permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Juan Alvez <jalvez@uvm.edu>
Date: Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 9:45 PM
Subject: RE: [SANET-MG] The curious case of tainted milk from a Maine dairy
farm
To: sanet-mg@googlegroups.com <sanet-mg@googlegroups.com>


Sharing…

I hope that this thread from a different discussion group can help…

-J



“Eco-machines” or living technologies designed by pioneering restoration
ecologist John Todd for the myco-bioaquatic remediation of wastewater and
hazardous waste, have been found to be extremely effective at breaking down
a wide variety of persistent organic pollutants.



One such facility — looking, to the untrained eye,  like a beautiful
greenhouse — is helping to clean up the Blackstone River in Massachusetts,
considered by the EPA to be the most polluted river in the country. Heavy
metals, organic dyes, tanning compounds, PCBs, you name it, are all present.

A fraction of the river water is diverted into the nearby greenhouse where
it passes sequentially through a series of transparent cylindrical tanks,
each filled with a wide variety of plants, fish, bacteria, algae, and other
life appropriate for that ecosystem.

Each tank develops its own unique combination of species that view
pollutants in its specific influent water as food. Consequently, no two
tanks have precisely the same ecology.

Note that while John initially seeds each tank with an identical, diverse
variety of species, he does not know in advance which creatures, bacteria,
and plants will perish or flourish; the system self-organizes in the same
way nature does. As a result, the water passing through the system becomes
incrementally cleaner at each step of the process through a complex set of
biochemical reactions no one can predict.

Through a collaborative effort with mycologist Paul Stamets, water cleaned
by the bio-aquatic process then passes through a series of containers
hosting a variety of fungi, where fungi-secreted acids and enzymes further
degrade any chemical pollutants present.

Effluent water from the greenhouse, now inoculated with bacteria and fungi
that see the river’s pollution as food, then flows back into the river.

A stationary, plant-filled raft floating in the middle of the river, with
the plants’ roots dangling in the current, confers addition remediation
benefits.

With only one facility operating, the impact is modest. John hopes to build
a series of these greenhouse facilities next to the river at regular
intervals so that the entire river can be restored to a healthy, thriving
condition.

For more details and photos ...

Ecological Design along the Blackstone: Creating a Clean River…within a
River - Ecological Landscape Alliance

https://www.ecolandscaping.org/02/restoration/ecological-design-along-the-blackstone-creating-a-clean-riverwithin-a-river/



John’s new book, Healing Earth, contains a full description of how various
types of eco-machines can be designed depending upon their intended
application. Janine “Biomimicry” Benyus’ foreword to this book ranks among
the most eloquent environmental writing I’ve ever read.

Healing Earth: An Ecologist's Journey of Innovation and Environmental
Stewardship: John Todd, Matt Beam, Janine Benyus

https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Earth-Ecologists-Environmental-Stewardship/dp/1623172985









*   -------------------------------*

  JUAN P. ALVEZ, Ph.D.

  Research Associate

  Pasture Program Technical Coordinator
<https://www.uvm.edu/extension/profiles/juan-alvez>

  University of Vermont Extension <http://www.uvm.edu/extension/agriculture>,
Center for Sustainable Agriculture <http://www.uvm.edu/~susagctr/>



   105 Jeffords Hall, 63 Carrigan Dr., Burlington VT, 05405-5933

   Best way to *contact*: jalvez-at-uvm.edu  | P: 802-656-6116 |  Webpage
<https://www.uvm.edu/extension/profiles/juan-alvez>

   VT Pasture Network <http://www.uvm.edu/~pasture/> | Calendar
<https://www.uvm.edu/extension/sustainableagriculture/calendar-regional-sustainable-agriculture-events>
| Blog <https://blog.uvm.edu/pasture-vtpasture/> | Videos
<https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEw_85I17VQFEP7F2axCr05WERlr8ueQJ>
| Rsch. Gate
<https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Juan_Alvez2/contributions> | Linked In
<https://www.linkedin.com/in/juan-p-alvez-ph-d-42302619/>



