Listen Online 
Download 
Get all of the Podcasts in convenient, giant zip files 
Subscribe on iTunes
Summary
Paul continues his call with
Alan Booker on the subject of the BBB. And although they started section 2.3 last podcast, they still don’t finish it…
2.3: Applying laws and principles to design (continued)
Most of the
carbon that a tree uses to build itself is sequestered from the air, then when leaves fall or the tree rots, the carbon is used to make soil. Alan argues that Rocket mass
heaters are thus carbon-negative because even if you were to burn the entire tree in an efficient manner, the overall process of the tree growing would have taken more carbon out of the air than burning it would have released. Burning junk mail and Amazon packaging in an
RMH could be more environmentally friendly than taking it to a
local recycling center? Need to do the math on that, but it’s possible.
Tesla Roadster effect: instead of making laws to dictate how permaculture
should be done, create the permaculture equivalent of Tesla’s Roadster – something that makes the idea you’re selling so appealing that it becomes an almost must-have thing.
“Every object must responsibly provide for its replacement” Difference between legal-must, and natural-order-must. Legal must implies threat of legal action. Natural order must implies a physical inevitable. “You must not dance on the edge of a cliff” could be taken in a “I have a right to” manner, instead of the intended warning of “you will probably fall and die”. Working with ecological systems requires us to work with principles rather than narrowly defined laws. Principles lead to strategies that vary by biome, etc. that lead to individual technique and tactics.
Future podcast plan to do a page-by-page review of Ecotopia. Alan agreed knowing full well that they’d never make it through this book.
Relevant Threads
"Permaculture - a designers' manual" forum
The Big Black Book - summary, reviews,and where to buy
Support the Empire
Help support the empire and get all of the podcasts in a bundle
here in the digital market at permies.
To support production of these podcasts, make a donation
here at Paul's Patreon page.
This podcast was made possible thanks to:
Dr. Hugh Gill Kultur
Eivind W. Bjørkavåg
Suleiman, Karrie, and Sasquatch
Bill Crim
anonymous
Kerry JustTooLazy
Jocelyn Campbell
Wade Luger
Sasquatch
Kyle Neath
Chris Sugg
havokeachday
Bill Erickson
Dominic Crolius
Julia Winter, world's slowest mosaic artist
G
Cooper
Penny McLoughlin
Ash Jackson
Mehron Kugler
Lisa Goodspeed
Mark
Pasquale DeAngelis
Sean Benedict
Greg Martin
Rita Bliden
Dana Martin
Candace Dahlk
Keith Kuhnsman
Eric Tolbert
Ruwan Nanayakkara
Polly Jayne Smyth
3
