Deviation is good. Even within the confines of modern, creatively oppressive culture; it's necessary to some extent for many purposes spanning from the illusory aspects of different facets of culture and was of course a prerequisite to it in the first place. Following a straight, rigid line in a real way does not work, even if the goal of the end is the same. A certain amount of deviation is even "allowed" within culture because it is recognized as necessary.
Music is, to me, the best and vastest example of deviation in context of creativity. Once a certain mechanical skill is reached and subconscious takes over, deviation occurs naturally and manifests itself in distinct (or not) musical style. Distinct style is not emulated genuinely because of the foreign nature of the mechanics required therein. One does not proceed without the other. Since everyone learns mechanics differently, everyone deviates differently. This is grossly simplified, but being in layman's terms might make sense.
Creativity, ideals, morals, culture, etc work in a similar way in some cases. With an infinite amount of variables that could take the place of the example of mechanics and subconscious deviation/creativity together, everything influences everything else; shackled together in a sense. Without freeing one facet of the mind, another is impeded. In that way, proposing a complex and isolated idea is not always accessible for a person who is not sharing a similar order of acquiring traits and ideas etc. In order to reach an end, a simple and seemingly distant means is often required to set off a series of subsequent progressions in multiple facets at once. Something incredibly simple can manifest incredibly complex ideas and expressions further along this metaphorical progression.
"Before Enlightenment chop wood carry water, after Enlightenment, chop wood carry water."
Slight deviations from the mechanical familiarity interrupt creative augmentations. In context, perhaps thinking of modern technology and culture with this rather tenuous paradigm as an overlay explains some of shortfalls of people today. Instead of allowing sufficient clearance for mechanical familiarity to deviate and produce more creative expressions, you are cramped, confined and hurried. Only enough deviation is permitted as minimally possible. The illusion of efficiency lurks in the shadows of the mind beckoning to take the easy, narrowed way instead of the arduous creative process. A lot of people know the difference in a fragmented way. If you don't; look at the busiest, ideologically narrow, career and academically oriented person you know, and perhaps ask yourself the question "have they come up with a radically different understanding of anything?"
The extremely high rate of drug abuse in jazz musicians took on a new shade of woe. The outside looking in is a sad place.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Stacking Functions, Permaculture, Agriculture, Terracing, Climate Change ....In context
(After 3 or 4 major revisions, I hope this one will deliver sufficient pep will still not being batshit lunacy)
― Geoff Lawton
Some time ago, I wrote a rather pointed diatribe on the topic of the environmental apocalypse. It was too pointed to post here. Take my word for it. This is in essence an attempt to substantiate that diatribe in better terms. I might have to hide behind the heading of the blog yet.
In lieu of an introduction or particularly informative info on my blogger profile, here is some metaphysical background;
As the new address of this blog might suggest, I am "blindingly" optimistic about the future. Not in the sense that I'm driving a diesel down to the gas station to pick up a couple of tall boys for the game without being aware of the, I suppose, ecological consequences. I firmly (and perhaps selfishly) believe that what is best from an ecological standpoint is likewise the best for people (as someone who doesn't understand linguistics very well, they do seem sort of one and the same). I don't know anyone who would speak negatively of Fukuoka, for example, from an environmental standpoint, and he was very concerned of such things in general (speaking of the practical differences between raising cattle and growing grain for example, on efficiency of supporting people-- ALL people). Yet he spoke of the same balance between people and nature (the metaphysical "order of things")-- many times more eloquently then I ever could. Our needs are served by nature because nature is perfect (speaking generally and metaphysically).
“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.”
― Masanobu Fukuoka
Perhaps his best known quote speaks to exactly what I'm conceptualizing here. There is a balance of perfection that Fukuoka got closer to achieving than anyone else I know of.