  *“Helping individuals and communities put research-based knowledge to
work”*

*  “Because building connections and deep understanding leads to a healthy
environment and high quality of life”*



*From:* sanet-mg@googlegroups.com <sanet-mg@googlegroups.com> *On Behalf Of
*Jonathan Latham
*Sent:* Thursday, March 28, 2019 9:10 PM
*To:* sanet-mg@googlegroups.com
*Subject:* Re: [SANET-MG] The curious case of tainted milk from a Maine
dairy farm



I don’t have info on potential biodegrading organisms, sorry

J



On Mar 28, 2019, at 5:12 PM, Karl S North <knorth@BINGHAMTON.EDU> wrote:



I cannot believe how confused this exchange got in a hurry. Are people not
reading carefully, or am I not being clear?



First, let's not confuse the issue by confusing farm slurry with sewage.
Jonathan's post and my  first comment was about sewage. Maybe I caused
misinterpretation by following up with my farm manure composting example.
Of course the whole slurry pit system is a disgusting attempt at a
solution. Of course present city sewage is toxic and would not work. I
thought I was clear on that.



Second, surely we agree that both aerobic and anaerobic decomposition are
common processes of natural systems. Neither is necessarily disease
promoting - think a cow's rumen and our own intestinal processes for
anaerobic, and the example I gave for farm-scale composting for aerobic.
Both are positive and even essential in these cases, I would argue. Whether
the results are healthy or not depends how it is done and the nature of the
feedstock. Plenty of examples exist in human history and cultures of both
processes used with both positive and negative results. So one cannot
simply dismiss anaerobic processes categorically by a smell test.



Third, manure bedding sheds are a wasted effort, in my view. As John Dhont
says, a bedding pack that builds through the winter with livestock standing
on it is better. If one adds enough bedding, two things happen. The
livestock stays clean and healthy (and warm from the slow composting pack),
and the C/N ratio is closer to what it needed for efficient composting to
minimize losses once the pack is removed. Outdoor compost windrows can be
protected by proper shaping to make the rain run off rather than soak in.
At least in my climate. Maybe not in Ireland.



Fourth, re bacterium, I was asking Jonathan if there is one that can eat
toxic elements in sewage sludge, not ones that might cause disease.
Biologists call it bioremediation.



Attached is a description of a biodigester so low cost that it has been
adopted by poor peasants in Vietnam, Cambodia and Colombia. Its products
cook food, light kitchens and fertilize fields.



On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 3:50 PM Robert Schuler <sunnfarms@gmail.com> wrote:

Farm based slurrystore systems eliminated winter manure spreading, which is
a good thing. Very expensive I'll agree. Smaller farms store manure and
bedding in manure sheds. This is not sludge. Back in the seventies I used a
product called Milorganite in my organic potting mix. This was urban
industrial sludge in a pretty package. I remember golf course workers
getting sick from it. I assume the product was sued out of existence...
Robert



On March 28, 2019, at 3:28 PM, dhondt <dhondt@eircom.net> wrote:

Sorry, but I think you have it theoretically wrong and practically right
Karl. What is important is that a composting toilet/heap/ bin is aerobic
while anything to do with slurry is anaerobic. You can just make use of
your nose to tell which is healthy and which is disease promoting.

In the 90's we had the nitrate directive forced upon us farmers here in
Ireland supposedly because it was more environmentally friendly. In reality
it was just forcing farmers to spend fortunes on building slurry tanks.
Good for the economy that and also it forces the small producers out, the
people who have worked with fork and wheelbarrows to keep there animals
clean and snug bedded down on straw. With slurry you need big expensive
machines (good for the economy). Anyway, the slurry system is extremely
polluting and it would even be if there were not some 80,000 different
human chemicals found in it. On average 14 farmers or their family members
die in their slurry tanks here every year. Come too close to an opened
tank, the fumes make you loose consciousness, you fall in and drown.

