How Humanure Could Change The World (If We Don’t Turn Up Our Noses!)

"What problems does humanure solve?

Food Security & Food Prices

"2021 was not a good year for farmers buying fertilizer, with prices rocketing by 80%.

"Any hopes of relief would soon be dashed when the Ukraine war started. Russia, a key fertilizer manufacturer, restricted exports and global shipping companies veered away from the country, leading to fertilizer prices reaching an all-time high.

"These problems have helped contribute to sky-high food prices and a cost of living crisis for millions of people. Yet at the same time, on average each of us produces 145 kg a year of excrement.

"(Total annual world poop has been valued at 9.5 billion dollars, albeit as an energy source rather than as fertilizer.)

"Some countries do attempt to reclaim the nutrients while treating wastewater. Unfortunately, it’s an inefficient process, with around 90% of phosphorus lost in the process.

"Turn that excrement into compost, and we could reduce our reliance on other, sometimes unstable, countries.

"At the same time, and especially in the poorer areas of the world which are less able to afford fertilizer, humanure could help to improve the quality of poor agricultural land, improving soil structure and reducing the impact of drought.
Reduce water waste

What happens to all that food waste?

"In those of us lucky enough to live in rich countries, it is flushed down the loo with water clean and pure enough to drink out of.

"Each flush uses about 6 liters of water, and on average we go to the toilet 6-7 times a day. In total, we use about 36-42 liters of treated water to get rid of valuable organic waste.

Reduce #WaterPollution

"And what happens to that water once we have defecated? In rich countries and in poor, it can often end up in rivers and seas.

"Water pollution doesn’t just come from our waste, either. The nutrients in artificial fertilizers are often readily available to plants, but that also means it is easily washed out by rain into our rivers and water courses.

"That all means our water has huge amounts of nitrogen in it. This causes algae blooms which throw off toxins that can cause brain and liver damage.

"As the #AlgaeBloom dies, they suck the oxygen out of the water creating dead zones where nothing can live.

In contrast, many of the nutrients in compost are fixed in organic materials and are not easily washed out by rain.

"Instead, they are steadily taken up by microorganisms, some of which work in a symbiotic relationship with plants.

Reduce emissions

"A lot of blame gets put on farting cows, but human waste also releases damaging greenhouse gasses – especially in our current waste management systems.

"In fact, it’s estimated that human sanitation accounts for between 2 and 6% of methane emissions alone.

"Proper composting has the potential to vastly reduce that number. In fact, one study in Haiti found that composted human waste released 0.5% methane – compared to between 20-80% for the pit latrines and lagoon methods often used in third-world countries.

"And that’s even before we start to count the cost of shipping fertilizer around the world!

Solve sanitation problems in poor countries

"3.6 billion people still don’t have access to proper sanitation – and 494 million people still have to defecate outside. That leads to diseases almost eliminated in the West – diseases which kill over 485,000 people every single year.

"Yet the work of charities in these countries shows what can be achieved. In Haiti, for example, SOIL has provided sanitary toilets for 6000 people while turning 510 tons of excrement into agricultural-grade fertilizer.

What about human disease?

"It is, of course, natural to worry about disease. After all, we have just been talking about the diseases caused by human excrement which has not been treated.

"Science tells us, though, that if the right composting conditions are used there’s little risk to the process. As compost gets hot, #ThermophilicBacteria destroy many pathogens.

"More get killed in the maturing process, aided by the ability of worms to destroy antibiotic-resistant genes.

Challenges…

"While humanure is popular with #permaculture fans, it’s unlikely to gain mass traction in the richer parts of the world.

"Trained by convenience and ease, it’s hard to see how people will transition from flushing down poop with water in pristine toilets to collecting excrement and lumping it to a compost pile.

"Even for those who are fans, its application is likely just not viable for the many people who live in high-rise apartments and dense city blocks with little or no gardens.

"There is also the problem of our legacy sanitation systems.

"These are designed to flush all down in one with water. Replacing every pipe and toilet with a system designed to collect waste and somehow funnel it to a compost facility is likely to be hugely expensive.

And opportunities…

"A more intriguing possibility lies in the poorer parts of the world. In stark contrast to the white porcelain that greets and graces our bottoms, a huge amount of people don’t have access to good sanitation.

"With little to lose in terms of comfort and more to gain both in terms of sanitation, reduced disease and increased fertility for often poor soil, compost toilets have proved an easier ask in third-world countries.

"Scaling current efforts, though, is another thing. Perhaps when countries do come to building infrastructure in their poorer regions, systems will be designed which capture the value of our waste, rather than flush it down expensive toilets and into our rivers and seas."

https://www.compostmagazine.com/humanure/
#Humanure #SolarPunkSunday #Sustainability #WaterIsLife #Agriculture #Phosphorus

At the #Salton Sea, Uncovering the Culprit of #LungDisease

Researchers may have found a cause for #asthma-like symptoms in the region. The discovery could have #global implications.