Moreover, I believe that people possess all that is necessary to solve every problem in the world. The more I watch others "do their thing", the more this belief is obfuscated, perhaps because the answer lies somewhere deep within the simplest arrangements between people and "the way things are" (alternatively, the "natural order of things"). And these answers do not lie locked away within mathematical equations, genetic codes, double-blind randomized placebo studies on rats, or statistical averages (that is to say, the mathematical equivalent of democracy in that nothing is truly and rightly served). It probably lies somewhere deeper, and is something I will undoubtedly never conceptualize successfully. (this metaphorical dragon has smitten greater knights than I, surely)
Onto the topic at hand-- the balance of "climate change" and natural farming in context. The somewhat intuitive feedback loop between poor agricultural practices and C02 emissions (compounded with other sources of C02) has been the topic of some debate, with farmers (conventional ones I presume) and some scientists stating that the plants would take up more C02 in the presence of more C02. Studies have been done with results running the gambit. In general, given the right conditions, increased C02 levels can increase plant "growth" by a third. Different combinations of climate shifts (that haven't happened yet) can reduce that, and I suspect with the right conditions, improve it more. The biggest four factors are increased precipitation, warmer temperatures, increased C02 and N2, are all beneficial for plant growth given the right circumstances. Whether people as a whole can successfully create or arrange those circumstances is yet to be seen (I personally doubt it will happen anytime soon).
Agriculture is a major source of C02 emissions, along with forestry making up varying fractions of the total output depending on which source you use. If it doesn't take into account sequestration however, it might well be misleading in the sense of the proportional importance of it. Every single paper/essay/study I have come across on the subject has some inherent traits (not flaws, although its tempting to call it such) and look at it presumably as variation from some pseudo "ideal" of agriculture (modern society's hubris) and not viewing it as the failure that it is, while drawing from finite aquifers, burning fossil fuels and continually raping the soil year after year through tilling, hauling off organic matter to burn or otherwise dispose or irresponsibly etc. Agriculture doesn't have to be synonymous with mining, but this kind is. No till, for example, is more efficient at every level, producing more while using less input, and on a smaller scale can be done entirely with human labor and hand tools (ala Fukuoka etc). The right poly crop or rotation in a no till system would sequester C02 and N2, improving soil and increasing plant growth further compounding sequestration. Plants with C4 metabolic function, which are often considered an exception to increased growth in presence of climate changes, rely on heat for the C4 metabolism to function. no till while leaving stubble in the field improves organic matter content in a matter of years, and that can be aided by additional organic matter added back in. Certain varieties of Sorghum can grow in standing water and utilize the C4 metabolism. No till greatly offsets the problems of drought by decreasing evaporation-- some no till gardeners and farmers report never having to water or irrigate.
Carbon and nitrogen are oxidized by tilling via repeatedly exposing to oxygen. Hence the term "oxidize". C02 and N2 being the gaseous states. Plants, requiring carbon and nitrogen to grow, "fix" carbon and nitrogen in varying capacities. C4 metabolism in certain plants increasing efficiencies of C02 fixing to carbon (carbohydrate prerequisite). Only certain plants fix nitrogen. The most important part of this equation is that when the soil is tilled, available nitrogen and carbon is oxidized and lost. This is the failure of the common system. With adequate presence of nitrogen fixing plants and efficient C4 metabolism, in combination with a pro-soil no till management system, sequestration takes on a double efficiency of getting the "bad things" out of the air and increasing plant growth (further compounding sequestration). Tilling is the antithesis on both counts. The efficiency of the basic system alone is worth applying-- doubly so given the state of things now. Tilling is the antithesis on both counts. (Beat me up if I'm mistaken here, book stuff is not my strong suit)
Desertification is another point I feel compelled to write about. A certain amount occurs naturally. Humans compound the problems and in some instances cause it-- the "Desert of Maine", near where I live, was once a farm, and the once fertile crescent (now about 9/10ths desert) was the cradle of agricultural and "civilization". Plenty of anecdotes abound, including another important one, referred to as the dust bowl. Key line plowing, re-foresting and the irresponsible exploitation of a major aquifer "fixed" the problem (although it is akin to "shoveling shit into the ocean"). Swales or terraces would likewise be a prudent solution (See "Greening the desert" in links and citations of interest). Desertification happens independently of many factors and naturally, but can likewise be "fixed" naturally too.
