9: Use and value di- versity. In nature, bio-diversity is strength. The more elements a system has, the more ro- bust the system. This principles calls for the us- ing and valuing of diversity in ALL things. It can apply to plants, it can apply to building materi- als, it can apply to economic systems, it could apply to methods of transportation to get to work in the morning.
Permaculture Principle #10: Use and value renewable resources and services. Permac- ulture is about maximizing what is being given to us by nature. Use what is given.
10 • DECEMBER 2012 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us
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