I don't think the name of the bacterium that "causes" disease is important
at all..There is not a situation on the planet that will not have some
bacterium living and even thriving in it. And that includes inside steam
geysers or inside old nuclear rectors like at Chernobyl. Slurry is
potentially extremely nutrient rich and it is certain that a variety of
anaerobes will live in it.  Now throw half a ton of pharmaceuticals and
extremely toxic chemicals in that mix and you can be certain that some
bacterium will start to thrive in there that all of nature and our bodies
can have extreme problems with. Use another mix and you will get another
bacterium that will be different enough to warrant another name.

I think it is the process that kills and a specific name is no use.

John

On 27/03/2019 20:18, Karl S North wrote:

So Jonathan,



The big question, which you might be able to address, is, what bacterium
will eat PFAS , POPS, and other toxicities currently in sewage, and can it
work in a biodigester culture? Then, in my utopian society (never under
capitalism),  all sewage could again be recycled to farms without harm, a
necessity for survival of any level of urban community, as Justus von
Liebig pointed out regarding the city of London 150 years ago.



The problem is not with the shit but with the contaminants, although I
still would not trust urbanite shit for a number of reasons. Humanure from
my farm's composting toilet, once composted again with the winter's
production of sheep bedding, fed our garden for 30 years with no health
problems. Spread on the fields grazed by our dairy sheep, it caused no
health problems in consumers of our sheep cheese.



On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 2:24 PM Jonathan Latham <
jrlatham@bioscienceresource.org> wrote:

“The Stone case is incredibly troubling because the source of exposure -
waste sludge - is something that is also spread across hundreds of farms in
Maine and thousands nationally"

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-dairy-chemicals/the-curious-case-of-tainted-milk-from-a-maine-dairy-farm-idUSKCN1R01AJ



Jonathan Latham, PhD
Executive Director

The Bioscience Resource Project,

Ithaca, NY 14850 USA


Websites:

www.independentsciencenews.org
www.poisonpapers.org

www.bioscienceresource.org


Tel: 1-607-319-0279

Twitter and Facebook: @Biosrp

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“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits
and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic
society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society
constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of
our country.”—Edward Bernays, Propaganda





Jonathan Latham, PhD
Executive Director

The Bioscience Resource Project,

Ithaca, NY 14850 USA


Websites:

www.independentsciencenews.org
www.poisonpapers.org

www.bioscienceresource.org


Tel: 1-607-319-0279

Twitter and Facebook: @Biosrp

Please sign on to our mailing list:
https://www.independentsciencenews.org/subscribe/



“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits
and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic
society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society
constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of
our country.”—Edward Bernays, Propaganda



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Karl North -  http://karlnorth.com/
"Pueblo que canta no morira" - Cuban saying
"They only call it class warfare when we fight back" - Anon.
"My father rode a camel. I drive a car. My son flies a jet-plane. His son
will ride a camel."
 —Saudi saying

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-- 

Karl North -  http://karlnorth.com/
"Pueblo que canta no morira" - Cuban saying
"They only call it class warfare when we fight back" - Anon.
"My father rode a camel. I drive a car. My son flies a jet-plane. His son
will ride a camel."
 —Saudi saying



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<Preston's low cost biodigester - English LEISA.pdf>



Jonathan Latham, PhD
Executive Director

The Bioscience Resource Project,

Ithaca, NY 14850 USA


Websites:

www.independentsciencenews.org
www.poisonpapers.org

www.bioscienceresource.org


Tel: 1-607-319-0279

Twitter and Facebook: @Biosrp

Please sign on to our mailing list:
https://www.independentsciencenews.org/subscribe/



“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits
and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic
society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society
constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of
our country.”—Edward Bernays, Propaganda



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-- 
Lawrence F. London, Jr.
lfljvenaura@gmail.com
Avant Geared
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