Contents Positive energy sources Microbes that break down plastic trash Microbes that absorb nuclear waste Bioremediation Products Research Phytoremediation (plants heal the earth) News Videos About this blog: "Organic Cures"

Positive Energy Future the Organic Cures Blog by Nori Muster Note to Americans: the cutting edge technologies discussed on this page are working in Western Europe, Asia, and parts of America. Let's catch up with the rest of the world. We need bioremediation all over America. Positive energy sources Electrofuels fuels from the process of bioremediation studied solarusa.org/ucla.html UCLA engineering professor Yang Yang, postdoctoral researcher Gang Li, and graduate student Vishal Shrotriya describe innovative polymer solar cell. The polycrystalline solar cell, or thin-film solar cell (TFSC), is also called a thin-film photovoltaic cell (TFPV). Discovery.com Rugged heat- and salt-loving organisms could unlock the secret to efficient biofuel production. Britain turning food waste into fuel "British Gas and Bio Group, a company working on bioremediation technology, announced they've signed a deal to build a facility in Stockport, England, to convert commercial food waste into gas." bioremediation-based catalytic converter with a pipe lined with microbes converts exhaust gases from vehicles into reusable fuel Invention of the Optical Battery announced April 2011 University of Michigan Professor Stephen Rand, and doctoral student W.M. Fisher have announced what they call an "optical battery." They say it will cost less and use fewer precious natural resources. Dr. Rand is a professor in the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Physics and Applied Physics. They unveiled their research in the Journal of Applied Physics (see original http://jap.aip.org/). We need a new, positive, green source of energy. Then we can start to concentrate on environmental remediation, restoration, and detoxification. This is the first positive news we have received on positive energy. The rest of the page is devoted to bioremediation products and research. Our motto is "long live the friendly bacteria." Bookmark this page for news about the optical battery and other positive energy sources. optical battery A hidden magnetic effect of light could make it possible Horsepower to Microbe Power A new report states that: "a type of bacteria called Shewanella Oneidensis that live in oxygen-free environments may be an exciting new power source for everything from lights to mobile phone chargers." The microbes have tiny wires penetrating their walls that emit electricity. The article concludes: "Imagine bragging to your friends about how many million microbes you have under the hood . . . instead of just a few hundred horsepower." Click here to read the original article. [Caution: The article says, "The hope is that the built in 'electrical outlet' the bacteria have can be re-designed slightly so the electrical charges can be used to clean up oil spills and other pollutants." Does this mean turning them into GMOs [genetically modified organisms]? Doesn't sound good, but I will investigate further.] Another creative entry to this category is the "solar concentrator" window meant for commercial buildings. They would conserve energy, as well as generate energy. Google "solar concentrator" for more information. Microbes that break down plastic trash wasterecyclingnews.com Yale undergraduates, including Pria Anand, have discovered organisms in Amazon Rainforest fungi which can degrade polyurethanes. The discovery, which is featured in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, may lead to innovative ways to reduce waste in the world's landfills, the university said in a press release. Another article about this discovery - click here. See also: physorg.com See also: Yale Alumni Magazine. more about P. microspora, a mold of the Ascomycota phylum family, found during Prof. Scott Strobel's annual Yale Rainforest Expedition and Laboratory course in the Yasuni National Forest in 2008. The fungi that eat polyurethane come from the guava tree (Psidium guajava) and the custard apple tree (Annona muricata). update on Yale students bbc.co.uk "At the UK's University of Sheffield, scientists are investigating how they could accelerate the speed at which the plastic breaks down by looking at micro-organisms already found in the sea that naturally feed on plastic. Microbes that absorb nuclear waste In 1998, Phytotech, along with Consolidated Growers and Processors (CGP) and the Ukraine's Institute of Bast Crops, planted industrial hemp, Cannabis sp., for the purpose of removing contaminants near the Chernobyl site. Distillery sludge used to treat radioactive sites spider webs nuclear waste site shows signs of life—researchers believe radiation-resistant spiders and microbes help clean up nuclear waste Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) "Critical genetic secrets of a bacterium that holds potential for removing toxic and radioactive waste from the environment have been revealed in a study by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab)." microbes clean up uranium from groundwater G. sulfurreducens, a species of Geobacter bacteria, has an extraordinary ability to remove uranium from contaminated groundwater. Researchers have been trying to find out how the process works. They suspected that hair-like filaments called pili produced by G. sulfurreducens in certain environments might be the answer. Scientific American Mechanism by which microbes scrub radioactive contamination revealed Discover Magazine Bacteria use electric wires to shock uranium out of groundwater Cellular Systems for Diverse National Needs (Shewanella) Shewanella oneidensis cells can reduce uranium and metals in contaminated environments. Guided by the biological information encoded within genome sequences, we can begin to identify, understand, re-engineer, and harness specific cellular systems for energy production, environmental remediation, and other national needs. BBC Science News Geobacter bacteria 'nano-wires' clean up uranium contamination. The Hindu Michigan State University have unravelled the mystery of how microbes generate electricity while cleaning up nuclear waste and other toxic metals. Details of the process, which can be improved and patented, are published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. cbsnews.com Gaetan Borgonie, a nematode specialist from Belgium, discovered radiation eating microbes in the rock walls of a South African mine. The Scientist The bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens lives by reducing metals, such as radioactive uranium, rendering them much less soluble and thus less of a threat to the environment. New research published yesterday (September 5) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences points to how they do it. microbes that generate electricity while cleaning nuclear waste A team of researchers at Michigan State University has come up with the answer to how the mcrobes generate electricity while cleaning up nuclear waste. The team is led by Gemma Reguera, an MSU microbiologist. Possible breakthrough in Japan [click the link to watch video] Scientists in Japan think they may have found a way to remove caesium radiation from contaminated ground around the Fukushima nuclear plant damaged in the earthquake in March. It involves using microbes to attracts particles from the metal caesium in soil and water. So far results have been very encouraging and the scientists are keen to test the procedure on the ground as soon as possible. Hemp planted to remediate Chernobyl This article reveals the role of hemp in removing radiation from Chernobyl. Cladosporium sphaerospermum - fungi that thrives on radiation. "Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, believe that the black fungus converts ionising radiation into usable energy, just as green plants convert sunlight. It appears that C. sphaerospermum copes with the DNA-damaging effects of radiation by having multiple copies of the same chromosome in every cell. This fungus is happy living even in the heart of the Chernobyl reactor, where it was discovered in 1999." sunflowers remediate radioactive waste as noted above, the sunflowers will absorb the radioactive waste, then will have to be disposed of as contaminated trash. But what better way to get the radioactive waste out of the environment? phytoremediation for radiation Uranium bioremediation in continuously fed upflow sand columns inoculated with anaerobic granules: read abstract and supporting information. UC Berkeley scientists point out that people's lawns are phyto-remediating the nuclear fallout from Japan. microbes that eat radiation discovered in gold mine in South Africa. The Solution That Might Save Japan and the World From Radiation These microbes are called extremophiles and they have been known about since 1956. They can withstand radiation 15 times what would kill humans and they actually seek out and eat uranium and plutonium transforming them into far less dangerous substances. Algae may help clean up nuclear waste Scientists at Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory have studied the way that bright green algae Closterium moniliferum found in fresh water ponds, soak up strontium and sequesters it. By using synchrotron X-ray microscopy available at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, the researchers were able to map out how green algae absorbs the strontium as well as study how other minerals like barium and calcium affect the process. Scientists identify algae for nuclear cleanup Addressing the nuclear waste issue Pond alga could help scientists design effective method for cleaning up nuclear waste. National Science Foundation: scientists discover bacteria that eat the by-products of radioactivity. Bioremediation of Radioactive Waste One technology that holds promise for eventually reducing the toxicity and amount of radioactive waste is bioremediation, using live bacteria. This technology makes use of the ability of live cells or enzymes to clean and reduce the volume of waste. Editor's Note: we have added this category to respond to the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan. Our lesson from this is that strains of microbes "eat" nuclear waste, the same way nature eventually dispenses with nuclear waste. Therefore, we now have a Google Alert for the keywords "nuclear bioremediation," and will bring you developments in this field. We urge officials in Japan to use natural means to enhance the bioremediation process. The future of friendly bacteria is bright. Find them, breed them, love them - and they will love you back. Start with green microorganisms, such as chlorella, spirulina, cilantro, and medicinal mushrooms. Everyone else: pray that our prayers will help the natural process of nature take place, including a change of thinking in the human race. If we change our story about nature, we will treat it differently. Instead of regarding our planet as a thing to exploit for money, we could see it as a sacred debt. Humankind has taken a toll on the earth, especially in the last hundred years, and it is up to us to reverse that trend and remediate the damage. Antarctic microbe discoveries Nature News, April 4, 2011, reports: "Another strange discovery is a previously unknown Deinococcus—a group of bacteria known as the world's toughest—capable of tolerating γ-ray exposures 5,000 times greater than those survived by any other known organism, despite living 15 metres beneath the permafrost. These levels of radiation have never existed on Earth, so the source of the bacterium's resistance is a mystery. Theories put forth so far include that the microbe had an extraterrestrial origin. Blamey says that at this point, no theory has been discarded." Bioremediation Products Criteria for effective bioremediation products: Made from all natural materials, such as plants, algae, etc. The less processing the better, for example one company simply throws hay in the