— though I would say that the original article was misnamed. Huh? “Better Farming”? What does that mean in the context of the “difference”?
In any case, if we but remember the old adage, “ALL WASTE IS FOOD,” we quickly come to further understandings, for example: certain things like to grow together (“guilds”) because they give each other what they need; and, the more diverse and complex the system, the more resilient.

Plus, despite scientism’s pretense that it can conduct “controlled experiments,” and that it can model or map “reality,” it cannot. This is because we can’t completely close any system without 1) pretending that we know all the inputs on every level and in every dimension — visible and invisible, and 2) even if we could put that system inside an impervious cage, sooner or later its energy will run down — as happened to Biosphere 2.

BTW: my response to Guy McPherson and other “doomers” is the above. We just don’t, and we can’t, understand natural systems fully enough to be able to predict the future, no matter how precise and detailed our maps and projections.

We think that we can understand Mother Nature. But her intelligence is way way beyond our puny human brains.

So, back to the subject at hand:

There no such thing as “waste,” because what the military/industrial/big ag world prefers to call “externalities” (dead civilians, chaos, ruined soil, fracked (poisoned) water, etc.) are NOT.

Once you start thinking permaculturally, your mind changes, opens, starts to become not just imitative, but downright generative. WE are creators. Let’s act like it. And what that means, is to observe Mother Nature as closely as possible, and try to imitate her rather than control her.

Permaculturists design our systems to reflect what Mother Nature is teaching us about herself.

The Difference Between Permaculture and Better Farming is Simple

May 13, 2015

permaculturevisions.com, via Jay
Permaculture is a Design Science. In Permaculture we look at how energy is captured, used and re-used in our efforts to feed, clothe, transport and educate our society. We optimise the use of natural energies, engage and empower people to meet their own needs and ensure that the waste is well used and re-used. Essentially, we search for a way to close the system.

Permaculture Studies Energy and flow – there is a significant difference between closed and open food-production systems

In a truly closed system (one in vacuum or in space) energy is not lost it is simply transferred from one being or element to another. In a permaculture system, (which can never be fully closed), energy is ideally used by one element effectively and passed on for the benefit of the next before it leaves the system.

The big difference between a permaculture site and a farm is that a farm is a very open system, the farms nutrients are shipped off to market forever and so there is constant need to regenerate the soil through good soil-building practices and importing resources. although the world desperately needs good farming practices, we also need permaculture systems where people can help produce what they need, where they live and can feed the waste back into their permaculture sites.