Hi Ed >Also a Mother Jones article a little while ago citing this - fertilizer >being used as a carrier for cheap disposal of toxics. Spread it all over our >farmlands in small concentrations instead of paying to have it properly >disposed of. (Yikes!)
Yep. Most of the original investigations and publication were done by the Seattle Times. I'll post some links below. > I think it's time to start looking seriously at the role of seedcake >pellets that emerge from cold presses as hard pellets, with probably twice >the oil content of those from solvent extraction facilities, ready for use >as organic fertilizer. All the organic folks that are running diesels in >their operations should, as a matter of principle, be integrating these >biofuels and biolubricants and organic seedcake pellets ideas into their >work. Hear hear - we all like to say how nice and green biofuels are, but there's not enough thought given to maintaining the fertility of the soils that produce them. <snip> >another. And we see the results in terms of our health. Sooner - or later. > >But I digress... Not a digression - everything's connected to everything else. There's not enough thought given to this either, IMO. Rising tides of asthma, bronchitis, chest complaints, allergies, etc etc etc - the issues you raise - were very much at issue in Hong Kong and its failure to deal with rising air-pollution, mainly diesel pollution; people were leaving, tourists weren't coming, businesses were relocating, thousands of people were meeting premature deaths every year, and biodiesel could have very largely fixed that. I understand nothing's changed in the last couple of years. In other words it'll have got worse. http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_hk.html Toxic fertilizer refs: The Seattle Times, Local News, Friday, July 04, 1997: Throughout the country, example after example of hazardous wastes being turned into fertilizer The Seattle Times, Local News, Thursday, March 26, 1998: Toxic waste: 270 million pounds on farm fields http://www.ewg.org/pressstories/seattletimes01292001.html Take toxins out of fertilizer, 29 Jan 2001 http://www.seventhgen.com/html/recentnews.html#story01 A Fateful Harvest And A Cautionary Tale Faithful readers will remember that a few issues back we reviewed a new book called Fateful Harvest, the True Story of a Small Town, a Global Industry, and a Toxic Secret, by Duff Wilson. The book follows an investigative trail of secrets and sickness from a single small town to the headquarters of global fertilizer companies that are covertly adding toxic waste to their products. It's a stunning tale and one that's really about much more than fertilizer. http://pirg.org/toxics/reports/wastelands/index.html#exec Waste Lands: The Threat Of Toxic Fertilizer http://ens.lycos.com/ens/nov99/1999l-11-24-02.html Environmental News Service -- Smelter Toxics Served at Dinner via Crop Fertilizers http://ens.lycos.com/ens/may2001/2001L-05-07-06.html Environment News Service: Toxic Wastes Found in Fertilizers Toxic Waste in Fertilizer Main Page http://www.watoxics.org/tf.htm Duff Wilson's "Fateful Harvest" Book Release and Promotional Book Tour http://www.watoxics.org/tfdw.htm Background Information on Toxic Waste in Fertilizer http://www.watoxics.org/tfbk.htm Public Health and Environmental Concerns http://www.watoxics.org/tfh.htm Washington Fertilizer Politics http://www.watoxics.org/tfp.htm Farmers' Stories http://www.watoxics.org/tff.htm Media Reports and Other Resources http://www.watoxics.org/tfm.htm Toxic Waste in Fertilizer Action Alert http://www.watoxics.org/uaNatFert.htm Keith Addison Journey to Forever Handmade Projects Tokyo http://journeytoforever.org/ >Edward Beggs >www.biofuels.ca > > > > From: Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Reply-To: biofuel@yahoogroups.com > > Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 13:48:24 +0900 > > To: biofuel@yahoogroups.com > > Subject: Re: [biofuel] Solid catalyst, > > > > "goat industries" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > >> Yes, Dana, there are people interested in finding greener >recipes for making > >> biodiesel. They do seem to exist but are generally highly >guarded industrial > >> secrets. I got a bit disallusioned by the polluting effect of the basic > >> methanol/lye method as it produces a lot of mirky water in the refining > >> process which is a problem to serious biodiesel producers as the local > >> environment agency (UK) is highly officious and very fond of >imposing large > >> fines on businesses that cause pollution. I am currently researching other > >> methods. > > > > Sounds like it's your highly officious local UK environment agency > > you should be getting a bit disillusioned with rather than the > > polluting effect of the method, which was discussed here a month or > > two ago and would seem to be more of a molehill than a mountain. Is > > it really worse than soapy residues etc from dishwasher, laundry > > detergents, bathwater? Aleks detailed the contents of the waste water > > (pretty innocuous) and said there's no need to be saintlier than the > > Pope. Keep 2nd and 3rd wash water for next-batch first wash; dilute > > first-wash water and offer it to your lawn - try a small patch first, > > but prolly neither lawn nor moles will mind, might even appreciate > > it. Nothing you don't find in fertiliser bags. You can find a helluva > > lot worse in fertiliser bags: 6.2 million pounds of lead compounds, > > 1.3 million pounds of chromium compounds, 233,000 pounds of cadmium > > compounds, 212,000 pounds of nickel compounds, 16,000 pounds of > > mercury compounds and 223 pounds of arsenic compounds (dioxins not > > measured) supplied in US fertilizer bags in 2000. Plenty of real > > problems with water pollution in the UK to be concerned about. > > > > "UK's polluted rivers named" - "WWF says the relevant government > > agencies do not have the money to monitor fresh water properly, and > > are often powerless to act even when they find problems." > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1285000/1285883.stm > > > > Should add this: > > > > "Aerosol Pollution Could Drain Earth's Water Cycle", San Diego, > > California, December 7, 2001 (ENS) -- Pollution may be seriously > > weakening the Earth's water cycle, reducing rainfall and threatening > > fresh water supplies. A new study by researchers at the Scripps > > Institution of Oceanography suggests that tiny particles of soot and > > other pollutants are having a far greater effect on the planet's > > hydrological cycle than previously realized, directly affecting fresh > > water availability and quality. The aerosols are a mixture of > > sulfates, nitrates, organic particles, fly ash, and mineral dust, > > formed by fossil fuel combustion and burning of forests and other > > biomass. > > http://ens-news.com/ens/dec2001/2001L-12-07-06.html > > > > Using biodiesel gives substantial reductions of unburned hydrocarbons > > (-93%), carbon monoxide (-50%), and particulate matter (-30%), ie > > soot - NBB. So is using biodiesel rather than dinodiesel helping the > > water situation more or less than your washwater is polluting it, > > d'you think? > > > > Keith Addison > > Journey to Forever > > Handmade Projects > > Tokyo > > http://journeytoforever.org/ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Tiny Wireless Camera under $80! Order Now! FREE VCR Commander! 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