"Sustainability, biomimicry, biology, futurism, ecology, ecosystems: these terms have recently begun to have more weight in public discourse signaling a change in questions being asked and thinking about how humans should live on and interact with the Earth.
Crises abound around the world, many related to farming, food and water. For example, untreated human waste is reportedly used by 200 million farmers to irrigate and fertilize farm land to produce vegetables and grains for human consumption. The primary reason farmers resort to these methods is the shortage of fresh water and high fertilizer costs. Unfortunately this process involves health risks reportedly leading to 2.2 million deaths worldwide a year from intestinal illnesses; allowing people to starve to death is not an alternative either."
I can't believe I read that article and didn't see the word "permaculture" anywhere. "Upcycling" and permaculture are very convergent ways of thinking. So much so that I would be surprised if the authors, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, had not had some exposure to it. The principles and ethics of these two systems so are strongly aligned that they are basically the same thing.
Their book just made my Amazon shopping list.
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