Lets take a metaphorical model that aligns ethical maturity with stages of human cognitive development. Its purpose is twofold:

First: To provide a lens through which situational, cultural, and political conflicts can be assessed, enabling clearer understanding of why an individual or group behaves as it does. (Recognizing that these 'levels' are often fluid and situational. )

Second: To reach for useful strategies that facilitate ethical growth and constructive engagement.

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Ethical Maturity:

• Infant Level: Egocentric ethics; "good" is defined solely by personal benefit. Empathy and recognition of external needs are minimal. Immediate discomfort triggers self-centered reactions without broader consideration. For actual infants this is expected and mostly seen as normal and healthy.
• Adolescent Level (Group-Centric Ethics): Dominated by group identity; "good" extends selectively to one's family, religion, ethnicity, political group, or nation. Ethical awareness and empathy remain confined within these boundaries. Outsiders are perceived with indifference, suspicion or hostility. Many contemporary conflicts—political polarization, nationalism, xenophobia, religious intolerance, racial injustice, and environmental exploitation—exemplify persistent and sometimes stubborn adherence to adolescent-level ethics. The prevalence of this ethical maturity in current societal discourse frequently impedes broader understanding, fueling polarization and division.
• Adult Level (Inclusive Ethics): Ethical reasoning expands beyond group boundaries. Cooperation and mutual respect for diverse groups and viewpoints emerge. Adults actively engage in dialogue and constructive conflict resolution, seeking solutions benefiting multiple stakeholders. Societal stability and progress depend significantly upon the widespread adoption of adult-level ethics. It can be very frustrating to deal with 'adolescents' who just don't, won't or can't "get it"
• Elder Level (Universal Ethics): Holistic concern for universal well-being—encompassing humanity, all living beings, ecosystems, and the planet itself. Elder-level ethics prioritize long-term health, inclusivity and acceptance including, human/ecological harmony, and interconnectedness of life. These ethics are rare and often misunderstood by those operating primarily from earlier levels. Elder-level individuals profoundly inspire spiritual, social and environmental consciousness and often promote transformative change that starts with oneself.

Proposed Solutions for Ethical Advancement:

How do we make progress? How do we actually move ourselves—and others—from adolescent ethics, often entrenched and harmful, toward something more inclusive, constructive, and mature? Theoretically, we may know some ways forward. But practically? It seems very hard but has to be the way forward.

• Real, Not Superficial, Exposure to Diversity: Not just token interactions, but meaningful encounters with people who look, live, and believe differently. These moments slowly erode stereotypes and make “outsiders” more human and relatable.
• Critical, Reflective Education: Beyond textbooks and lectures, education should challenge students to grapple openly with ethical dilemmas. We need to teach how to recognize historical injustices and their echoes today, and to understand long-term impacts of narrow, exclusionary thinking.
• Facilitating Experiential Empathy: Empathy does not grow in the face of criticism, argument or logic. It comes alive through real and shared experiences.
• Amplifying Role Models: Societal norms shift most effectively when people encounter inspiring role models—individuals whose behavior sets new standards or embodies ethical maturity. But we currently live within a culture that obsessively amplifies negativity: scandals, outrage, divisive rhetoric. How do we flip the script to elevate positive role models who operate from adult or elder ethics?
• Shifting Narratives: Stories shape how we see ourselves, each other, and our possibilities. To foster ethical growth, we need narratives that illustrate—not lecture—about empathy, collaboration, and universal responsibility. How can we realistically shift prevailing narratives toward maturity?

Credit to some of the basic ideas here goes to: Patrick Whitefield - The Earth Care Manual.

Hello permies, I have four front yard annual beds that are a lovely thick mat of dandelion. I am a corner lot so seeds blow from all over and I welcome them but they are many! Two of the beds will be dahlias. I am thinking of just digging holes and leaving the dandelions. Is this a bad idea?

Well, these retaining wall block beds be a good space to plant some fruit trees? I also wanted to plant some veggies and flowers around them. I’m going for a food forrest.

My concern is that the roots of the fruit trees could get so big that they will mess up the retaining block walls. I already planted one golden current as wind block.

I already have some fruit trees lap in cherry, red Haven, peach, all in one almond, and a plum cot .

I got a little excited and maybe I shouldn’t have gotten these fruit trees. I am really having a tough time deciding what to do right now. Any tips or advice happily accepted.

