Two Out-of-Print Classics Republished July 10, 2009

The last time that food issues and edible landscaping swept the nation was in the seventies during the energy crisis. During that time many were traveling the world to learn from obscure agricultural practitioners and others were looking to the urban areas and what they could produce. Out of that time period came two food production classics: The One Straw Revolution, by Masanobu Fukuoka and (Designing and Maintaining) Your Edible Landscape Naturally, by Robert Kourik. Both went out of print in the late eighties and early nineties, but have been recently republished for the benefit of the times we are in. This is part two…

Part 2:

(Designing and Maintaining) Your Edible Landscape Naturally

By Robert Kouri

Early on in my education in “whole systems design” I became infatuated with the world of Permaculture (a design system for creating sustainably-integrated human settlements). One of the first major influences on my design style wasn’t a Permaculture text per se. Permaculture seemed to approach sustainability and design aesthetic in a way that shunned the art of formal garden design. Kourik’s seminal text on the other hand seemed to embrace sustainability and edible landscape design as just another approach to an ancient tradition (and human need) for both domesticating and beautifying the natural world around us. Kourik was also a pioneer in the sense that his work was one of the first to explore temperate edible landscaping while other were still working out techniques in tropical and subtropical climes. Your Edible Landscape Naturally really is a text and reads pretty much like one, though Kourik balances his vast knowledge with a fun sense of humor, insight and wit. The book is full of practical advise, tables, design examples, maintenance techniques and reminders and a whole host of reference tables for the edible landscape designer. The only point of note that I would make is that unless the book has undergone a revision some of the ideas and advise may be a bit dated. Still, coupled with any great design workbook, this text is an absolute essential for anyone interested in taking on task of design their own edible home garden.

The way we produce our food has the potential to collapse or sustain our society. Both The One Straw Revolution and Your Edible Landscape Naturally have paved the way for that sustainable future. Each in their own way helps us to understand the importance of food security and the great field of the unexplored in both urban and rural agriculture. Both books leave the reader inspired to create a world that will sustain itself into the future. Like a perfect guide, neither texts pleads. Both state, “We can do this. We can maintain this. We can have our beauty and eat it too. The only thing stopping us is us.”

Celebrity gossip goes green July 9, 2009

Admit it. We all love a bit of celebrity gossip. Who hasn’t been in a doctor or dentist’s office and snuck a peak at the latest issue of People magazine? Now, you don’t have to spend money on magazines or even guiltily flip through pages in public to learn what the rich and famous are up to when it comes to the environment. Just check out Ecorazzi, the latest in green gossip. According to the website, “We cover environmental, humanitarian, animal rights, and vegetarian issues as they relate to those in the spotlight. In the spirit of fair play, we’re quick to point how who’s slacking and who’s deserving of recognition.” So what does that mean? Well, you can read about the $5k organic, biodegradable bamboo bicycle sold at Colin Firth’s new Ecò Age store on Chiswick High Road in London. Or discover blogrolls by “Eco-Celebs,” such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Daryl Hannah (who also happens to have a new site of cool, eco-friendly products, called Love Life Goods tried & true…, and yes, she does claim to use everything she sells!). So indulge yourself and discover what vegan Natalie Portman and others are up to this summer!

Get Bike Smart July 7, 2009

Want a map of all the bike routes in Seattle? Want to know what bicycle events are happening in your community? Need a little bike maintenance 101 before you (finally) dust off the cruiser for the summer?

There is an answer: Bike Smart Seattle. Sponsored by the City of Seattle and part of the Mayor’s Climate Action Now initiative (lets be greener than Portland!), you can request a free kit complete with bike map, coupons, calendar of events and more. Even better, a Seattle Bicycle Ambassador will drop off your free info kit. I was intrigued when I received the mailer and have signed up for my free kit. To the Ambassador who has to do the giant hillclimb up to my place, I am sorry.

So, come on, sign up for your own kit at www.bikesmartseattle.org – you can’t beat free! And enjoy the summer by bike.

This Fourth of July, show your support for clean energy June 30, 2009

I just sent an email to Senate leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell to show my support for The American Clean Energy and Security Act. You can do it too. It’s easy. Just go to Repower America and sign with your email address. Happy 4th!!

Taking Out the Grass is a gas (or lawnless in Seattle) June 29, 2009

My good friend Sharon turned me on a hilarious YouTube video, Taking Out the Grass, featuring Santa Barbara landscape designer Owen Dell. Check it out. As funny as it is though, lawns are a serious matter. There’s really no reason to have a lawn unless it serves a useful purpose—such as for kids to play on, sports, or other recreation. To use excessive amounts of our precious drinking water on useless turf—which is one of the thirstiest plants you can grow—just doesn’t make sense. In California, people water their lawns like crazy from spring through fall to keep them green. I noticed that in my sister-in-law’s Seattle neighborhood, some homeowners keep their lawns green by watering in summer and others let them go brown. Neither one is a good option (sorry, but I find those brown lawns pretty darn unattractive). Instead, imagine a beautiful low water landscape like the one here designed by Mosaic Gardens! If you’re thinking about redoing your landscape, consider a no-lawn option. You’ll find great resources online. For instance, check out King County’s Northwest Yard and Garden: Native Plant Resources for the Pacific Northwest. Click on the interactive Native Plant Guide where you can search for plants by photos or growing conditions. WSU Extension Clark County also offers a Plant Identification Database that includes pictures of each plant. As Dell and friends say, “taking out the grass is a gas, can you dig it?”

two classics republished June 27, 2009

The last time that food issues and edible landscaping swept the nation was in the seventies during the energy crisis. During that time many were traveling the world to learn from obscure agricultural practitioners and others were looking to the urban areas and what they could produce. Out of that time period came two food production classics: The One Straw Revolution, by Masanobu Fukuoka and (Designing and Maintaining) Your Edible Landscape Naturally, by Robert Kourik. Both went out of print in the late eighties and early nineties, but have been recently republished for the benefit of the times we are in. In this two part post I will review two of the most influential books in my life and hope they inspire you as they did me.