"The scientists are eager to see if the mice demonstrate a similar disease profile with Great Salt Lake dust. If they do, according to Yisrael, it could potentially have global implications. She points to areas like the #AralSea, on the border of #Kazakhstan and #Uzbekistan, as well as lake systems closer to home, like #MonoLake, in central California. 'All of these areas globally are drying up, and around these areas are communities which complain of severe asthma-like symptoms'"

By Fletcher Reveley
08.19.2024

"When David Lo first visited the Salton Sea shore in the spring of 2018, he was struck by the sheer oddness of the place: the beach of barnacle shells and pulverized fish bones; the abandoned dock far from the water’s edge; the unremitting smell of decay. It was like a scene from a science fiction movie, recalled the 66-year-old biomedical researcher from University of California, Riverside, familiar yet “just off of normal.”

But it was also pleasant, in a way. The sun glistened off the placid surface of the water, the Chocolate Mountains rose in the distance. At first, he said, 'all those odd parts don’t hit you in terms of potential, like ‘Oh my gosh this is a toxic, nasty sort of thing.' But for him that’s changed, he added, 'having learned more about what’s going on.'

"The Salton Sea is a 316-square mile, shallow glaze of water in #SouthernCalifornia that has been receding in recent years. Scientists believe the #ToxicDust kicked up from the exposed lakebed is contributing to respiratory disease in the region.

"Now, after nearly a decade of research, Lo recommends that anyone visiting the lake wear an #N95 mask. Something in the environment — in the water, the land, the air, or all three — appears to be making people in the region sick with a respiratory disease that presents like asthma. Children have been especially impacted; in some areas more than a quarter of kids have been diagnosed with asthma, more than four times the national childhood #asthma rate. Even more children, whether they have been diagnosed or not, display asthma-like symptoms — more than a third of kids in certain areas. And although residents of the area have long believed the Salton Sea to be toxic, Lo and other researchers at UC Riverside are only now beginning to zero in on a culprit. And it’s one that nobody expected."

[...]

"For Lo and the other researchers, however, the results were remarkable for a different reason — the geographic distribution of the asthma symptoms seemed to map closely onto the geographic distribution of the #LPS. The southern end of the lake was also the main entry point for #AgriculturalRunoff, which is laced with nutrients and feeds explosive biological activity. 'All these things are coming together,' said Lo. “The nutrients driving the bacterial growth, driving the toxin getting into the dust, driving the symptoms.' Lo recalled that at one meeting this year of the Salton Sea Task Force, a multidisciplinary group of UC Riverside scientists that studies the Salton Sea, the findings of the various threads of research began to converge: 'That was the meeting where everybody was, you know their jaws were dropping, like ‘Oh my gosh, it’s all fitting into place.’'"

[...]

"Near the end of May this year, Lo hosted a forum at UC Riverside on the health effects of dust and other particles that can be suspended in air. Many of the presenters were graduate students or faculty from various labs at UC Riverside that study the Salton Sea, but one of the keynote speakers, Molly Blakowski, had flown in from a different state entirely. Blakowski studies the Great Salt Lake, in Utah, and her invitation to the event reflected a growing concern among the UC Riverside investigators: What if this toxic LPS is not unique to the Salton Sea?

"In a recent interview with Undark, Blakowski drew parallels between the Salton Sea and the #GreatSaltLake — both are #hypersaline, terminal lakes that are rapidly shrinking; both contain areas where #nutrients from #agricultural activity enter and impact the #microbiome. Another similarity, she said, is that there are major knowledge gaps regarding the lake and its impact on human health." [NOT JUST HUMAN HEALTH!!!]

https://undark.org/2024/08/19/salton-sea-uncovering-lung-disease/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

#Flowers grown floating on polluted waterways can help clean up nutrient runoff

Cut-flower farms could be a sustainable option for mitigating water pollution.

by Jazmin Locke-Rodriguez and Krishnaswamy Jayachandran, The Conversation

2/17/2024, 7:08 AM

"Flowers grown on inexpensive floating platforms can help clean polluted waterways, over 12 weeks extracting 52 percent more #phosphorus and 36 percent more #nitrogen than the natural nitrogen cycle removes from untreated water, according to our new research. In addition to filtering water, the cut flowers can generate income via the multibillion-dollar floral market.

"In our trials of various flowers, giant #marigolds stood out as the most successful, producing long, marketable stems and large blooms. Their yield matched typical flower farm production.

Why it matters

"Water pollution is caused in large part by runoff from #farms, urban #lawns, and even #septic tanks. When it rains, excess phosphorus, nitrogen, and other chemicals wash into #lakes and #rivers.

"These nutrients feed #algae, leading to widespread and harmful #AlgaeBlooms, which can severely lower oxygen in water, creating 'dead zones' where aquatic life cannot survive. Nutrient runoff is a critical issue as urban areas expand, affecting the health of water #ecosystems.

