permaculture

["Dylan Ford" <dford@suffolk.lib.ny.us>]

Dear Robert,

Why does everyone think that making alcohol from something necessarily
excludes it from then being used for compost? Anyone who ever made wine
knows that the source material is not in the least consumed or exhausted by
the fermentation process. In fact I would not be surprised if what is lost
as sugar is not made up for by the dead remains of the yeast that do the
work. Also, enzymes that break down cellulose will speed the transition of
many of these things back into available fertility.
The worms that turn organic material into high-value plant food must wait
until bacteria, molds, fungi, yeasts, etc perform the initial decomposition
anyway before they can consume it. This is win-win as far as I can see, and
adds impetus to the argument that these items should be salvaged from the
dead-end waste stream and taken full advantage of.   dylan



From: "Robert Waldrop"
> The issue with food wastes, lawn trimmings,
> municipal tree trimmings and etc., is that all of
> these items are needed to develop sustainable
> fertility for gardens and agriculture.  That is,
> they need to be composted and mulched and returned
> to the earth.  If we rob the earth of these
> nutrients for ethanol, then we are resolving one
> issue only to develop another one.
>
>

Dylan Ford is the author of the proposal at www.ideaforpresident.com , a
website devoted to an idea that could provide an avenue to address pollution
issues, food safety, social justice, prison reform and healthcare.