water to remove oil. Other products, such as those developed by NASA are good technology (see video below - click here). The products are economical - our ecosystem needs all the help we can give it, not all the profits we can get for ourselves or our idols. The products are easy to manufacture - aim toward bioremediation materials that anybody could grow in their own pond. Let friendly microbes become the easiest thing to obtain in the world. Our motto is: "planet over profits." The profit in this field is to start a bioremediation contracting service, learn all the materials out there and which kind is best for a given the situation. Then look around for troubled areas and make a proposal. This is America's top service and manufacturing industry of the future. If you have the opportunity to go to college, major in microbiology and business. Links collection: a growing list of bioremediation companies (please send in your company if I didn't already pick it up from Google Alerts). Cemcor Environmental Services (CES) Joins Tersus Environmental as Sales and Marketing Business Partner Ohio based CemcorEnvironmental Services (CES) will expand itsgroundwater remediation product line for enhanced bioremediation. The expanded product line includes Tersus' complete family of electron donors for enhanced anerobic bioremediation, peroxygens (TersOx), and the MicroBlower, a passive soil vaporextraction technology patented by the DOE's Savannah River National Laboratory as well as iSOC, HiSOC and gPRO from inVentures which Tersus is the exclusive worldwide representative for. CES, led by Craig Marlow, will help support Tersus Environmental's continued commitment to providing outstanding customer service and assistance, helping to ensure superior remediation outcomes. "We are excited to expand our product line to include the Tersus family of soil and groundwater remediation technologies into the Great Lakes Region,: Craig said. fungi.com grow your own food and medicinal mushrooms, brought to you by leading mycologist and author Paul Stamets Oceans-esu.com global bioremediation contractor Cemcor Remediation Services remediation contractor sosenvironmental.com Bioremediation products for oil drilling waste, saltwater, saltwater soil marinerschoice.net bioremediation products, a publicly traded company Monmouth Bio Products providers of water and soil bioremediation using friendly bacteria. LBI Renewable news: A product made by LBI Renewable from beetle-killed trees was recently listed as one of 21 products to meet Environmental Protection Agency requirements for use in emergency oil spill response. see article - click here Probiotic Solutions wastewater treatment with Micro Carbon Technology-based nutrient packages that enhance existing microbial activity. Lambda Bioremediation Systems, Inc. The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority has awarded contracts for cleanup of oil polluted soil at a former Jeep factory site in central Toledo. Work funded by a Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant. Tersus Environmental Innovative sustainable green technologies for groundwater and soil remediation Market Watch MC Endeavors, Inc. Announces Signed Distributorship and Strategic Partnership with LBI Renewable MCE to Sell LBI's Biodegradable Absorption Products in Texas & Haiti. The Buffalo, Wyoming based company, which manufactures 100 percent natural, patent pending sorbents and bioremediation agents, was founded in 2007. Krueger Enterprises This company makes a spectrum of microbial products for the home, including N.O.C. and N.O.C.-Plus (Natures Odor Catalyst - microbial); and B.O.S.S. (Bacterial Odor & stain Stopper). And many other natural cleaning products. BioCleaner has been issued an Environmental Technology Verification certificate by the Department of Science and Technology and is recognized by the US Environmental Protection Agency. fungi.com sells a variety of friendly fungus, including mycorrhiza fungus products, which help plants grow. Natural beneficial fungus is stripped from the soil when developers scrape and pack a building site. Advanced Microbial Services products for soil remediation proactbiotech.com The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has listed Pro-Act Biotech's OilClean bioremediation agent for oil-contaminated environments on the EPA National Contingency Plan Product Schedule. The non-invasive, innovative, and self-powered OilClean system automatically distributes oil-eating microbes, nutrients, and oxygen and features onsite and remote system management capabilities. OilClean combines biological and patented technologies to naturally degrade oil and restore oil-polluted ecosystems. A joint venture between Pro-Act Biotech and EcoSolutions LLC, it is the only system available that optimizes treatment by monitoring water quality in the treatment zone to balance nutrients and dissolved oxygen to achieve efficient and reliable results. oil-clean.net The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has listed Pro-Act Biotech's OilClean™ bioremediation agent for oil-contaminated environments on the EPA National Contingency Plan Product Schedule. The non-invasive, innovative, and self-powered OilClean system automatically distributes oil-eating microbes, nutrients, and oxygen and features onsite and remote system management capabilities. Oxygreen.net natural products for bioremediation Click here for press release re. OxyGreen Enviro-Equipment, Inc. project to remediate petro-contamination in ground water. AdventusGroup.com trusted partner for remediation products ActCleaners.com microbial cleaners for multiple purposes Oil-eating Israeli bacteria for BP spill article describes use of microbes to clean up the BP oil spill Mosstile add oxygen to any living room. terranovabiosystems.com contaminated soil bioremediation, including oil spill pollution Terra Nova employs powerful microbes to break down hydrocarbon contamination into natural products. Sarva Bio Remed LLC, a New Jersey-based company that manufactures microbial oil spill cleanup products, has located its headquarters in Greenville, Mississippi. oilGoneEasy.com for driveways, concrete, any surface; oil spill blog let's clean up the oil spill now using microbes jwrbioremediation.com JRW Bioremediation, LLC, in partnership with Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM), announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded a patent to the two companies for LactOil™ soy microemulsion. This renewable product enables environmental professionals to cost effectively clean-up soil and groundwater contaminated by chlorinated solvents, metals, nitrates and perchlorates. See press release.* PermeOx® Plus - engineered calcium peroxide for enhanced aerobic bioremediation, now teaming with researchers to begin bioremediation of the Gulf* actcleaners.com microbial cleaners isienvironmental.com oil spill bioremediation blueingreen.com BlueInGreen®, LLC has received funding through the Rapid Response Program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) to deploy SDOX technology in bays and estuaries that have been contaminated from the Horizon Oil Spill. SDOX will efficiently deliver dissolved oxygen to targeted locations in the Gulf and will provide microbes with the oxygen required to rapidly break down hydrocarbons. cleanbeachtechnologies.com separates oil from sand biosanitizer.org BioSanitizer Ecochips trigger ecoremediation, works on oil spills on land or at sea. OilZapper Energy and environment think-tank The Energy and Research Institute (TERI) holds the patent for Oilzapper, a bio-friendly bacteria developed to reclaim agricultural land polluted by crude oil and other contaminants. Oilzapper powder is sprayed on an oil pool or contaminated soil and the bacteria "eat" all the contamination within three to four months. lonestarchemicals.com specialty chemicals, including microbial cleaners biograssExtra.com natural process to remove oil spills from beaches and water. (Biograssextra on Youtube: 1, 2, 3 birds/animals, 4 en espanol; many more) Nualgi blog * Nualgi.com website developing diatoms as nutrition for algae to restore ecological balance and oxygen levels. Great Green Solutions bioremediation products, including enzymes bioremdiationinc.com HAZMAT response, site cleanup, water, soil, etc. - answers for Gulf clean-up AAA Construction & Development ethical site clean-up "We have the solution to the BP oil spillage problem in the Gulf of Mexico." - Paul Chehade, company president (log onto main page, but turn down your volume settings - click here) Recon construction site bioremediation (hit your volume button for this one too, although it is just a short dramatic flourish) Intellishare Environmental bioremediation products remedialtech.com groundwater and soil consultant OspreyBiotechnics.com Innovative Microbials - water, soil, groundwater, consumer products, industry - striking a deal to have their products used in the Gulf clean-up spillfighters.org oil spill clean-up using bioremediation CMS H2O Systems International, Inc. bioremediation products for oil spills, like in the Gulf Enviro Tech International, Inc. green cleaning products, including for the Gulf ensolve.com oil spill clean-up products for the gulf evolugate.com leading provider of microbes for biofuel and bioremediation TestTeam.org soil contamination bioremediation Bac-Out Bac-Out live enzyme household cleaners from Biokleen (available at Whole Foods, Sunflower Market, etc.) Bob's Aqua Care biological pond supplements, this site is offline, but see interview below* Nutrafin makers of Cycle biological aquarium supplement, available through all pet stores Nature's Miracle biological pet stain and odor remover (available through all pet stores) Roebic Laboratories, Inc. bacillus bacteria products for septic tanks, agricultural, and other uses (available through most hardware stores) oasis-renew.com bioremediation products for soil, farming, gardening organicareusa.com organic gardening products that use probiotics. bioworldusa.com progressive products for improving soils and crops, and solving numerous environmental problems. The company began by developing its flagship product MultiFIX™ Soil and Crop Enhancer. MultiFIX™ provides the proper compounds and substrates required by soil microbes and plants to grow the highest quality crops with better taste and greater nutrient value earth-energysolutions.com bioremediation products to unclog grease traps Mosquito Dunks - organic tablets of Bacillius Thuringiensis Israelensis (BTI), microbes that eat mosquito larvae, used in ponds and water gardens, available at Lowes, Ace, Home Depot, etc., and on the Internet. See btimosquitodunks.com * arbico-organics.com * biconet.com evoraplus.com Evora Plus probiotic mints for humans - whitens teeth, improves breath, and gum health. Teddys Pride Teddys Pride probiotic health for pets - whitens teeth, improves breath, etc., just put a scoop on pet's food. (Available from Amazon.com - other links for this product were broken.) drbenkim.com Super Green food for vitamins, minerals, and super probiotics. Mix with water and drink. (Editor's Note: this is the one I use to restore hair growth - the good bacteria eats bad bacteria on the scalp, allowing hair to grow back where it is thinning. This is not advertised, but is one of the benefits of this product.) vibranthealth.us probiotic green drinks and other organic health products. High Country Kombucha organic fermented drink made with beneficial flora for the digestive system. This is the only commercially available kombucha that contains the full spectrum of probiotics available from the kombucha mushroom. Their brochure lists probiotic content: gluconacetobacter obediens, dekkera anomala, dekkera bruxellensis, z. kombuchaensis. It contains enzymes, antioxidants and polyphenols. A growing list of research programs and research results: Researcher identifies petroleum eating mushrooms Mohamed Hijri, a professor of biological sciences and researcher at the University