Permaculture News, Information, Forums, Courses and Worldwide Reports

Techniques for Making Your Own Biodegradable Seedling Pots

July 21, 2017 by Jonathon Engels & filed under Design

Those of us who practice permaculture take our mission seriously, and we are doing our best to minimize our use of factory production methods (and the petroleum-dependence, pollution, and inefficiencies that go along with it) and take advantage of all of the resources around us. This is commonly observed in things like repurposing pallets, compost piles, bio-digesters, and passive solar heating. In other words, any time we can find ways […]

Maximum Unsustainability – The Worst Ways to Ride Your Bike

July 21, 2017 by Angelo Eliades & filed under General

Riding a bike is a sustainable, green, eco-friendly transport option, right? Well, “it’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it” as the old saying goes. If you want to know how to destroy the planet faster, undermine community spirit and generally be ‘part of the problem’ in all ways possible by riding your bike, then you’ll love this step-by-step guide! 1. The more greenhouse emissions, the […]

Hügelkultur Farming

July 21, 2017 by Tobias Roberts & filed under General

What do you do with those large limbs and logs that fall from the trees around your home after a windstorm? Unless you heat your home with wood, chances are that you either call a tree service to cut them up and take them away or line them up on the curb for the garbage truck to deal with. Hügelkultur garden beds offer a fantastic way to use those limbs […]

Romaine Lettuce

July 20, 2017 by Bobbi Luttjohann & filed under Food & Food Support Systems, Recipes

As all lettuces are, Romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa. var. longifolia) is from the Asteraceae family, which also includes artichokes. Romaine is widely referred to as Cos lettuce, and in some areas is known as Roman or Manchester lettuce. This leafy green vegetable will produce a head, but unlike other head lettuces, Iceberg and Butterhead, it produces a much more elongated head. Plus, this lovely lettuce is more heat tolerant than […]

Artificial Photosynthesis: Liquid Fuel Created from Sunlight by “Bionic Leaf”

July 20, 2017 by Jessi Gowan & filed under General

Researchers at Harvard have developed a system of artificial photosynthesis – creating liquid fuel from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. Described in a new paper published in Science, the process could be a big step in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Daniel Nocera, a professor of energy science at Harvard, and his colleague, Pamela Silver, have achieved the process at an efficiency of 10 percent using pure carbon dioxide […]

How to Make a Compost Water Heater

July 19, 2017 by Tobias Roberts & filed under Compost, Energy Systems, General, How to

Everyone loves hot water in the home, but the ecological cost of long, hot showers powered by fossil-fueled water heaters adds some guilt to those long hours in the bathroom. What if you could have a huge supply of hot water heated by the compost pile in your garden. Instead of greenhouses gasses, the byproduct of your hot water would be more fertile soil. The Ecological Cost of Heating Water […]

Benefits of Evaporation Fridges

July 19, 2017 by Adam Leviness & filed under Design

If you are planning on going off grid or living in a tiny home, a huge obstacle can be putting in a refrigerator. If you are using solar or wind power, a refrigerator can be extremely taxing on an already stressed system. You could completely forgo a refrigerator and opt instead for preserving food and a root cellar, but that doesn’t let you keep cold drinks or many dairy products […]

A Mushroom Home: The Future of Zero Waste

July 18, 2017 by Christina Fabiano & filed under General

While styles of architecture may change every few years, buildings and infrastructure as a whole will always be needed. Your home, local food store, shopping mall, post office, schools, amusement parks, and pretty much every establishment you can think of involves some sort of building. With each of these institutions comes construction waste. Construction waste is made up of unused and unwanted materials such as wood, shingles, nails, bricks, installation, […]

The Benefits of Keeping Chickens

July 18, 2017 by Michelle West & filed under Animals, General

Though it may not be for everybody, there are many potential benefits to keeping chickens in your yard, whether they’re free range or in a coop. It can be rewarding in many ways, and it isn’t just about eggs! Though of course, that’s a big part of it. They can be good for gardens, they make great pets for the family, among many other things. They are surprisingly loving and […]

Are We Running Out of Water?

July 17, 2017 by Jessi Gowan & filed under General, Water, Water Conservation, Water Contaminaton & Loss

More than half of the world’s population may be facing serious daily water shortages by 2025 if we keep up our current patterns of consumption. Scientists around the world are warning global policy makers about this impending crisis, hoping to avoid the potential catastrophe. “What’s happening bit by bit is that water scarcity is becoming increasingly common around the world, no matter where you look – as country after country […]

Social Opportunities for Farm Workers in Climate Change

July 17, 2017 by Zakari Ajia & filed under Global Warming/Climate Change

The environment is a very important part of any economy due to changing environmental conditions around the world- it has been preserved and improved if economies are to thrive. It is noteworthy that the environment as a sector is expanding. The environment as of today is widely believed to comprise several elements/features. Apart from natural resources (such as air, water, and land), it contains the human element, which is regarded […]

Beckoning the Bats: What They Do for Our Gardens and How to Attract Them There

July 14, 2017 by Jonathon Engels & filed under Animals

In permaculture, we look for opportunities to expand on biodiversity, as well as take advantage of functions that can occur naturally or with minimal inputs from us. While often this takes the form of rotationally grazing domesticated animals, including them in waste cycles, and using them for pest control (a la not a slug problem but a duck shortage), we are also inclined to make the most of wild fauna […]