A well tailored agricultural standard is the most important factor in how people cope with climate changes, whether they happen or not. Instead of "making do", why not utilize them and work in harmony with "the way things are" instead of fighting at every turn? Comprehending scope is one thing, overcome with fear and angst is another and not at all conducive towards the creativity and lucidity to be required for the transcendence of the obstacles to come -scientifically validated or not- and those are many I believe.
Links+citations of interest;
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2707343/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC166765/#B10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sohI6vnWZmk (Greening the desert)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzTHjlueqFI (More greening the desert)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft0ylk4sU5M (Fukuoka natural farming- Warning due to old grumpy man and a healthy dose of "Japanese-ness")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmg88dsHk_E (Even conventional agriculture can be improved as a transitional measure)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wffoeYUFK7k (Podoll family farm in North Dakota-- excellent example of small scale no till. look at that soil after 40 years of no till and mulching!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF6-xh34ovA (Sepp Holzer-- best example of permaculture in practice)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hF2QL0D5ww (Sepp builds a pond)
“You can solve all the world's problems in a garden.”
― Geoff Lawton
Some time ago, I wrote a rather pointed diatribe on the topic of the environmental apocalypse. It was too pointed to post here. Take my word for it. This is in essence an attempt to substantiate that diatribe in better terms. I might have to hide behind the heading of the blog yet.
In lieu of an introduction or particularly informative info on my blogger profile, here is some metaphysical background;
As the new address of this blog might suggest, I am "blindingly" optimistic about the future. Not in the sense that I'm driving a diesel down to the gas station to pick up a couple of tall boys for the game without being aware of the, I suppose, ecological consequences. I firmly (and perhaps selfishly) believe that what is best from an ecological standpoint is likewise the best for people (as someone who doesn't understand linguistics very well, they do seem sort of one and the same). I don't know anyone who would speak negatively of Fukuoka, for example, from an environmental standpoint, and he was very concerned of such things in general (speaking of the practical differences between raising cattle and growing grain for example, on efficiency of supporting people-- ALL people). Yet he spoke of the same balance between people and nature (the metaphysical "order of things")-- many times more eloquently then I ever could. Our needs are served by nature because nature is perfect (speaking generally and metaphysically).
“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.”
― Masanobu Fukuoka
Perhaps his best known quote speaks to exactly what I'm conceptualizing here. There is a balance of perfection that Fukuoka got closer to achieving than anyone else I know of.
Moreover, I believe that people possess all that is necessary to solve every problem in the world. The more I watch others "do their thing", the more this belief is obfuscated, perhaps because the answer lies somewhere deep within the simplest arrangements between people and "the way things are" (alternatively, the "natural order of things"). And these answers do not lie locked away within mathematical equations, genetic codes, double-blind randomized placebo studies on rats, or statistical averages (that is to say, the mathematical equivalent of democracy in that nothing is truly and rightly served). It probably lies somewhere deeper, and is something I will undoubtedly never conceptualize successfully. (this metaphorical dragon has smitten greater knights than I, surely)
Onto the topic at hand-- the balance of "climate change" and natural farming in context. The somewhat intuitive feedback loop between poor agricultural practices and C02 emissions (compounded with other sources of C02) has been the topic of some debate, with farmers (conventional ones I presume) and some scientists stating that the plants would take up more C02 in the presence of more C02. Studies have been done with results running the gambit. In general, given the right conditions, increased C02 levels can increase plant "growth" by a third. Different combinations of climate shifts (that haven't happened yet) can reduce that, and I suspect with the right conditions, improve it more. The biggest four factors are increased precipitation, warmer temperatures, increased C02 and N2, are all beneficial for plant growth given the right circumstances. Whether people as a whole can successfully create or arrange those circumstances is yet to be seen (I personally doubt it will happen anytime soon).