of Montreal's Institut de recherche en biologie végétale (IRBV). Master's thesis Spirulina as a bioremediation agent : interaction with metals and involvement of carbonic anhydrase Payne, Rosemary Anne (2000), Rhodes University BOOK: Bioremediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Cold Regions, Edited by: Dennis M. Filler, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Ian Snape, Australian Antarctic Division, Tasmania, and David L. Barnes, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. chicken feather disposal biotechnology department of Kolhapur's Shivaji University identifying a new microorganism that disintegrates feathers within 30 hours. The scientists named it Chryseobacterium and registered it with the International Database Bank in the U.S. Chicken feathers are a disposal problem in factory farms. The feathers contain keratin that makes them last five to seven years. Feathers cannot be incinerated because burning them releases sulphur. Microbes and mosquitoes - researchers looking for microbes that deter malaria-transmitting Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes. Snook Foundation of Florida dedicated to improving the water quality in local wetlands with cutting edge, natural, organic technology. They are currently testing diatoms, see article below - click here. 5th International Symposium on Biosorption and Bioremediation will be held in Prague, June 24 - 28, 2012 in cooperation with FEMS, EFB, ESEB and ISEB. geoscienceworld.org overview of bioremediation Deccan Chronicle Sivashkthi Velan, a mechanical engineer at Milam Engineering College in India, invented a way to increase oxygen in the atmosphere, while reducing sulphur, carbon, and nitrogen. Alameda (Bay Area, California) clean-up news "Cleanup efforts have shifted from chemical applications to bioremediation, where bacteria naturally break down the chemical contaminants over time." Berkeley.edu Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Ongoing Research Projects: Meta-omics of Microbial Communities Involved in Bioremediation, by Professor Lisa Alvarez-Cohen. "This research seeks to advance our fundamental understanding of microbial communities that are capable of bioremediating environmental contaminants. We will apply systems biology approaches to study biodegradation abilities and interactions within microbial communities that remediate two water contaminants, trichloroethene (TCE) and 1,4-dioxane (dioxane), both of which are common problems at Superfund sites." sciencedirectcom Bioremediation of acid mine water using facultatively methylotrophic metal-tolerant sulfate-reducing bacteria. A microbial process is proposed for the decontamination of acid uranium mine water high in sulfates and metals. NewScientist.com Thawing microbes could control the climate: As the Arctic permafrost melts over the coming decades, long-frozen microorganisms will thaw out and start feasting on the soil. livescience.com Rochester, New York Bioremediation of a BTEX and Solvent Plume at a Municipal Redevelopment Site (results) Phytoremediation of lead in urban polluted soils in the north of Iran, Seyed Armin Hashemi, Department of Forestry, Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran. Microbes/disease/antibiotic resistance "One of the many reasons for the lack of progress in dealing with the phenomenon of 'resistance' seems to be the flawed 'war metaphor' which reflects the dominant paradigm shaping our relationship to the microbial world. Experience in tackling infectious diseases is showing that antibiotics are no longer the 'magic bullets' they were once conceived to be while bacteria are also not the 'enemy' to be eliminated through any means whatsoever. We need accurate knowledge of and actions to prevent and treat the relatively few pathogenic threats rather than a general fear of all microbes. Chief among the insights that new research in microbiology is providing is the extent to which human life is closely intertwined with that of the microbial world." See also, Dr. Mary Murray, ReAct Global Network Coordinator, reimagining our relationship with microbes. Phytomremediation research Engineering plant functions to remove contaminants-of-concern (COC) from contaminated water. Hypothesis: Can rooted soil (rhizosphere) safely remove soluble contaminants-of-concern (COC) from sewer plant outflow? Institute of Technology, Australia PDF abstract of Application of phytoremediation technologies in Canada, by Prof. Jim Germida, University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Colorado State University Summary of bioremediation research by Diana Wall, biologist of CSU College of Natural Science Study shows BP dispersants carcinogenic It likely will be years before the full scope of the dispersants' effects on the environment and human and marine life are known. Engineer says Mozart makes microbes more productive The owners of a German sewage treatment plant called on scientists to investigate Wednesday after they claimed playing Mozart motivates the plant's microbes and makes them more productive. Roland Meinusch, manager of the plant in Treuenbrietzen said by playing Mozart's Magic Flute on a half-hour loop, the plant produced 1,000 cubic meters (35,300 cubic feet) less sewage sludge than normal, saving $13,600 over the past year. The harder the microbes work, the more sewage they digest which produces more clean water and less sludge, he told The Local news website. "And the less sludge we produce, the less we have to pay to farmers for them to put it on their fields," Meinusch added. He said the plant was contacted by a company making special loudspeakers that had apparently achieved positive results at an Austrian sewage plant. Research / Nigeria Prof. Gideon Sunny Okpokwasili, of Environmental Microbiology and Bioremediation Division, Department of Microbiology University of Port Harcourt, has advanced research on Bioremediation for cleaner environment. Science Reporter, STANLEY CHIBUIHEM AMALAHA, who was with him at the university recently, reports. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science Evaluating Semiaquatic Herbaceous Perennials for Use in Herbicide Phytoremediation R. Thomas Fernandez, Ted Whitwell, Melissa B. Riley1 and Cassandra R. Bernard Bioremediation and Ecological Restoration Job (posted Oct. 23, 2011) The University of Texas - Pan American (UTPA) Department of Biology is trying to fill an Assistant Professor Faculty position in Bioremediation and Ecological Restoration, which will start in Fall 2012 pending budget approval. They're looking for someone whose area of research is bioremediation and/or ecological restoration, and they're especially interested in candidates whose research focuses on environmental issues relevant to the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Research of microbes yielding big health advances research is proving that a healthy bacteria culture contributes to the immune system. Cal Tech (pdf) bioremediation of endocrine disruptors, study by Julia Brown, Puikei Cheng, Amanda Shelton, Ashley Su, Nicole Thadani. Cuban scientists develop oil waste treatment with bacteria The Center for Environmental Studies of Cienfuegos (CEAC), in collaboration with the Center for Bioactive Marine (CBM) in Havana, is carrying out the process in the provinces of Cienfuegos, Pinar del Rio and Matanzas. GMO poplars vs wild poplars in phytoremediation study looks at the difference between wild and genetically modified poplars remediating soil New Zealand's Waikato University launching Environmental Research Institute The Institute's freshwater ecosystems expertise encompasses lakes management and restoration, pest fish control, nutrient modelling and wetland ecohydrology. ERI researchers are currently engaged in a 10-year $10 million initiative to clean up New Zealand's lakes. mycorrhizal fungus for plant support Dr. Mike Amaranthus explains why mycorrhizal fungus helps plants grow. This fungus is lost when developers scrape and pack the land. fieldsofscience.com Researcher Rosie Redfield explains why GFAJ-1 grow much better on agar than in liquid. onlinelibrary.wiley.com Research article: 'Phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated water and sediment by Eleocharis acicularis.' sciencedirect.com "Laboratory research aimed at closing the gaps in microbial remediation." Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Góes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Enzymatic remediation is a valuable alternative as it can be easier to work with than whole organisms, especially in extreme environments. Furthermore, the use of free enzymes avoids the release of exotic or genetically modified organisms (GMO) in the environment. Bioneers conference October 14-16, 2011, San Rafael, California. Bioremediation seminar Dr. Terry Hazen, oil biodegradation authority, will deliver a seminar July 27 at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. Hazen is co-director of the Virtual Institute for Microbial Stress and Survival at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory managed by the University of California. Additionally, he is head of the Center for Environmental Biotechnology at DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. hyperthermophilic microbes, called archaea, discovered in Nevada hot springs Students provide bioremediation jobs for their region in Australia after training program. The International Journal of Phytoremediation is the first journal devoted to the publication of current laboratory and field research describing the use of plant systems to remediate contaminated environments. Biotechnology Symposium at State University of New York College of Environmenta Science and Forestry draws 140 participants Valentine Lab at UC Santa Barbara, headed by Professor Dave Valentine, "studies the interactions among microbes and between microbes and the Earth system." Tracking microbial processes in the Gulf spill. Article a good explanation of how bioremediation works. Philippines to use bioremediation to keep city clean DoST offered to look into the possibility of developing enzyme-based process to degrade or reduce harmful chemicals in garbage that collects on the streets. Conference in Kentucky Feb. 22-24, 2011 Alltech will hold its first annual International Algae Conference, to showcase the technological revolution of algae fermentation, including biodiesel, bioremediation, carbon sequestration, and feature a tour of Alltech's new world-class algae production and research facility, one of the largest in the world. National Research Council Canada The goal of the NRC-BRI Environmental Microbiology Group is to better understand and control the microbiological processes associated with the biological breakdown of environmental contaminants. eosremediation.com scientifically field-proven products for Enhanced Anaerobic Bioremediation, Enhanced Aerobic Bioremediation and Bioaugmentation Savannah River National Laboratory demonstration project to use microbes to clean up volatile chlorinated compounds Grants awarded for Colorado Renewable Energy projects (ACRE) A question for researchers: why does BP release un-tested synthetic microbes when we already have natural organic microbes that will eat oil? Excerpt:* "The physical symptoms of the BP Flu, BP Crud, Blue Flu, or whatever name you choose to call it, are as unique as the synthetic bacteria being used in the Gulf. Since mankind is carbon based, how do these synthetically created hydrogen and carbon hungry bacteria react to human flesh? Internal bleeding as well as ulcerating skin lesions are the physical signs of their computer created DNA signature. BP and their paid minions have released a synthetic biological plague in the Gulf of Mexico and it's out of control. The entire world is a victim of their greed and foolishness. By playing the role of creator, they have begun a very dangerous game with infinite repercussions for life as we know it." oilspillnews.net article recommends bioremediation for oil spill clean-up Bioremediation