Folke%20G

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Environmental ethics

• an introduction

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Part 1 What is Nature
Part 2 Rules for subsystems
Part 3 What is good for the ecosystem?
Part 4 Permaculture
Part 5 Ruralisation as permaculture
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Part 1

• What is Nature

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The double Nature
Nature
Nature
Culture
Nature
Nature
Waste
Resources
Resource cupboard
(Unlimited) waste heap
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The double Nature
Border to Nature
Nature
Culture
Resources
Waste
Combined cupboard and waste heap
C
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Where is the border to Nature?
Border to Nature
Nature
Culture
Is it on the outside of the house?
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Where is the border to Nature?
Border to Nature
Nature
Culture
Will Nature disappear if we put asphalt on it?
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Where is the border to Nature?Planet comparison
Venus Earth without life Mars Earth with life
Carbon dioxide Venus Earth without life Mars Earth with life
Nitrogen gas Venus Earth without life Mars Earth with life
Oxygen gas Venus Earth without life Mars Earth with life
Surface temperature Venus Earth without life Mars Earth with life
Surface pressure (bar) Venus Earth without life Mars Earth with life
96.5
98
95
0.03
3.5
1.9
2.7
79
traces
0.0
0.13
21
240 - 340
459
- 53
16
90
60
0.0064
1.0
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Nature sneaks inEnvironmental services
Earth without life Earth with life
Carbon dioxide Earth without life Earth with life
Nitrogen gas Earth without life Earth with life
Oxygen gas Earth without life Earth with life
Surface temperature Earth without life Earth with life
Surface pressure (bar) Earth without life Earth with life
The life on the living Earth is absolutely
crucial for our existence!
98
0.03
1.9
79
0.0
21
240 - 340
16
60
1.0
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Therefore, this view of Nature is fundamentally
wrong!
Border to Nature
Nature
Culture
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Instead, this description makes sense
Nature
The culture is a subsystem to Nature
We are always within Nature
Culture
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Part 2
Rules for subsystems
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OK, we are a subsystem to Nature
- So what?
- Subsystems have to follow certain rules in
order to survive
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Assume you are a cell (subsystem) in a body
(supersystem)
Body
Cell
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The cell receives a lot of free and beneficial
services from the body
Body
A nice temperature 37
Cell
Good pH 7,4
Sugar for nutrition
Oxygen
Waste removal sevices
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To keep all these services, the cell (the
subsystem) can only behave in three fundamentally
different ways towards the body (the supersystem)
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Body
Cell
3
2
1
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The cell has a negative influence on its
supersystem. It will, for example, develop a
cancer
Survival strategy 1
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Survival strategy 1
Body
Either, the macrophages will find the cancer cell
and destroy it
By that, the body will be less able to deliver
its free services
Cell
-
Or, the body will die
As a survival strategy for the cell, it sucks
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The cell is perfectly neutral towards its
supersystemIt doesnt cause any harm, neither
it does anything that is useful to the body
Survival strategy 2
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Survival strategy 2
Body
The capacity of the body to deliver its free
services is not affected by the actions of the
cell
The cell is invisible to the body
Cell
0
What will happen if there is a tidying-up drive ?
As a survival strategy for the cell, it is, at
least, risky!
The cell might be eliminated, but this will not
affect the body
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The cell does something (little) that makes it
useful to the body
Survival strategy 3
This makes it easier for the body to deliver
services to the cell
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Survival strategy 3
The cell fulfils some function that makes the
body more able
Body
By that, the body will have an increased ability
to deliver its free services
Cell

It is somewhat better for the body that the cell
is there, than not
This is the only reliable survival strategy for
the cell
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This goes for any subsystem
Survival strategy 3
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Survival strategy 3
The subsystem fulfils some function that makes
the supersystem more able
Ecosystem
By that, the supersystem, it will get increased
ability to deliver its free services
Organism

It is somewhat better for the supersystem that
the subsystem is there, than not
This is the only reliable survival strategy for
any subsystem
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This is the principle of the ultimate egoism
Survival strategy 3
By supporting your supersystem, you promote
your own existence
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Part 3
What is good for the ecosystem?
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OK, to be sustainable, it is not enough to
eliminate harm. To justify your existence, you
also need to be supportive to Nature

• But how could human beings
  support Nature?

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- If you can make ecosystems work better with
humans than without them then you are a in a
fair way into sustainability.
But then you need to understand how ecosystems
work
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Ecosystems, like all self-organising processes,
thrive on energy with high exergy content
Sunlight with high exergy content
The energy with consumed exergy content must be
expelled, otherwise the system will choke
Exergy consuming processes, life
The life processes consume exergy
Low temperature radiation with low exergy content
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The Second Law tells us that all processes
consume exergy
A corollary of the Second Law is that processes
that consume exergy better will be preferred
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Therefore, ecosystems could be expected to change
in a way that increase their exergy consuming
capacity
Observations of ecosystem maturation confirms that
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Ecosystem maturation
Mature system
Immature system

• High diversity
• Perennial plants
• Co-operation
• Mutualism
• Nutrient circulation
• On-site consumption
• Slow change
• Water export by evaporation

• Low diversity
• Annual plants
• Competition
• Parasitism
• Nutrient leakage
• Export
• Fast change
• Water export by drainage

All these changes increase the exergy consumption
capacity of the ecosystem
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During maturation, ecosystems change in a way
that increase their exergy consuming capacity
The maturation process might need 100 to 10 000
years
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What if human beings could aid in this process?
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Part 4
Permaculture
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A multitude of descriptions exits of permaculture
but few definitions
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Descriptions of permaculture
Geoffrey Ian Miller

• Ecosystem maturation
• High diversity
• Perennial plants
• Mutualism
• Slow change

• The goal is to mimic nature.
• Emphasis is placed on perennial crops.
  Permaculture retains biological diversity
• Natural plant progression.