Agriculture is a major source of C02 emissions, along with forestry making up varying fractions of the total output depending on which source you use. If it doesn't take into account sequestration however, it might well be misleading in the sense of the proportional importance of it. Every single paper/essay/study I have come across on the subject has some inherent traits (not flaws, although its tempting to call it such) and look at it presumably as variation from some pseudo "ideal" of agriculture (modern society's hubris) and not viewing it as the failure that it is, while drawing from finite aquifers, burning fossil fuels and continually raping the soil year after year through tilling, hauling off organic matter to burn or otherwise dispose or irresponsibly etc. Agriculture doesn't have to be synonymous with mining, but this kind is. No till, for example, is more efficient at every level, producing more while using less input, and on a smaller scale can be done entirely with human labor and hand tools (ala Fukuoka etc). The right poly crop or rotation in a no till system would sequester C02 and N2, improving soil and increasing plant growth further compounding sequestration. Plants with C4 metabolic function, which are often considered an exception to increased growth in presence of climate changes, rely on heat for the C4 metabolism to function. no till while leaving stubble in the field improves organic matter content in a matter of years, and that can be aided by additional organic matter added back in. Certain varieties of Sorghum can grow in standing water and utilize the C4 metabolism. No till greatly offsets the problems of drought by decreasing evaporation-- some no till gardeners and farmers report never having to water or irrigate.
Carbon and nitrogen are oxidized by tilling via repeatedly exposing to oxygen. Hence the term "oxidize". C02 and N2 being the gaseous states. Plants, requiring carbon and nitrogen to grow, "fix" carbon and nitrogen in varying capacities. C4 metabolism in certain plants increasing efficiencies of C02 fixing to carbon (carbohydrate prerequisite). Only certain plants fix nitrogen. The most important part of this equation is that when the soil is tilled, available nitrogen and carbon is oxidized and lost. This is the failure of the common system. With adequate presence of nitrogen fixing plants and efficient C4 metabolism, in combination with a pro-soil no till management system, sequestration takes on a double efficiency of getting the "bad things" out of the air and increasing plant growth (further compounding sequestration). Tilling is the antithesis on both counts. The efficiency of the basic system alone is worth applying-- doubly so given the state of things now. Tilling is the antithesis on both counts. (Beat me up if I'm mistaken here, book stuff is not my strong suit)
Desertification is another point I feel compelled to write about. A certain amount occurs naturally. Humans compound the problems and in some instances cause it-- the "Desert of Maine", near where I live, was once a farm, and the once fertile crescent (now about 9/10ths desert) was the cradle of agricultural and "civilization". Plenty of anecdotes abound, including another important one, referred to as the dust bowl. Key line plowing, re-foresting and the irresponsible exploitation of a major aquifer "fixed" the problem (although it is akin to "shoveling shit into the ocean"). Swales or terraces would likewise be a prudent solution (See "Greening the desert" in links and citations of interest). Desertification happens independently of many factors and naturally, but can likewise be "fixed" naturally too.
A well tailored agricultural standard is the most important factor in how people cope with climate changes, whether they happen or not. Instead of "making do", why not utilize them and work in harmony with "the way things are" instead of fighting at every turn? Comprehending scope is one thing, overcome with fear and angst is another and not at all conducive towards the creativity and lucidity to be required for the transcendence of the obstacles to come -scientifically validated or not- and those are many I believe.
Links+citations of interest;
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2707343/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC166765/#B10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sohI6vnWZmk (Greening the desert)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzTHjlueqFI (More greening the desert)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft0ylk4sU5M (Fukuoka natural farming- Warning due to old grumpy man and a healthy dose of "Japanese-ness")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmg88dsHk_E (Even conventional agriculture can be improved as a transitional measure)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wffoeYUFK7k (Podoll family farm in North Dakota-- excellent example of small scale no till. look at that soil after 40 years of no till and mulching!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF6-xh34ovA (Sepp Holzer-- best example of permaculture in practice)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hF2QL0D5ww (Sepp builds a pond)
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Another excuse
Maybe I will post something someday after all. I changed the format a bit to hopefully broaden the horizon of potential. Perhaps some suggestions in way of topics would be nice-- this is no longer devoted to just hand tools but to all manner of metaphysical crap. From permaculture to hand labor, bicycling to the health ramifications thereof. That is to say, the balance of everything ....in context
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