of Heavy metal ions and Organic pollutants by Microbes, by Dr. Rani Faryal, a new textbook for microbiology students told ya so: LOS ANGELES - Dec 9, 2010. A soon-to-be released independent television documentary interviews marine scientists who argue that the chemical dispersant used to treat the largest ocean oil spill in American history is a case of the cure being far more deadly to this highly productive marine ecosystem than the disease (oil) was. The film argues that instead of this harsh chemical, the environmentally friendly technology known as bio-remediation should have been used. Bioremediation is scientifically proven to speed up natural processes such as oil-eating microbes to clean up oil spills. Despite strong scientific documentation that bioremediation technology could have restored the Gulf to health in a relatively short time, interview subjects say government agencies are actively preventing the clean-up efforts through the implementation of extensive bureaucratic red tape rather than working to rehabilitate the nation's most productive biological and commercial ecosystems. The thirty minute documentary "The Hidden Crisis in the Gulf" produced by The Earth Organization (TEO) is being released this week in Louisiana cities with subsequent airings across the other Gulf States during December and January. Its nationwide release is scheduled beginning Monday, Jan 10, 2011. bioremdiation for oil pollution a simple explanation. Altogen Labs announced today 11/23/2010 that it has successfully isolated natural oil-eating bacteria from polluted soil near Galveston Bay, Texas that has been shown in laboratory tests to be effective for the bioremediation of crude oil and petroleum saturated earth. AltogenLabs.com Brownfield Expo (BEX) 2011 May 24-26, 2011 - make plans now to be there! This is the UK's main event for contaminated land solutions, aimed at land users, contractors, environmental consultants and decision makers from both the private and public sectors, looking for products and services to assist in the redevelopment of contaminated land and asbestos and pollution clean up. Bioremediation for Marine Oil Spills a report by the Federation of American Scientists conference announcement Microbes in Wastewater & Waste Treatment, Bioremediation and Energy Production, January 24-27, 2011 at BITS - Pilani, Goa campus, Goa, India Call for papers: Bioremediation of Toxic Elements in Water, Soil and Sludges A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Engineering - See original, click here. Bioremediation, Biodiversity and Bioavailability journal accepts reviews and original papers that apply ecological concepts, theories, models and methods to the management of biological resources (primarily plant), through the use of applied ecological problems to test and develop basic ecological theory Subscribe to BIO SmartBrief a newsletter for bioremediation scientists article University of West Florida researchers have been awarded $748,913 for four projects researching the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Florida Institute of Oceanography at the University of South Florida in Tampa awarded money to 27 projects statewide, selected from 233 that researchers submitted. Bio Convention Call for BIO Session proposals closes Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010. The 2011 BIO International Convention is a forum to discuss the latest in bioremediation, to take place June 27-30, 2011, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC. Headline from 8/24/2010: "Oil-eating microbes: Scientists have discovered a new oil-eating microbe while studying oil spilled into the Gulf with a great potential to help dispose of deep-sea oil plumes. - The Detroit News Sign a petition to elected U.S. officials to use bioremediation in the Gulf of Mexico. ScienceDaily.com A new report, "Global Environmental Change: Microbial Contributions, Microbial Solutions," from the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) says that microbes could hold the cure for global warming. (Something we have believed for a long time, thank you.) Read the report posted here: asm.org. FMC to team with university researchers investigating bioremediation approaches to the Gulf Coast oil spill The Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research at Tarleton State University*, Texas A & M Galveston Dept. of Marine Biology*, Tarleton State Dept. of Engineering* and FMC have formed a research group that will combine naturally occurring microbes with nutrients and PermeOx Plus®, FMC's engineered oxygen-releasing chemistry, to "supercharge" the bacteria for the aerobic digestion of the weathered oil. Enhanced In-Situ Bioremediation (EISB) Workshop October 5, 2010 - Westford Regency, Westford, MA, and October 6, 2010 - Gold Eagle Restaurant, Dayville, CT International Symposium on Bioremediation and Sustainable Environmental Technologies, to take place June 27-30, 2011, Reno, Nevada, Peppermill Resort. Call for abstracts - due date Nov. 15, 2010, see: Battell.org Frontiers in Microbial Ecotoxicology and Bioremediation (publication) - call for papers on ecotoxiology and bioremediation Biodegradation Technology Developments: Principles and Practice, Volume II (Bioremediation Series), see the book at: Amazon.com. The Energy and Research Institute (TERI) enter "bioremediation" in the search window to find research on Bioremediation of oil-contaminated marine and freshwater environments ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Potential for bioremediation of agro-industrial effluents with high loads of pesticides by selected fungi. Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation, University of West Florida University of Alabama Patenting Status of Bioremediation Technologies in United States, Europe and India: A Comparative Study U.S. Geological Survey - Bioremediation: Nature's Way to a Cleaner Environment University of West Florida Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation (CEDB) Biocycle Oil And Compost Could Prove A Good Mix In The Gulf BioCycle July 2010, Vol. 51, No. 7, p. 20 EPA bioremediation expert says providing an "organic matrix" could allow microbes to clean up hydrocarbon pollutants in the water and along the coast. American Society for Microbiology - asm.org First National Conference on Bioremediation - October 26-27, 2010, Sponsored by the National Academy of Science and Technology, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development, DOST "Addressing the Problems and Solutions of Environmental Pollution through Bioremediation" call for abstracts - natbiorem.uplb.edu.ph The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Laboratory in Grand Isle can generate up to thirty thousand gallons of microbes in a day, which can then be sprayed on oiled marsh grass along the Louisiana coast. (Patrick Semansky / for msnbc.com) see: MSNBC.msn.com Bacteria Cleaned up China spill "The use of the oil-eating bacteria at the Dalian spill is the first time a major use of biotechnology to solve an environmental pollution problem," Micro-cleaner Biotechnology Corporation based in Beijing, which participated in the pollution control mission, told the Xinhua News Agency earlier. See: china.globaltimes.cn Find out who's who in microbiology, see: Frontiers Plants Remediate Chemicals in the Environment (Phytoremediation) Mycoremediation Volunteers prepare mycoremediation burritos out of inoculated straw and cardboard. People For Puget Sound is excited to be one of the few restoration organizations applying innovative new techniques of mycoremediation to help address water quality issues. It's especially fascinating as we are also conductingmycorestoration research with Eco-Techs at sites along the Duwamish and Snohomish Rivers, as well as on Maury Island. The focus of these experiments is to improve plant survivability at sites with especially poor soils by the application of mycorrhizal mushrooms, which form a symbiotic relationship with the roots—resulting in a beneficial nutrient exchange and, hopefully, healthier, happier plants. Mycoremediation takes a bit of a different approach, harnessing the ecology of the mushrooms themselves to address contaminated water and sediment. Mushrooms are great decomposers- adapted to digest cellulose and lignin, the main building blocks of plant tissue. These molecules are very similar in structure to the compl Hemp for bioremediation of soil. Hemp cleared its first hurdle Feb. 13, 2012, see Denver Post. Phytoremediation of pyrene contaminated soils Ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) were planted in pots to remediate pyrene contaminated quartz sand (as a control group), alluvial and red soils amended with and without compost. The pyrene degradation percentages in quartz sand, alluvial soil, and red soil amended with compost (5%, w/w) and planted with ryegrass and alfalfa for 90 d growth were 98-99% and 97-99%, respectively, while those of pyrene in the corresponding treatments amended without compost but planted with ryegrass and alfalfa were 91-96% and 58-89%, respectively. Using Fungi to Transform Lead into a Safer Mineral Book Mycoremediation: Fungal Bioremediation, by Harbhajan Singh, book download Implementing Phytoremediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons Chris D. Collins Summary: An evaluation of the current "state of the art" for the phytoremediation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) is given, which will allow for well-informed decisions to be made when the technology is being applied to this contamination problem. Information is provided on phytotoxicity, plant selection, and management as well as useful supple- mentary practical data sources. A management decision tree is presented to aid in the successful application of phytoremediation to TPH-contaminated sites. Finally, defici- encies in the current knowledge are identified, which need to be addressed to improve the effectiveness of phytoremediation to this problem. phytoremediation Firm pilots new tech solution to clean lake. A pilot project by Enzen at JP Nagar's Puttenahalli Lake shows phytoremediation process can improves water quality. Enzen plans to scale up to rejuvenate other lakes too. phytoremediation project outside the small town of Crozet Virginia, EPA uses phytoremediation to remove arsenic contamination from residential property. Phytoremediation uses. active buffer zones Afforestation and phytoremediation through green buffer zones Portland, Oregon GreenWorks Associate Jeff Boggess shows constructed wetlands and other remediated wilderness sites in the Willamette Valley Region to the Constructed Wetlands and Poplar Remediation Technical Tour, put on by the International Phytotechnology Society Eighth Annual Conference in Portland, September 2011. Click here for an article by Jeff Boggess. Israel has more trees now than a century ago, due to planning Afforestation in India - ten year plan (more info.) China claims afforestation helping with sustainable environment Australia Research paper on water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms.) to remove Cu, Ni and Zn in aquatic environments. thehindu.com A new railway would eliminate nearly 500 trees of 30 species; a proposed plan would add a green ribbon of trees along the metro rail track, ten times the number of trees, to compensate. Phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soil using Chromolaena odorata and Lantana camara, by Aziz, Fati natureaire.com Active Living Wall Biofilters remove Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in wastewater treatment pond - Altavista, Virginia, town council is considering hybrid poplar trees instead of digging out, or incinerating the PCBs. Plan would save millions of dollars. Planting for water decontamination "Tolerance of Selected Ornamentals for Phytoremediation of Atrazine, Simazine, and Metalaxyl Residues in Water." Phytoremediation of Nutrient Contaminants from Golf Courses Surface Water in Malaysia, Drs. S. Zul Hilmi, M.T. Ramlah, K. Dzaraini, and