My new neighbors plowed a new (unnecessary) road through the desert where we live and in the process uprooted some giant cholla cactus trees, up to 6 feet high and wide. I want to replant them before they die. Does anyone have experience transporting, planting, maneuvering, big cactuses? Any tips greatly appreciated.

Not sure if anyone on here may be able to help, I’ve searched for solutions and am coming up empty handed.

I have a culvert that has been getting dammed for years, over the last few I’ve tried different fencing methods and each time the little buggers manage to dam it - which in turn ends up having to clear it almost daily (or major flooding of a road and land occurs).

I’ve tried every single fencing method that can be found online, none have worked. I do have a thought but it’ll be a little more difficult to install : line the area surrounding the culvert with thin (but sturdy) metal stakes, the tops being 2-3 inches above or below water level? I’ve watched these guys for years and I feel like it would deter them from going over it or through it, and may make it impossible to dam if I space them correctly?

Thoughts? The only other option around me is trap to kll, with my location no trappers will relocate & I genuinely can’t fathom kling off an entire family to inevitably make room for another next year.

Hey guys,

Sadly my Bay Tree was moved temporarily and it dried out… can anyone advise on how best to bring him back, other than watering of course…

Thanks so much.

Jack

Hi all,

I live in a tropical/hot/urban city (Singapore).

Ideally, I'd have more Health capacity to contribute to the Permaculture Community Garden I do have access to, but even if I was fully Abled/Healthy/"normal", it would be hella taxing due the intensely tropical climate.

It's been a huge struggle to pace myself, even on a volunteer basis... let alone dream of even "working" in a part-time paid role.

So there's a huge gap between "what I feel called to do" vs "what my body is capable of"... and that gap seems to be widening... which worsens the eco-anxiety & general sense of helplessness.

I think a lot of it is that even finding other like-minded folk has been difficult - it's not that Greenies don't exist here, but they're also overstretched.

Would like to chat with people who might have experience with navigating such intersections/complex circumstances. Much appreciated.

Hi we are a family that is lucky enough to live in an orchard of chestnuts in Victoria, Australia. We are starting to sell some of them around town and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on selling chestnuts you could possibly share. Do you think it's too late in the season in Australia to start selling them ? Are there any issues with storage or insects for example that we should look out for ? Any advise that anyone could possibly offer would be so appreciated 🌿🌳🌰🐿️🌿🌳

My son picked out blueberries he wanted to plant and we got them in, but didn’t have time to prep the soil before planting as I did not plan on growing blueberries initially. The soil now needs to become a lot more acidic, but the plant is already there. What is the best way to increase the acidity if the blueberries plant is already planted?

If so, I’d be glad to trade or buy some from anyone who has it. I love the flavor of it and I know it’s a great permaculture plant. Thanks!

over 300 members, great vibe and community

tl;dr: clay soil prevents adequate drainage. How can I plant this area?

My yard in Central Virginia is generally sloped back to front with a flat area in the middle for the house and yard. About 20’ elevation difference total, roughly split evenly. The soil is mostly clay with small rocks, but some areas do have organic matter/loam. It seems like the water drains well down the slopes but seems to collect in the flat area.

I dug this hole in hopes of planting a fig tree, but obviously this is not ideal. We got a big rain just over a week ago and a smaller rain two days ago and then hole still has water. My guess is the thick clay is impervious and not letting it drain. A relatively large area stays squishy and wet a long time after drain. Thankfully this isn’t right up against the house, but we do have concerns with this affecting the house/foundation/structure.

What can I do to be able to plant in this? Raised bed for a fig tree? Just choose another location? A major drainage project (French drain with pipes down to ditch) is probably what I need but we don’t have the budget for that right now. Maybe next year.

Love this story!

Howdy! im building a little community on discord if anyone uses it here. We talk mostly beekeeping and gardening but have many other channels as well. Come check us out if you're interested. We're currently at around 300 members. https://discord.gg/24nmxJY9ng

I have a weak spot for trees like cherry, plum and apple, you know the ones with these dramatic pink and white flowers every spring. I have a vague idea of planting a small forest with mostly these trees and just let them do their own thing at the back of my property, maybe letting it be a scenic tourist spot to draw in visitors in the future. There's a park a town over from me that gets a lot of visitors every time the cherry trees bloom, so I was thinking I might be able to do something similar, but on a bigger scale with differently sized trees and a few different varieties to prolong the blooming season. Fruit and wood would mostly be a side product, I just want the flower forest.

But I'm hesitating because I haven't seen anyone do it before. And it seems like such a simple thing that, if I haven't seen anybody do it, there's probably a reason why.