Part 1: The One Straw Revolution

The ultimate goal of farming is not the cultivation of crops but the cultivation and perfection of human beings. – Masanobu Fukuoka

As a young twenty-five year old man working in disease and insect control Masanobu Fukuoka became fatally ill and nearly died. After gaining his health back he had a realization that lead him to re-examine the world around him. He, not knowing how to proceed, but knowing enough to know that there was nothing and everything to learn, returned to his father’s farm. Over the course of a few years he began farming rice and fruit in ways that betrayed conventional agricultural science and in the process produced the same if not more yield per acre than his neighboring conventional farmers. His Zen / Taoist like approach to food production caught the attention of many influential agriculturalists including Wendell Berry who wrote the introduction to Fukuoka first work of prose. The One Straw Revolution serves us one part agricultural and one and a smidge part philosophy text drawing from Fukuoka’s revelations and insights during his 30 years of “do-nothing” farming near Matsayuma, Japan. The book reads the way that I imagine Fukuoka reads the land. It acts as a guide to influence and inspire the reader. There is a little bit of how-to tucked in among Fukuoka’s philo-spiritual revelations leaving the reader refreshed and rejuvenated the way that you might feel after splashing your face with cold water at dawn before a day’s work in the field or floored by the weight and truth of his insights:

To the extent that people separate themselves from nature, they spin out further and further from the center. At the same time the centripetal effect asserts itself and the desire to return to nature arises. But if people merely get caught up in reacting, moving to the left or to the right, depending on the conditions, the result is only more activity. The non-moving point, the point of origin, which lies outside the realm of relativity, is passed over, unnoticed. I believe that even “returning-to-nature” and anti-pollution activities, no matter how commendable, are not moving toward a genuine solution if they are carried out in reaction to the over-development of the present age. – M. Fukuoka

Whoo hoo! The House of Representatives passed the clean energy bill today! June 26, 2009

As Repower America said,

“Today, we have something to celebrate. For the first time in decades, we have taken bold action to help solve the climate crisis.”

Now, onto the Senate.

Water, water everywhere June 26, 2009

Here is some food – or actually water – for thought:

How many gallons of water is in a…

• Car:  Approx. 39,090 gallons of water go into making a car (whether or not that includes the 518 gallons it takes to make each tire is unclear).
• Pair of Jeans:  Approx 1,800 gallons of water are needed to grow enough cotton to produce your favorite denim.  How many pairs do you have in your closet?
• Cotton T-shirt:  400 gallons goes into growing the cotton for an ordinary tee.
• Barrel of Beer:  1,500 gallons of water are used to process 32 gallons of beer!
• To-Go Latte:  It takes 53 gallons to make your morning (or afternoon!) latte – and that’s just the drink itself.  Factor in any flavoring, sugar, lid, cup, sleeve, etc. and you could have yourself quite the water footprint.

And Treehugger has the skinny on how much water it takes to grow all of our food.  I guess we could all use to go on a water diet…  I know this is just one more thing to think about when you are at the grocery store, buying your tall-extra hot-no foam-blah blah blah latte or shopping for a new pair of jeans, but I hope the numbers inspire at least the smallest change.  It’s a drop in the bucket, but everything helps.

Vote for clean energy today June 24, 2009

Last week, I wrote that the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES, H.R. 2454) was passed by The House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Now the full House of Representatives plans to vote on the bill this Friday. Al Gore calls this “the most important environmental vote of this generation.” Some forces are trying to weaken it. Green For All, 1Sky, and others want the House to strengthen it. For instance, 1Sky is asking that we urge our representatives to join more than 40 members of the House who are calling on the leadership to strengthen the bill in three key ways:

• Hold polluters accountable: restore EPA authority to regulate coal plants
• Increase investment in green jobs and in protecting vulnerable communities against the impacts of global warming
• Improve the renewable energy standard

Gore says a new study found that 1.7 million new jobs would be created by clean energy legislation. If you’re interested in President Obama’s vision for a clean energy economy and in seeing the strongest bill possible move forward, let your representatives know that you want clean energy for America.

We’re finally moving forward…at least for now June 19, 2009

I just received an email from Gore’s Repower America that prompted me to check out “The American Clean Energy and Security Act” (H.R. 2454), the critical climate legislation that was passed last month by The House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Its passage was an amazing step forward towards addressing our climate crises. The issue is complicated to be sure. And there are many hurdles to overcome before it passes through Congress this summer and fall. If you’re unfamiliar with the legislation, below is a synopsis from the House of Representative’s website. If you’re a member of Repower America, you can sign up to hear Gore’s special briefing on Tuesday, June 23, at 5 p.m. (PDT).

The American Clean Energy and Security Act will create millions of new clean energy jobs, save consumers hundreds of billions of dollars in energy costs, enhance America’s energy independence, and cut global warming pollution.  To meet these goals, the legislation has four titles:

• A clean energy title that promotes renewable sources of energy, carbon capture and sequestration technologies, clean electric vehicles, and the smart grid and electricity transmission.
• An energy efficiency title that increases energy efficiency across all sectors of the economy, including buildings, appliances, transportation, and industry.
• A global warming title that places limits on emissions of heat-trapping pollutants. This legislation would cut global warming pollution by 17% compared to 2005 levels in 2020, by 42% in 2030, and by 83% in 2050.  These are science-based targets and within the range agreed to by USCAP.
• A title that protects U.S. consumers and industry and promotes green jobs during the transition to a clean energy economy.