A.R. Norazah Phytomremediation wall system the Center for Architecture Science and Ecology—a collaboration between Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill—has created a new prototype that would work with a building's existing HVAC system to reduce energy loads and improve indoor air quality. The Active Phytoremediation Wall System is a modular wall system of pods housing hydroponic plants. Because the plants' roots are exposed, instead of being buried in soil, the plants' air-cleaning capacity increases by 200 to 300 percent. Air moves through a perforated air intake duct—a series of mini-jets are being developed to encourage airflow—and directly over the root system. This allows the rhizomes on the roots to essentially digest airborne toxins—VOCs, particulate matter, and other biological and chemical pollutants—without the plant itself becoming toxic (which is what happens when the toxins are taken in solely through the leaves). The cleaned air then flows out of each pod through a series of clean air ducts and is reintroduced to the environment. Hemp planted to remediate Chernobyl This article explains that the term "phytoremediation" was coined by Dr. Ilya Raskin of Rutgers University's Biotechnology Center for Agriculture and the Environment, who was a member of the original task force sent by the IAEA to examine food safety at the Chernobyl site, where they planted hemp to remove radiation from the environment. Phytoremediation is a process that takes advantage of the fact that green plants can extract and concentrate certain elements within their ecosystem. For example, some plants can grow in metal-laden soils, extract certain metals through their root systems, and accumulate them in their tissues without being damaged. In this way, pollutants are either removed from the soil and groundwater or rendered harmless. Science Daily A Lithuanian company, Biocentras, together with academic partners from Latvia and Lithuania developed a technique that has so far cleaned over 22,000 tons of soil without the need for potentially harmful chemicals or genetically modified technologies. This natural process transforms contaminated soil so that it can be used again for growing all kinds of plants. First the good news, seed banks around the world have preserved seeds of species we have already extinguished through our ignorance. There is a plant to remediate every chemical. Some plants may serve multiple purposes. Note that organic cures advocates planting and growing plants where you need to remediate. More land should be returned to nature, including wetlands. The more natural the environment, the fewer toxins can remain. In the future, more links on photoremediation will be added to this category as they come in from Google Alerts. Conference on the benefits of floating macrophytes held in Pakistan Floating macrophytes are shown to remediate toxic chemicals from waterways. Solution: research and grow floating macrophytes, introduce them into the environment where they will benefit affected wetlands, and watch the bioremediation begin. University of Iowa Environmental Science Professor William Crumpton says his research focuses on "wetland processes and functions in agricultural landscapes, including the dynamics of energy flow and nutrient transformation in wetlands." Wageningen University Healing Urban Landscapes. Phytoremediation in post-industrial urban design. Phytoremediation Benefits of 86 Indoor Plants Published Scientists tested 86 species of plants at removing formaldehyde, exposing the plants to gaseous formaldehyde in airtight chambers constructed of inert materials and measuring the rate of removal. Osmunda japonica (Japanese royal fern), Selaginella tamariscina (Spikemoss), Davallia mariesii (Hare's-foot fern), Polypodium formosanum, Psidium guajava (Guava), Lavandula (Sweet Lavender), Pteris dispar, Pteris multifida (Spider fern), and Pelargonium (Geranium) were the most effective species tested. Ferns had the highest formaldehyde removal efficiency of the five classes of plants tested, with Osmunda japonica determined to be most effective of all 86 species. The complete study and abstract are available on the ASHS HortScience electronic journal web site - click here. phytoremediation for radiation phytoremediation of heavy metals. phytoremediation explained The International Journal of Phytoremediation is the first journal devoted to the publication of current laboratory and field research describing the use of plant systems to remediate contaminated environments. Will increasing the diatom biomass of the world solve the problem of air and water pollution? Nualgi.com inventors explain that "Growing Algae has the property to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen due to photosynthesis." They are working on Nualgi, which is an acronym for NUtrition for ALGae. It is remarkably adaptable and non-demanding. It can grow in fresh water, salt water, sewage, effluent, or anywhere. The diatom algae soon turns into zooplankton - fish food. Microbes need oxygen and may cause depletion of oxygen in the water, leading to new problems. Nualgi solves this problem. Bhaskar, of Kadambari Consultants Pvt. Ltd., challenges the science world with the question: "Will increasing the diatom biomass of the world solve the problem of air and water pollution?" He believes it will. [Editor's Note: This is a new technology that this website endorses. Enlightened people in the scientific community will look to natural processes like photosynthesis to cure the earth's environmental problems.] Go to the Nualgi blog - click here. Go to the Nualgi.com website - click here. Further information about the work of Kadambari Consultants: Nualgi only contains silica and micro nutrients, there is no algae spores or organic matter in it. It causes a bloom of diatoms that are naturally present in all water bodies. That is why it can be used in all types of water, anywhere in the world. There is no danger of introduction of foreign species. Diatom algae are the best group of algae / phytoplankton. They are responsible for about 25% of the oxygen in the atmosphere and 50% of the food in the oceans. Diatoms are food for vertebrate fish and other algae such as Dinoflagellates (Red Tides) food for Jelly Fish. Mammals may have evolved due to diatoms, diatoms are at the bottom of the food chain of whales. To learn more, go to YouTube and use the keyword "nualgi." The microbes used in bioremediation require oxygen, diatoms can provide that oxygen. So microbes will work well and the CO2 they emit will be consumed by Diatoms. Microbes and Gulf currents remove oil plumes this article in the online Wall Street Journal explains how the microbes and Gulf currents acted like a washing machine to remove oil spill. Surfactant From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension of a liquid, allowing easier spreading, and lowering of the interfacial tension between two liquids, or between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as: detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, and dispersants. Some surfactants are known to be toxic to animals, ecosystems and humans, and can increase the diffusion of other environmental contaminants. Despite this, they are routinely deposited in numerous ways on land and into water systems, whether as part of an intended process or as industrial and household waste. Some surfactants have proposed or voluntary restrictions on their use. For example, PFOS is a persistent organic pollutant as judged by the Stockholm Convention. Additionally, PFOA has been subject to a voluntary agreement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and eight chemical companies to reduce and eliminate emissions of the chemical and its precursors. Your career in science: hey students, if you want to start your career out right, get your education in the growing field of microbiology. You can be a leader in researching cutting edge natural alternatives to toxic chemicals like surfactants. Yeah! microbes can do the same things without hurting the environment! By the time you get your education, the green jobs will be there. We will convert the Gulf Coast into the microbiology capital of the world. The market for microbials will automatically grow as people wake up. "World be free" is the motto of an army of future American microbiologists. The current field of microbiologists are deathly afraid of microbes, so their main focus is to invent stronger anti-biotics. The new breed of microbiologist will study good microbes and make pro-biotics. The good microbes will outnumber bad microbes and we will achieve what no anti-biotic can. Long live the friendly microbes! "[Harry L. Allen, III, Ph.D.] specializes in the cleanup of oil spills, hazardous waste and contaminated soils through bioremediation - the use of microscopic organisms to break down toxic chemicals. He suggests that compost could play a pivotal role in mitigating the Deepwater Horizon spill both on shore and in shallow waters. The only limitation would be that the mixture should not sink" "Compost is a rich source of bacteria and actinomyces, microscopic organisms that fall somewhere between bacteria and plants. These are equipped with complex metabolic systems that breakdown complex hydrocarbons like those found in oil, pesticides and other common petroleum-based pollutants. . . ." (quoted in BioCycle the magazine for advancing composting, organics recycling & renewable energy - click to read the original article). Cleanenergyworks!! The people who started Cleanenergyworks.us get what I am talking about. This is the first positive statement anybody has made to define our crisis and point us toward a solution. Simple but effective. Here is one of their commercials currently playing on MSNBC: Everybody call your elected officials at 202-224-3121 and ask for a clean energy bill. (You have to know your ZIP+4 to look up your representative, unless you know his or her name. You have two state senators, try to talk to both of them, even if they are right-wingers.) From the time I compiled the research below for Organic Cures, until now eighty-five days deep in the BP oil disaster, I have discovered that there are a lot of bioremediation companies. The science has come a lot farther, a lot faster than I had thought. After setting my Google Alert for the keyword "bioremediation," I have received hundreds of articles and blog postings on the subject. I will still keep Organic Cures online, but will be posting newer entries at the top. Mostly just relating back some of the things I find from Google Alert. 