If you are interested to contact Painting Adventures please go to www.paintingadventures.com

Please contact me with your thoughts and comments

Link to Closer to Home Movie Web Page

New -A Fiction Story, Eugene 2035.

Perma Jam II- Sat. May 17 Noon to 5 PM,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, For More Info, punch here.

Also new. "Converting A Suburban Property into a Model of Eco Logical Culture Change." Written for a presentation at the upcoming-April 22- Eco Cities World Summit in San Francisco.
Link to a January interview on KSLR radio, Sarasota, Florida please copy and paste and be patient for my interview sound quality improves for interview. http://steve.podomatic.com/enclosure/2008-01-11T14_05_59-08_00.mp3

 

Copies of Global Trends- Local Choices are available. Link to more information.

Orientation/Index

Here is the scoop on how this page is organized.

The page is organized like the table below

Orientation, Suburban Permaculture

Welcome, Short essay on Culture Change
Calendar, Foto Galleries Essays on Culture Change, links to video, radio
My Space Features, World Food, Place Making

Contents in the list below, describing elements of Suburban Permaculture. Punch to select.

Choices contain text explaining elements of my suburban conversion project. Many before and after fotos.

Graphic view of the site.

Suburban Renewal

The site

Car Port Conversion

Sheet mulching

Concrete Removal

Water Features and Habitat

Coldframes

Water Storage and Management

Solar Elements

CCAT

Food

Brief History of Suburbia

Block Planning

Welcome to Suburban Permaculture

Greening the Neighborhood Schedule here.

Go straight to Culture Change Presentation- Fotos and Graphics

The website and the entire idea of suburban permaculture have evolved since this page and project started seven years ago. When I first began my property conversion, I had never heard of Peak Oil, climate change was not much in the news and the US was not at war in Iraq.

A host of other global and local trends, already on the radar of many observers seven if not twenty or more years ago, have only gained momentum such as an increasingly fragile and ill advised global economic system, increasing social and political disequity at all levels, population growth, resource scarcity of many kinds, culture war and much more.

Since 2000, numerous startling events have taken place both local and global while an increasing number of discoveries have been made about the natural world and the human condition that are clearly saying Suburban Permaculture/ suburban renewal looks better than ever.

Suburban Permaculture fits within a much broader context of Culture Change- the idea that there is urgent need for deep changes in the way we relate to each other, ourselves, Planet Earth and how we take care of human needs.

For me, manifesting positive human potential equals any other single element or trend calling for Culture Change. Simply put, as individuals and communinities, we are capable of creating a peaceful, equitable and healthy planet in contrast to what we have at present.

Fundamental from this perspective, is the assertion that Global Capitalism is not an ally for a peaceful and healthy planet, rather it is severely in the way. It inherently interferes with uplifted positive ways of taking care of human needs and is completely dependent for its survival upon degrading human potential and the natural environment.

The greatest renewable resource we have available is uplifted human creativity. As the mainstream economic system and consumer way of life more fully reveal thier profound and inevitible flaws, there will be a very real sun rise for a human cultural rennaisance with the opportunity to learn from past and current mistakes.

Certainly, we can be advancing that rennaisance in the present. The more positive social, economic, land use, environmental models to accomodate healthy human needs- to look to, to be involved with, to benefit from- the better the prospects we have for a world at peace with uplifted people and a healthy natural environment.

Suburban Permaculture has an important role to play.

The purpose of this website is to offer positive ideas, images of practical on the ground examples and sincere encouragement for Eco Logical Culture Change.

Calendar and Events

Environment and Culture Series- Greening the Neighborhood starts March 12, Film- Money as Debt, Full schedule.

Greening the Neighborhood- Schedule

Foto Galleries

Fotos of the Cascadia Eco Fair

Fotos July Bike Tour

Current fotos of my place

Bungalow fotos

"Parking " downtown

Fotos October Bike Tour

Selected Fotos from ' 07

River Road Rocks ' 08

Bellingham Work Party '08

 

Essays and Culture Change

Neighborhod Organizations and Going Green. Punch here

Link to Feb 25 Op Ed in the Eugene Register Guard. Punch here.

For more commentaries, esssays, short stories punch here.

Cape Coral Florida Provides Preview of Resource Constrained Way of Life. Fotos and graphic

Blog and fotos of the Kindred Spirit Tour. Narration/commentary/impressions/fotos of a 2 week tour of Washington State in July. Includes basic content of tour presentations and overall impressions of the tour.

Road Trip to Los Alamos, New Mexico. November 12 to 19- Impressions and comments. punch here

Guest Viewpoint in the Eugene Weekly August 16 - Impressions of the Kindred Spirits Tour of Washington State

http://eugeneweekly.com/2007/08/16/views2.html

You Tube Video- interview and tour of my place

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWjCnwbb5yc#GU5U2spHI_4

if the u tube link doesnt work, search u tube for suburban renewal

Workshops on Suburban Renewal and various other culture change topics are now available. Check here for more information.

 

My Place

Please contact me with your thoughts and comments.

New, short cut to the Bungalow Page. Fotos and comments on the new Bungalow.

Current fotos of my place.

You Tube video interview/tour of my place, see Culture Change box above to the right.

A short biography may be of interest.

movie topics

 

Special Features

Environment and Culture Series- Greening the Neighborhood- A series of films, discussions and strategy session for greening River Road or other neighborhoods. Beginning with the film An Inconveneint Truth- Wednesday, January 23; 7 PM at the River Road Rec Center in Emerald Park. Films to be shown, The End of Suburbia, The Story of Stuff. Schedule.

Exerpt from a story of Eugene and the Willamette Valley 30 years from now and 15 years into recovery. A visit to Corvallis and OSU.

Radio Feature from Great Lakes Radio Consortium- Ann Dornfeld visits Jan Spencer's suburban property. cut and paste audio version http://environmentreport.org/story.php3?story_id=3533 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, printed version http://www.glrc.org/transcript.php3?story_id=3533

Food- A revealing photographic comparison of diets typical of diverse global geographies and cultures as seen in the January, 2002 edition of the Smithsonian Magazine

Place Making- Images from Portland and Eugene that illustrate neighborhood scale place making for the purpose of bringing people together to create local culture and community enhancement. Also link to the City Repair Website. Interesting.

[sub]Urban Design and Public Health. This choice will take you to the U.S. Center For Disease Control and articles/information that explain the connections between the [sub]urban built environment and public health.