From Scarcity to Abundance

The last century's new technology and industrial production seemed to promise wealth for everyone, but it has come to show that in the last few decades a lot of resources have been destroyed. Ecosystems are threatening to collapse and the rapid depletion of essential natural resources is putting us infront of many new challenges.

Can wealth and quality of living really only be achieved by the destruction of the environment and the robbery of resources? Permaculture and Cradle to Cradle question exactly this. Through a change in production methods - from linear processing to full-circle material circulation - wealth does not have to be achieved at nature's cost. A fundamental change in social relations is necessary, that is way Cradle to Cradle and Permaculture see themselves as blueprints for a more fruitful society in the 21st Century.

After a short presentation on resource depletion and Peak Everything by Richard Heinberg the concepts of Cradle to Cradle and Permaculture will be critically discussed and their potential for an emancipatory social change will be explored.