"Water pollution is an escalating crisis in our area of Miami-Dade and Broward counties in #Florida. The 2020 #BiscayneBay fish kill, the largest mass death of aquatic life on record for the region, serves as a stark reminder of this growing environmental issue.

How we do our work

"We study sustainable agriculture and water pollution in South Florida.

"Inspired by traditional floating farm practices, including the #Aztecs’ #chinampas in Mexico and the #Miccosukees’ tree island settlements in Florida, we tested the idea of growing cut flowers on floating rafts as a way to remove excess nutrients from waterways. Our hope was not only that the flowers would pay for themselves, but that they could provide jobs here in Miami, the center of the US cut-flower trade.

"We floated 4-by-6-foot (1.2-by-1.8-meter) mats of inexpensive polyethylene foam called Beemats in 620-gallon (2,300-liter) outdoor test tanks that mirrored water conditions of nearby polluted waterways. Into the mats, we transplanted flower seedlings, including #zinnias, #sunflowers, and giant marigolds. The polluted tank water was rich in nutrients, eliminating the need for any fertilizer. As the seedlings matured into plants over 12 weeks, we tracked the tanks’ improving water quality.

"Encouraged by the success of the marigolds in our tanks, we moved our trials to the nearby canals of Coral Gables and Little River. We anchored the floating platforms with 50-pound (22.7-kilogram) weights and also tied them to shore for extra stability. No alterations to the landscape were needed, making the process simple and doable.

What still isn’t known

"The success of the giant marigolds might be linked to the extra roots that grow from their stems known as adventitious roots. These roots likely help keep the plants stable on the floating platforms. Identifying additional plants with roots like these could help broaden plant choices.

"Future raft designs may also need modifications to ensure better stability and growth for other cut-flower and crop species.

What’s next

"Our promising findings show floating cut-flower farms could be a sustainable option for mitigating water pollution.

"One of us (Locke-Rodriguez) is expanding this research and working to scale up floating farms in South Florida as a demonstration of what could take place in the many locations facing similar issues worldwide.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/02/flowers-grown-floating-on-polluted-waterways-can-help-clean-up-nutrient-runoff/

#Israel denies using white #phosphorus munitions in #Gaza

Human Rights Watch has alleged such weapons have been used and said they put civilians at risk of serious injury

By Patrick Wintour
Fri 13 Oct 2023 12.07 EDT

"The Israel Defence Forces (#IDF) have denied allegations by Human Rights Watch that they have used white phosphorus munitions in their military operations in Gaza and #Lebanon.

"#HRW said the use of such weapons put civilians at risk of serious and long-term injury. #Palestinian groups have asked for the international criminal court to investigate.

"Israel’s military initially said it was 'currently not aware of the use of weapons containing white phosphorus in Gaza'. Later, it hardened its response, saying: 'The current accusation … regarding the use of white phosphorus in Gaza is unequivocally false.'

"Israel has been bombarding Gaza in retaliation for a Hamas rampage in southern Israeli towns that killed at least 1,300 people last weekend. At least 1,500 Palestinians have been killed. Israel has also traded barbs with Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.

"HRW said it had verified videos taken in Lebanon on 10 October and Gaza on 11 October showing 'multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the Israel-Lebanon border'. It said it had interviewed two people who described an attack in Gaza.

"It provided links to two videos posted on social media that it said showed '155mm white phosphorus artillery projectiles being used, apparently as smokescreens, marking or signalling'. Both showed scenes near the Israel-Lebanon border, it said. The group did not provide links to videos showing their alleged use in Gaza.

"Palestinian TV channels have broadcast videos in recent days showing thin plumes of white smoke lining the sky over Gaza that they say was caused by such munitions.

"Israel’s military said in 2013 it was phasing out white phosphorus smokescreen munitions used during its 2008-09 offensive in Gaza, which drew war crimes allegations from various rights groups.

"The military at the time did not say whether it would also review use of weaponised white phosphorus, which is designed to incinerate enemy positions.

"HRW said: 'White phosphorus, which can be used either for marking, signalling and obscuring, or as a weapon to set fires that burn people and objects, has a significant incendiary effect that can severely burn people and set structures, fields and other civilian objects in the vicinity on fire.'

"White phosphorus munitions can legally be used on battlefields to make smokescreens, generate illumination, mark targets or burn bunkers and buildings. Israel could be using the material to mark targets.

"Because it has legal uses, white phosphorus is not banned as a chemical weapon under international conventions.

"White phosphorus is considered an incendiary weapon under protocol 3 of the convention on the prohibition of use of certain conventional weapons. The protocol prohibits using incendiary weapons against military targets located among civilians, although Israel has not signed it and is not bound by it.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/13/israel-military-white-phosphorus-gaza-lebanon

#WarCrimes
#HumanRights