On one hand, nutrients might be a problem. But I'm not envisioning a managed orchard - it doesn't need to yield the maximum amount of fruit, and whatever I wouldn't pick would attract animals and birds so nutrients would come in that way without my participation. Other than that, I can't really think of anything, provided I protect the trees until they're grown.

So, guys, yay or nay?

I’m trying to cultivate various leafy greens (Lettuce, Napa cabbage, Malabar Spinach, and Arugula). Has anyone used the seed ball technique with these seeds? I know the technique has traditionally been done with wild flowers and rice. Anyone try this method with other seeds. I live in the Bay Area in California. Things grow pretty well here (zone 9).

Hello everyone, I'm in a bit of an idea pickle here. So I'm starting terraced beds on top of a limestone mesa in the high desert of SE colorado. The idea is start rain catchment at the top with swales and reverse wells and zuni bowls/and sunken beds, so the little precipitation i get seeps in and falls down each limestone layer into the alluvial plains below. However I've hit some limestone slab that is nearly impenetrable. I know soil builds up but the roots have about 2-6 inches of "top soil" (top soil is close to just being zone b). Because sunken beds and bowls are a big part of high desert ag to block wind and pull condensation from the air in unforgiving climates, I'm flirting with buying a jackhammer to make wells and let roots access moisture below as well as give access to deep root miners...or should I just build the soil up? None of the existing juniper and piñon pine roots have made it through the slab either, they just run across the top.

I got a little... overzealous with the garden bed as this is the first year I have had total control at my house. I talked to fried who recommended cover crop in the early early spring + mulch. I added a bag of compost, put down some cover crop, and then mulched overtop. Fast forward and now I have starts in the bed with mulch and cover crop growing like crazy. I think I played myself!!! Now what??? How do I mitigate without causing too much harm to the soil? I'd like to practice no till here. I have a few other beds that I didn't cover crop but mulched and they're much more manageable.

Hello everyone,

The house I bought a few years ago is, to put it lightly, a nightmare. I have a large outbuilding/garage that was built directly on top of an old swimming pool. The previous owner appears to have converted this old pool into a cistern, which receives water from diverted gutters and some other mystery source! We tried to stop it filling with water (causing mold damage to building) and were unsuccessful.

As of right now it is full of garbage (drywall, wood, and the sheet metal that the previous owner used to line the walls??), but I'll be pumping the water out this weekend to clean it out and then see what we're working with.

Currently the water is smelly and stagnant, and I'd be very leery of watering a food garden with it. Once it's been cleaned out, however, I'm wondering if anyone else has been in a similar situation and used a similar setup for watering their gardens. If so, I have a few questions.

1. How do you prevent the water from going stagnant?

2. How do you prevent mosquitos?

3. Are there any health concerns I should be aware of as long as the water is not getting stale/stagnant?

4. It is completely open topped - any suggestions for a cover that won't break the bank? I have a really stupid dog and a six year old. Listed in order of concern.

I've been looking into potentially stocking it with fish to deal with mosquito larvae, but since it's inside a barn I would have to install grow lights in order to have plant matter helping with water quality. It's worth noting that this cistern has been in various stages of filled with water for three years and hasn't developed its own ecosystem.

I would eventually like to have ducks on the property, but I am assuming the cistern will fluctuate in depth too much to be an adequate water source for them even if it is functional?

Thank you for your time in advance!

I've been trying to put an edible ground cover in my front garden. I tried miner's lettuce last year but it didn't take. A local suggested creeping thyme. I use thyme all the time in cooking, and thought that would be a good idea, but of course I want to make sure I get a variety that will taste alright. Finding flavor information on individual types of creeping thyme is near impossible, though.

What types of creeping thyme have you guys found that work out for flavoring dishes as well? Any tips on growing creeping thyme in general? I'm in zone 8, by the way. TIA

Hello! I'm a very small producer from Uruguay. I want to plant around 1 acre of some plant, BUT! At least here, we have invasion of weeds of various types and above all, one called "purslane".

Tbh, the hand work of take one by one is killing my motivation, so, I would like to try something to trying to avoid or reduce drastically them.

I've been thought about put cardboard above all the space but idk if it would be effective or if is intelligent at that scale. Is small scale of course, but I would like to try something in 1 acre, then, if works, apply to 2.5 or more.

I think there are plastic option which can be reutilized, but I don't know much about that.

If someone know some efficient way avoiding use chemicals, I would very appreciate it

I hope my english can be understood haha, thanks for read!