Bill Mollison Scott Pittman

• The conscious design and maintenance of
  cultivated ecosystems which have the diversity,
  stability resilience of natural ecosystems.
• The harmonious integration of landscape, people
  appropriate technologies.
• Permaculture is a philosophy and an approach to
  land use which works with natural rhythms
  patterns.

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Descriptions of permaculture
Anon 84 PD

• Ecosystem maturation
• High diversity
• Perennial plants
• Co-operation
• Mutualism
• Nutrient circulation
• On-site consumption
• Slow change

A permaculture is a diverse, complex ecosystem
where the elements interact in mutually
beneficial ways
Permaculture is an integrated, evolving system of
perennial or self-perpetuating plant animal
species useful to man
Patricia DuBose Michael
Permaculture is the harmonious integration of
people into the landscape
Washburn TN PDC
Permaculture is the conscious design of
'cultivated' ecosystems that have the diversity,
stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems.
It is a harmonious integration of people into
the landscape in such a way that the land grows
in richness, productivity and aesthetic beauty.
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Descriptions of permaculture

• Ecosystem maturation
• High diversity
• Perennial plants
• Co-operation
• Mutualism
• Nutrient circulation
• On-site consumption
• Slow change

Simon Henderson, Cortez IS, BC
Permaculture is the use of ecology as the basis
for designing integrated systems of food
production
Anon, 84 PD

• Self-sustaining productive landscapes which,
  once established, will need the minimum of human
  intervention.
• A permaculture design incorporates a diversity
  of species interrelations between species,
  allows for the continuous evolution that occurs
  in Nature.
• There is a succession of species each preparing
  the environment for the next all moving towards
  a climax state.

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Descriptions of permaculture

• Ecosystem maturation
• High diversity
• Perennial plants
• Co-operation
• Mutualism
• Nutrient circulation
• On-site consumption
• Slow change

Anon 84 PD
A permaculture is a diverse, complex ecosystem
where the elements interact in mutually
beneficial ways to produce a whole which is
greater than the sum of its parts.
Graham Burnett
Creating abundant and sustainable human habitats
by following natures patterns
Bill Mollison
Permaculture is a philosophy of working with,
rather than against nature.
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It seem as the descriptions of permaculure all
point at the same direction

• Ecosystem maturation
• High diversity
• Perennial plants
• Co-operation
• Mutualism
• Nutrient circulation
• On-site consumption
• Slow change
• Water export by evaporation

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By that, we could try to make a definition of
permaculture, not only a description
Permaculture is the forthbringing of maturing
ecosystems with humans as promotive parts
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With permaculture, the maturation process might
be reduced to 10 1000 years
The maturation process might normally need 100 to
10 000 years
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Thus, the human beings has found a method to make
themselves useful !
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Permaculture is the forthbringing of maturing
ecosystems with humans as promotive parts
By that, permaculture has changed from a nicety
to a sustainability necessity
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Part 5
Permaculture in the grand scale
Ruralisation
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The eco-unit, a small population maintained by a
permacultural agriculture
Balanced agriculture

• High diversity
• Perennial plants
• Co-operation
• Nutrient circulation
• On-site consumption

Providing most of the human foodand all of the
animal fodder
Nutrients from the settlement is recycled to
agricultural land
Open ditches
Nutrient reclaimLandscape diversityPredator
habitatLee planting Biomass production
Functional size, population about 200
Area 50 ha for 200 inhabitants
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The eco-unit

• High diversity
• Perennial plants
• Co-operation
• Mutualism
• Nutrient circulation
• On-site consumption
• Water export by evaporation

Biological greywater treatment plant
(wetpark)Clean water is returned to the
households
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The ruralisation scenario
A scenario is an imagination made by a scientist
The rules are You can imagine the most
ridiculous things But you have to render a
statement of the effects
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The ruralisation scenario start point
At start point, the centre of the municipality
has a population of 33 000The periphery 3 000
In this scenario, the following is assumed
1. The city is inhabited by decision-makers who
have the capacity to make far-sighted and
strategic decisions
2. They have the same knowledge of limiting
resources, ecology and the rules for long-term
survival as you.
3. Furthermore, they understand that the city is
not static, but dynamic. Old houses are torn down
and new are built. (The average life-time for a
house is supposed to be 60 years, which gives the
city a rate of change of 1,6)
4. They decide that, instead of building new
houses on the same place where the old ones were
torn down, they will build eco-units in the
periphery of the town.
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Ruralisation after 12 years
The municipality center 24 000The periphery
12 000
Groups of four Eco-unitsEach group is inhabited
by 800 people
Local parks replacing the old houses
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Ruralisation after 25 years
The municipality 12 000The periphery 24 000
Reversed ditching
Underground streams are brought to the surface
5 600 persons
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Ruralisation after 50 years
In the end of the ruralisation process The
municipality 3 000The periphery 36 000

• High diversity
• Perennial plants
• Co-operation
• Mutualism
• Nutrient circulation
• On-site consumption
• Slow change
• Water export by evaporation

Area with 5,600 inhabitants in eco-unitsPopulatio
n density closing to 500/km2
By changing into a more resilient and less fuel
dependent state, the ecological maturity of the
area has increased considerably
May be, the human impact on this area has changed
from a parasitic to a supportive type