7/14/2010 Here is one video that taught me something new and I have also posted a few more below. Use NASA Bees Wax to Clean up the Gulf Cool Solution to Clean Up Oil Disaster [video added 6/10/10] Gulf Oil Spill - Microbes that will eat oil within weeks [video added 6/12/10] Aeration and Friendly Bacteria Clean Waterways Aeration - circulation from top to bottom turns the water over, bringing oxygen into the system. Along with aeration, the restoration includes adding friendly bacteria. The oxygen and bacteria work together to clean the water. For a contractor who has perfected this technique, go go Clean-flo.com. This technique could clean up pollution from the BP explosion. THE EARTH CHALLENGE Organic Cures by Nori Muster August 2008 Table of Contents Organic Cures: Why I Entered the Earth Challenge Definition of Organic Cures How to Use Organic Cures Two-Stage Plan for Carbon Clean-Up Prescription: Steps to Environmental Peace UCLA Researcher Mirrors Organic Cures Ideas 21st Century Technology to Restore the Earth Treating the Oceans Probiotics That Eat Carbon Waste, an Interview with Bob Friedman Hair and Mushrooms Blue-Green Algae Cures Chlorella: Key to Heavy Metals Detox Photosynthesis and Global Warming Melvin Prueitt's Air Purifying Tower A 1,600 foot tower that can power a small city Algae Fuel Microbial Fuel Agrichar Initiative Probiotics and Soot Probiotics May Process Sequestered Carbon Probiotics May Reduce Methane Poplar Tree Bacteria Breaks Down Toxins A Fanciful Future Scenario Organic Cures: Why I entered the Earth Challenge by Nori Muster In 2007, the Honorable Al Gore and Sir Richard Branson announced that they would award $25 million to anyone who could come up with a commercially viable design to remove anthropogenic, atmospheric greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere. The Virgin Earth Challenge was based in Richard Branson's offices in London. This page is a summary of my Earth Challenge entry, "Organic Cures," and a statement about Earth's ability to transform carbon pollution in a natural way. We will have to change our ways to get to a sustainable existence here. The best direction is to go back to nature and get in harmony with nature. Therefore, I wanted to show that the cure for excess carbon may also be natural. This page is a collection of puzzle pieces I have collected, which taken together and expanded, will cure global warming. Some of the pieces may seem improbable, but some of it is already starting to take root. Over the years, I have clipped news articles about real scientists who are doing actual experiments with the same ideas. A good idea can occur to more than one person at a time, simply because the time for the idea has come. The idea for Organic Cures came from of a sci-fi story I wrote in 1991. Find Me At the Gates takes place in 2012, in a positive future where humans appreciate history and respect the earth. The Virgin Earth contest was like a scene out of my novel. Find Me At the Gates is posted at my website (click here for information). Definition of Organic Cures, my Earth Challenge Design Organic Cures includes anything that is probiotic - pro (for) bio (life), including plant botanicals, extracts, tinctures, enzymes, algae, chlorella, bacteria, microbes, mushrooms, kombucha tea cultures, acidophilus, natural vinegar; antioxidants like Vitamin C, natural astaxanthin, grape seed, and trees, which are like organic sequestration tanks. My work is based on the notion (as Buckminster Fuller, to whom I dedicate my work, believed), that the earth is a single system like a body. Another word for organic cures would be "bioremediation." Bioremediation products come from natural sources, are fully biodegradable, and yet consume petroleum waste. Some of these products consume petroleum, while others consume organic waste, chemicals, methane sludge, harmful bacteria, etc. Promoting the research and development of probiotics is the core of the Organic Cures design. To sum up: petro-toxins promote death. Organic Cures promote life. How to Use Organic Cures The air always seems cleanest after a heavy rain. It will be even cleaner if the "rain" includes beneficial organic compounds to dissolve carbon. I believe that spraying probiotics from platforms or airplanes (or seeding clouds) over polluted lands, would capture and break down excess carbon dioxide in the air and waterways. It could be tested at the Biosphere 2 facility in Arizona (http://www.bio2.com/) or in the field, as probiotics have no harmful side effects. Probiotics may be introduced through irrigation systems, or sprayed directly onto polluted land or water. Probiotic filtration systems could process pollution released from smokestacks and drains. Two-Stage Plan for Carbon Clean-Up Stage I - Develop easy-to-use consumer probiotic products capable of neutralizing carbon waste. If I had won the Earth Challenge, I would have used the prize money to fund grants for development of these products. I would first engage companies that already make probiotic products (click here to see list). Stage II - Donate these products for use in carbon-polluted areas worldwide. When the world is ready to take this step, the products will be available because of our research and funding. Our products will bear a label that reads, "Transform Carbon Pollution into Dust." Probiotics reproduce in warm water, so if we bring the appropriate strains to the warmest spots on earth, the people could make their own probiotics on-site. This would minimize the carbon footprint of the clean-up, since it would reduce the need to ship huge quantities of Organic Cures. Prescription: Steps to Environmental Peace 1. Our collective story about the earth is changing and we must flow with the changes. Old paradigm: Earth is ours to exploit, we will never run out of resources. Nature is threatening, evil. New paradigm: We are stewards of the earth and therefore must protect it for future generations. Nature is the divine manifest to us. 2. Our language about the earth must change. We learn to use words that describe peace and protection on Earth, instead of continuing to harangue the double negatives (i.e., "stop global warming" - "stop" is negative, "global warming" is negative because it is the thing we don't want). 3. No one person or one invention will change everything. Healing the planet is a shared effort. Many individuals will contribute to healing the earth. Most good ideas occur to a number of people simultaneously. UCLA Researcher Mirrors Organic Cures Ideas In my novel, scientists developed a natural plant substance that would float into the air, like soap bubbles. They grew the plants in hydroponic towers that cooled the air and generated electricity. Once the bubbles reached a certain altitude, they burst to provide nutritional elements that neutralized free radicals. In the mid-1990s, Associated Press reported, "A physics professor thinks he's found a way to halt depletion of Earth's ozone layer with electrical charges delivered by helium balloons. In his experiments at the University of California Los Angeles, Alfred Y. Wong found that electricity disabled the chlorine atoms released by ozone's atmospheric enemy, chlorofluorocarbons. "Each chlorine atom is capable of destroying hundreds of thousands of radiation-screening ozone molecules. By charging chlorine atoms in a chamber that simulates Earth's atmosphere, Wong and his colleagues prevented them from chemically reacting with ozone, he said. As a result, ozone levels in the chamber returned to normal. "Because the sun is constantly creating new ozone, ozone levels in the atmosphere similarly could be restored if the chlorine was disabled," Wong wrote in a paper published today in the journal Physical Review Letters." 21st Century Technology to Restore the Earth In the next hundred years, we need to work on many fronts to restore the earth to its virgin state and ensure the survival of the planet. Here are some areas worthy of research and development. probiotics (described above) alternative vehicles, fuels / mass transportation reclaiming open space ecosystem restoration / toxic site clean-up organic farming / hydroponic safe alternative chemicals (glues, solvents, lubricants, paints, fertilizers, cigarettes, prescription drugs, etc.) detoxification recycling / recycling from landfills Treating the Oceans In October 1996, I found another supporting article in the Washington Post National Weekly Journal. "Can an Iron Supplement Cool the Globe?" begins: "Six years ago, amid widespread fears of global warming, the late ocean scientist John H. Martin made an audacious proposal: Reduce the risk of 'fertilizing' the seas with thousands of tons of iron compounds. Dosing so, he and others argued, would stimulate minuscule marine plant organisms called phytoplankton (notably algae) so dramatically that they would gobble up huge amounts of carbon dioxide dissolved in sea water just as vegetation on the land removes CO2 from the air. And reducing levels of CO2 - a notorious greenhouse gas that traps heat radiation in the atmosphere - would presumably cool the earth." In my plan, we would use natural microbes, probiotics, to treat the ocean. The friendly bacteria would eat the pollution in the ocean and neutralize it. Once the natural enzymes have done their work, they turn into harmless dust. Probiotics That Eat Carbon Waste An Interview with Bob Friedman, founder of Bob's Aqua Care Products http://pondviewkoi.com/ [formerly bobsaquacareproducts.com] March 30, 2007 Nori: Did you say there are friendly bacteria strains that eat fossil fuel waste? Bob: I have strains of bacteria and enzymes that break down hydrocarbons. Here, where a lot of the oil is and comes from (in California), we provided one of the contractors. He goes to old service stations and the EPA requires him to biodegrade all the hydrocarbons, which is the oil, out of the soil, before they can build on that property again. Nori: So the bacteria eats oil? Bob: Different strains of bacteria have an appetite for hydrocarbons and they will clean it up. An abandoned gas station and all the ground around it is saturated with hydrocarbons and they'll just eat it up. Nori: So you're saying there are strains of bacteria that address petroleum problems. So they're using that already. How can you use it with air? I can see how you would use it for land or water. Bob: They use it with air because when they go to cure this saturated soil, they have equipment that will allow air to go in. Actually, they don't have to do that because they put underground aerators in to run night and day. Just like we put aerators in the water, they put aerators in the soil. Nori: So they put tubing under the soil and then drip out the bacteria? Like a huge drip system? Bob: You got it, that's exactly right. Nori: So when the bacteria eats things up, what does it turn it into? Dirt? Bob: That's a good question. Yes, dirt. The bacteria live on waste matter and turn it into dirt. You may have read about some of the farming communities in this country, where they raise cows, there's too much waste. Nori: Yes, I'm aware of that. I'm a vegetarian, so I'm interested in what's happening with the food supply. Cows are a huge problem because of the methane. Bob: You bet. Nori: Would the bacteria help with that? Bob: I don't want to tell you something that I'm not sure of, but it's a natural process, it leaves no after effects, and that's it. Editor's Note: click here for a company that supplies carbon eating microbes. Hair and Mushrooms Clean Up Oily Beaches By Meredith May, the San Francisco Chronicle Wednesday 14 November 2007 (excerpt) http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/111407EB.shtml A group of guerrilla volunteers is cleaning oil from San Francisco's beaches using an unorthodox, albeit totally organic, method: human hair and mushrooms. Using mats made of hair, they are absorbing the droplets of oil that have washed ashore since a cargo ship rammed the base of a Bay Bridge tower last week, spilling fifty-eight thousand gallons of fuel. Hair, which naturally absorbs oil from air and water, acts as a perfect sponge, said Lisa Gautier of San Francisco, who provided a thousand hair mats. They are about the size of a doormat, tightly woven with dark hair, and feel somewhat like an S.O.S [Soap] pad. While the mats may not be the obvious choice among hazardous waste experts, they hit San Francisco's green chord: More than seven hundred volunteers have tried them in recent days. Organizers hope their success will inspire more ecological responses to toxic waste removal. Gautier had one thousand of them on hand because she runs a nonprofit, Matter of Trust, which matches donations from businesses with needy nonprofits. She collects human hair from Bay Area salons and sends it to Georgia to be woven into mats, which she then gives to the San Francisco Department of the Environment to absorb used motor oil. Once the mats are soaked with black gunk, oyster mushrooms will take over, growing on the mats and absorbing the oil. National mushroom expert Paul Stamets was in town the weekend after the spill for the Green Festival, heard of Gautier's work and donated $10,000 worth of oyster mushrooms to harvest on the oily hair mats. Gautier said the mushrooms will absorb the oil within twelve weeks, Gautier said, turning the hair mats into nontoxic compost. "You make it like a lasagna," Gautier said. "You layer the oily hair mats with