The PermaDesign Weblog, with Nate Downey and Melissa McDonald!
The Next Big One
The next big one in CA might not be a quake. It could be a flood like the one described here:
01/09/2016 | (0) Comments
The Vulnerable
I try not to get too political on my blog, but when it comes to something like this, it's time to stand up:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-moore/dear-gov-snyder-you-have-to-go-to-jail_b_8925670.html
01/08/2016 | (0) Comments
Roof-Reliant Landscaping™ Step 14D: The Roof-Reliant Calendar
The Roof-Reliant Calendar A quarterly water budget, divided into “seasons” that coincide with the climatic and precipitation patterns in the state, is recommended for roofreliant landscapers. The water-budget fiscal year begins on September 1 and ends on August 31.
01/08/2016 | (0) Comments
Roof-Reliant Landscaping™ Step 14C: Other Factors to Consider
• Factor in the seasonal demand. Throughout New Mexico, the period of heaviest supplemental irrigation is typically late June through early July. Using July as the benchmark for maximum supplemental irrigation needed (100%), all other months need less irrigation. For example, in Las Cruces during the month of April, irrigation controllers should be set to deliver only 41% of the total water that is needed for the hot month of July. See Appendix 5 for a chart of monthly waterbudget settings for eight New Mexico locations.
Figure 6-1:
01/06/2016 | (0) Comments
Oh, No! Nate’s Gone Paleo!
From my latest Permaculture in Practice Column:
It was a normal day. I got kids to school, made calls, sent emails, zoomed in on Google Earth, texted. Who knew I’d soon go paleo?
01/04/2016 | (0) Comments
Roof-Reliant Landscaping™ Step 14B: Water-Budgeting Basics: Income and Outlays
The basics are the same for every water budget. Every time period starts with a projected quantity of water in storage, and a projected quantity of income water in the form of newly harvested precipitation. These two variables will depend on the size of your catchment area, the amount of precipitation captured in a given year and the size of your storage tank. A detailed description of how to calculate the projected quantity of storage and income water is presented in an earlier blog, Sizing Your Cistern.
01/03/2016 | (0) Comments
Roof-Reliant Landscaping™ Step 14A: Water Budgeting
A budget is a numerical estimate that describes a plan for the future use of resources. For the roof-reliant landscaper, a water budget is an accounting of the potential use of water during drier-than-normal years. Such a budget focuses on establishing the appropriate plant material that you expect to install according to your roof-reliant landscape plan.
01/01/2016 | (0) Comments
Water Is a Right, But Is It?
Global military expeditures run about $1.76 trillion per year according to the UN, but it would only take $10 to $30 billion to provide water to the 720 million people in need--More from Maude Barlow in this recent article in the 'Toronto Star.'
12/31/2015 | (0) Comments
Harvest the Rain With a Garden
From my latest Permaculture in Practice column:
At the top of a precipitous driveway in a pristine native landscape, a sharp-roofed house pops up proudly behind a splash of Russian sage. With genuine smiles still concealing trepidation, my new clients lead me through the living room, past a large dinner table, and out some glass doors to the edge of a vast crater. “What would you do with that?” they asked, pointing to a hole the size and shape of an overturned school bus.
12/07/2015 | (0) Comments
Climate Change on a Regional Level
As people start to move away from Brazil's largest city due to drought, scientists and locals try to figure out why the sudden change in rainfall. One plausible theory is that the amount of moisture in the atmosphere has been greatly depleted due to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest nearby. Listen or read the story on NPR. http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/11/22/455751848/as-brazils-largest-city-struggles-with-drought-residents-are-leaving
11/29/2015 | (0) Comments