mushrooms and straw, turn it in six weeks, and by twelve weeks you have good soil." The soil may not be good enough to grow carrots but is certainly good enough to use for landscaping along roads, she said. The Environmental Protection Agency caught wind of the hair brigade and is giving the volunteers four-hour classes to certify them to clean up oil, Gautier said. Cole Hardware provided discount white Tyvex protection suits, and city workers from the Department of the Environment pitched in the eight hundred hair mats they had on hand. On Tuesday, volunteers used the mats and white plastic forks to gingerly lift tiny oil blobs from the sand at Ocean Beach. "It's interesting how when we are challenged, we become more inventive," said volunteer David Hirtz, who lives nearby and is a member of the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team run through the San Francisco Fire Department. "Instead of yelling and complaining and blaming, you are doing something about it," he said. . . . [Gautier has] been talking with a company in China that makes industrial-sized hair mats about getting more shipped to San Francisco. Gautier said she can even have large sea booms made by stuffing hair into nylon stockings. http://www.matteroftrust.org/programs/hairmatsinfo.html YouTube video of volunteers using hair mats: http://youtube.com/watch?v=WscZJ2Dh0RY Blue-Green Algae Cures One man's quest to cool the planet - with blue-green algae Scum of the Air, Sierra Magazine, Sierra Club May/June 2005 by Frances Cerra Whittelsey http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200605/lol.asp Atop the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's twenty-megawatt campus power plant stands a structure resembling a pipe organ. Instead of shiny metal, the thirty clear plastic pipes are pond-scum green, full of one-celled algae fighting global warming. The algae are eating carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the plant's emissions - forty percent of the former and eighty-six percent of the latter - and turning them into harmless oxygen and nitrogen. Each day, an algae crop is harvested that could be dried and converted to solid fuel or processed into biodiesel or ethanol, transforming a pollution problem into a moneymaker. Chemical engineer Isaac Berzin came across the algae idea in a 1996 government report while working on a project for the International Space Station and was immediately impressed with the possibilities. "You could take something no one knew what to do with and turn it into fuel," he says. With the MIT test a success, Berzin has attracted $2.4 million in capital, founded GreenFuel Technologies Corporation, and begun field trials at an unnamed power plant in the Southwest. The idea "has a lot of promise," says Barry Worthington, executive director of the U.S. Energy Association, which represents the electric power, oil, and gas industries. "If the GreenFuel technology works on a large scale, then all of a sudden you are looking at being able to sequester carbon dioxide not just as a cost of doing business, but you actually get some revenue." It would be a dream solution for the industry, given that forty percent of carbon dioxide and twenty-five percent of nitrogen oxide emissions in the country come from electric power plants. Other ideas for getting rid of CO2 include burying it underground or discharging it into the deep ocean, both expensive ideas with unknown consequences. But who can complain about a lot of algae? Chlorella: Key to Heavy Metals Detox A medicinal supplement available in health food stores, HMDTM (by Natural Path), removes lead, mercury, aluminum, and all heavy metals from the human body. Following is a list of the ingredients, taken from their website. If chlorella can detoxify the human body, algae is a probiotic that may detox carbon and chemical pollution from the earth, as well. http://detoxmetal.com/NewFiles/WhatIs.html HMDTM is a proprietary synergistic blend of three natural ingredients combining: Chlorella Growth Factor; A homaccord of specially energized cell-decimated Chlorella Vulgaris; Organic Coriandrum Sativum tincture (Cilantro Leaf) What is each of these three ingredients and what are their benefits and value? The three individual elements that HMDTM consists of are all natural substances, which apart from their chelating properties also have many health benefits: Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF) C.G.F. is obtained by hydro-thermally extracting premium quality chlorella. Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF) derived its name because laboratory test indicated that the addition of CGF to a standard growth medium increased the growth of friendly bacteria, lactobacillus, by up to 400%. CGF is a nucleotide-peptide complex and in addition to playing a synergistic role in the chelation of metals, as used in HMDTM. It has been tested by independent labs to be 100% pure and metal free. CGF has been shown in various research studies to have many health related benefits. Homeopathic Cell-Decimated Chlorella The chlorella vulgaris was made into a homeopathic homaccord of three different (C) potencies. It goes through manual and not mechanical succession for highest vibrational frequency. The literature is full of data about chlorella purporting to detoxify heavy metals. Homeopathic chlorella was tested based upon initial results using homeopathic plumbum, arsenicum, antimonium and cadmium. These homeopathics did appear to have some chelating properties to the specific metal that they represent, probably based upon their resonating properties, but not all the others. When homeopathic chlorella was tried by itself there was no chelating effect. But when combined with the other natural remedies in this formulation there was a powerful synergistic effect. Coriandrum sativum (leaf) herbal tincture - commonly referred to as Cilantro. A researcher named Dr. Yoshiaki Omura, using bioenergetic measures, discovered that some patients excreted more toxic metals after consuming a Chinese soup containing cilantro. Photosynthesis and Global Warming At the heart of probiotics is the cycle of phytosynthesis. Realizing this has probably already been explored, I located this book: Artificial Photosynthesis: From Basic Biology to Industrial Application, edited by Anthony F. Collings and Christa Critchley Wiley, ISBN 3527310908. Chapter seventeen: "Greenhouse Gas Technologies: A Pathway to Decreasing Carbon Intensity." This information may prove valuable for removing carbon from the atmosphere. For more information about this book, go to: http://www.cplbookshop.com/contents/C2302.htm. Melvin Prueitt's Air Purifying Tower Discover magazine, January, 1997, column by Fred Guterl Melvin Prueitt of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico received patents last January for an air purifying tower for large smog-filled cities. At the top of the 650-foot tower, which would be made of metal beams covered with a fiberglass shell, a spray of fine, electrostatically charged mist would humidify the air. It would make the air cooler and cause it to sink, thus creating a downdraft that would suck more air into the tower. Since pollutants would cling to the charged droplets, they would be washed away when the mist condenses at the bottom of the tower. Clean air, humidified by the remaining water vapor, would waft out of the bottom. Prueitt figures that a mere 190 towers could scrub the smog out of a city like Los Angeles without inflicting noticeable aesthetic damage to the skyline. Editor's Note: Melvin Prueitt's ideas are similar to mine, including spraying a charged mist and capturing pollutants in the droplets. The main difference is that using the Organic Cures design, the mist would be infused with probiotics. A 1,600 foot tower that can power a small city Posted on Wednesday, August 9, 2006 by Bart Dabek in Alternative Energy, Science & Technology http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/alternative-energy/a-1600-foot-tower-that-can-power-a-small-city/ http://www.quantuminvestor.com/articles/print.php?id=77 Australian entrepreneur Roger Davey developed a wind tunnel that turns turbines to create electricity. Excerpt from the article: "Picture a 260-foot-diameter cylinder taller than the Sears Tower encircled by a two-mile-diameter transparent canopy at ground level. About eight feet tall at the perimeter, where Davey has his feet planted, the solar collector will gradually slope up to a height of fifty to sixty feet at the tower's base. Acting as a giant greenhouse, the solar collector will superheat the air with radiation from the sun. Hot air rises, naturally, and the tower will operate as a giant vacuum. As the air is sucked into the tower, it will produce wind to power an array of turbine generators clustered around the structure. The result: enough clean, green electricity to power some 100,000 homes without producing a particle of pollution or a wisp of planet-warming gases." Editor's Note: A horizontal tunnel would also work. Algae Fuel Developments to Watch, Edited by Arlene Weintraub, Business Week, August 13, 2007 Green Fuel: From Pond Scum To The Jet Tank, by Tyler Hill http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_33/c4046068.htm?chan=search Boeing (BA) has teamed up with a handful of airlines to figure out how to make a jet engine that's efficient and environmentally friendly. Among the candidates for the biofuel that will power this engine: algae. Turns out the green gunk that coats stagnant ponds and unkempt aquariums offers advantages over other efficient fuels, such as ethanol made from corn. Algae-based fuels may hold up better in the extreme temperatures, pressures, and weather conditions at which jets operate. What's more, algae is abundant and grows naturally, which should make it cheaper to harvest than crop-based fuels. Boeing is working on the project with New Zealand-based Aquaflow Bionomic and Air New Zealand. Separately, Boeing is testing other types of biofuel with Virgin Atlantic Airways in an effort to convert an engine to run on clean fuel by 2008. A spokesman says one promising candidate is babassu, a Brazilian fruit similar to the coconut. Microbial Fuel New Method Converts Organic Matter To Hydrogen Fuel Easily And Efficiently ScienceDaily (Nov. 13, 2007) - Hydrogen as an everyday, environmentally friendly fuel source may be closer than we think, according to Penn State researchers. "The energy focus is currently on ethanol as a fuel, but economical ethanol from cellulose is ten years down the road," says Bruce E. Logan, the Kappe professor of environmental engineering. "First you need to break cellulose down to sugars and then bacteria can convert them to ethanol." Logan and Shaoan Cheng, research associate, suggest a method based on microbial fuel cells to convert cellulose and other biodegradable organic materials directly into hydrogen. The researchers used naturally occurring bacteria in a microbial electrolysis cell with acetic acid - the acid found in vinegar. Acetic acid is also the predominant acid produced by fermentation of glucose or cellulose. The anode was granulated graphite, the cathode was carbon with a platinum catalyst, and they used an off-the-shelf anion exchange membrane. The bacteria consume the acetic acid and release electrons and protons creating up to 0.3 volts. When more than 0.2 volts are added from an outside source, hydrogen gas bubbles up from the liquid. "This process produces 288 percent more energy in hydrogen than the electrical energy that is added to the process," says Logan. Water hydrolysis, a standard method for producing hydrogen, is only fifty to seventy percent efficient. Even if the microbial electrolysis cell process is set up to bleed off some of the hydrogen to produce the added energy boost needed to sustain hydrogen production, the process still creates 144 percent more available energy than the electrical energy used to produce it. For those who think that a hydrogen economy is far in the future, Logan suggests that hydrogen produced from cellulose and other renewable organic materials could be blended with natural gas for use in natural gas vehicles. "We drive a lot of vehicles on natural gas already. Natural gas is essentially methane," says Logan. "Methane burns fairly cleanly, but if we add hydrogen, it burns even more cleanly and works fine in existing natural gas combustion vehicles." The range of efficiencies of hydrogen production based on electrical energy and energy in a variety of organic substances is between sixty-three and eighty-two percent. Both lactic acid and acetic acid achieve eighty-two percent, while unpretreated cellulose is sixty-three percent efficient. Glucose is 64 percent efficient. Another potential use for microbial-electrolysis-cell produced hydrogen is in fertilizer manufacture. Currently fertilizer is produced in large factories and trucked to farms. With microbial electrolysis cells, very large farms or farm cooperatives could produce hydrogen from wood chips and then through a common process, use the nitrogen in the air to produce ammonia or nitric acid. Both of these are used directly as fertilizer or the ammonia could be used to make ammonium nitrate, sulfate or phosphate. This research is published in the November 12 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences online. The researchers have filed for a patent on this work. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., and the National Science Foundation supported this work. Adapted from materials provided by Penn State (2007, November 13). New Method Converts Organic Matter To Hydrogen Fuel Easily And Efficiently. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 21, 2007, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071112172203.htm Agrichar Initiative By Kelpie Wilson For Truthout.org, Thursday 03 May 2007 (excerpts) Terrigal, New South Wales, Australia - As delegates met in Bangkok this week to debate climate change solutions contained in the IPCC's latest report, one technology not mentioned in the draft report was being closely examined at a conference in Australia in the beach town of Terrigal, just north of Sydney. The first meeting of the International Agrichar Initiative convened about a hundred scientists, policymakers, farmers and investors with the goal of birthing an entire new industry to produce a biofuel that goes beyond carbon neutral and is actually carbon negative. The industry could provide a "wedge" of carbon reduction amounting to a minimum of ten percent of world emissions and possibly much more. Agrichar is the term not for the biomass fuel, but for what is left over after the energy is removed: a charcoal-based soil amendment. In simple terms, the agrichar process takes dry biomass of any kind and bakes it in a kiln to produce charcoal. The process is called pyrolysis. Various gases and bio-oils are driven off the material and collected to use in heat or power generation. The charcoal is buried in the ground, sequestering the carbon that the growing plants had pulled out of the atmosphere. The end result is increased soil fertility and an energy source with negative carbon emissions. Prominent Australian scientist Tim Flannery, who has written a book on global warming called The Weather Makers was on hand to give encouragement to the conferees. "I am deeply committed to your solution," he told the group. . . . The attendees were clearly excited by this potential, and, unlike other meetings concerned with climate change, an electric buzz of optimism was in the air. Joe Herbertson, director of a consulting company called Crucible Carbon, said, "When I heard about this technology, the hairs went up on the back of my neck. This is the best news on climate change I've ever heard." One reason for the excitement is agrichar's potential to address a range of problems from poor soil fertility to waste disposal to rural development. About half the world's population relies on charcoal for cooking fuel, and the production of charcoal drives deforestation in Africa and other places. Smoky, inefficient charcoal kilns pollute the air with noxious gases that harm health and heat the planet. An effort to replace these kilns with modern, efficient pyrolysis units would relieve the pressure on forests by reducing waste and adding the ability to use any source of biomass, including agricultural waste products such as rice hulls. The ultimate objective is to produce enough charcoal to have some left over to bury and increase soil fertility, leading to a bootstrapping effect where increased yields provide both more food and more biomass for energy. Projects discussed at the agrichar meeting ranged from a household-size pyrolyzing stove that produces both cooking gas and charcoal, to industrial-scale units capable of processing large waste streams from sugar mills, pulp mills, poultry farms and even municipalities. . . . Mike Mason, director of the UK biomass company, Biojoule, said the impact of agrichar on nitrous oxide emissions alone would be enough incentive to fund the needed projects. Nitrous oxide is 270 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas and it lasts for 150 years in the atmosphere. Use of nitrogen fertilizers is a major source of the gas, and a difficult one to mitigate. But agrichar applied to fields seems to have a significant damping effect on nitrous oxide emissions. Lukas Van Zwieten, a researcher at the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, looking at preliminary results of his field trials measuring nitrous oxide emissions from agrichar amended soils, said "the more I look into this, the more excited I get." Several farmers attending the conference were primarily interested in the increased yields possible with agrichar. Australia has some of the poorest soils in the world - seventy-five percent of Australia's soils have less than one percent carbon. . . . Field trials and experiments in pots show impressive yield gains in charcoal-amended soils, but so far researchers don't completely understand why. One question is whether the effect is primarily chemical and physical or primarily biological. Charcoal is a highly porous material that is very good at holding nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus and making them available to plant roots. It also aerates soil and helps it retain water. Charcoal's pores also make excellent habitat for a variety of soil microorganisms and fungi. Think of a coral reef that provides structure and habitat for a bewildering variety of marine species. Charcoal is like a reef on a micro-scale. One of the research papers presented at the conference documented an increased diversity of beneficial microbes in terra preta soils as compared with unamended soils, but there are still no answers about whether the fertility increase is due to physical or biological factors. The best answer may be that it is both. . . . Probiotics and Soot Here is a snapshot of recent research on the climate problems. The first article, "Soot May Play Big Role in Climate Change," offers more evidence that probiotics and other organic cures will work. Soot collects on windowsills and every outdoor surface. Even though temporarily grounded, winds will blow soot into the air again, or rain will wash it into the ocean, unless we use probiotics to neutralize it. Probiotics may also capture soot particles in the air and water. Soot May Play Big Role in Climate Change http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/032508EB.shtml Tami Abdollah of the Los Angeles Times reports: "Black carbon pollution, or soot, produced by burning wood, coal, cow dung and diesel fuel, may be a much greater contributor to global warming than previously suspected, according to a study released this week." Probiotics May Process Sequestered Carbon In 2007 I found out that a contender in the Virgin Earth Challenge is a "GRT Air Capture Device." It may sequester carbon, but the designers say they would need one million of these devices to remove the one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, as specified in the contest. The sorbents inside the devices would become polluted sponges of poison. How to dispose of this? I still believe the answer to the carbon dioxide removal is probiotics. For example, if you did have a collection of sorbent sponges from the sequestration devices, these could be treated with probiotics to transform the carbon dioxide into a harmless substance, as the previous article illustrates. Probiotics May Reduce Methane In 2007, Sir Paul McCartney went on TV to say that the meat industry creates more carbon dioxide than cars. Probiotics can help with this problem in two ways. First, it can process methane-emitting cow dung that accumulates in stockyards. Second, adding probiotics to cows' food would reduce the methane they emit in their digestive process. Here is a news clip about scientists who want to reduce methane using a similar theory. Japanese researchers may have come up with a way to reduce methane produced by cows By Staff Reports - heraldonline.com Published 01/28/08 - 12:00 AM http://www.heraldonline.com/opinions/story/321192.html A research team at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine in Hokkaido, Japan, might have found a way to reduce gas emissions from cows. The researchers discovered that supplementing the animals' diet with cysteine, a type of amino acid, and nitrate can reduce methane production. Poplar Tree Bacteria Breaks Down Toxins A 2007 Business 2.0 article (Vol. 8, No. 1, p. 84) said, "Researchers at York University in Britain have identified bacteria living in the roots of poplar trees that produce an enzyme that zaps residue from RDX, a chemical compound used by the military and industry." A Fanciful Future Scenario If we can develop probiotics that break down plastic bags and other plastic trash, we can apply probiotics to the plastic trash continents forming in the oceans. It would be like the dystopian movie, Waterworld, but probiotics would make it utopia. Waterworld: the earth is flooded, bands of survivors seek dry land. Probiotic waterworld: we turn the plastic trash continents into probiotic farms. We could make biodegradable hemp nets and get Greenpeace (or our own ships) to circle the trash fields, lacing the trash together. Since probiotics grow in warm water, the compacted trash continents could act as reefs for probiotics to grow. If successful, the probiotic crops would speed up the decomposition of the compacted garbage. Binding the trash would also prevent more of it from floating off or sinking, causing harm to marine life. If the plastic trash reefs grow an abundance of probiotics, besides processing the trash reefs, we could export probiotics to places that need it. My Fanciful Future Scenario Has Cred Check this out: "'Plastic munching' "At the UK's University of Sheffield, scientists are investigating how they could accelerate the speed at which the plastic breaks down by looking at micro-organisms already found in the sea that naturally feed on plastic. "Promising results have already been seen in finding out which microbes are attaching themselves to plastic in coastal waters around the UK. "The next stage will be to analyse how these enzymes work in the natural environment and how they might work in controlled environments where plastic would be the prominent carbon source." See original: bbc.co.uk [article dated Oct. 6, 2010] More cred: This YouTube video offers evidence to back up my idea to use the plastic continents to build islands. This man proves it can be done. The next step is to add probiotics. According to the comments at YouTube, this island was destroyed in a hurricane, but he is building a new one. Rock on Richie Sowa! [If this video does not show, click here to see it at Youtube.com.] Even more cred: Nature.com reports that microbes are eating plastic in the ocean. The article reports: "Plastic-eating bacteria might help explain why the amount of debris in the ocean has levelled off, despite continued pollution."