Anaerobic Digestion: Trash-to-Treasure Technology Rehabilitates Landfills; (or how to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear)

Landfills – ya gotta hate em! Smelly, vermin-infested health hazards; the unsightly proof's of man's careless conservancy. Or not. Could they actually hold the key to the energy/pollution conundrum plaguing our planet? Some forward-thinking communities think they could. In fact, with waste-to-energy supporters taking center stage in the search for viable alternatives to fossil-fuel based energy, rotting heaps of refuse are being recast as renewable sources of energy.

One of the technologies used to accomplish this remarkable revision is anaerobic digestion. Gobbling garbage, naturally occurring bacteria breaks down organic material (such as food waste) and transforms it into either bio-gas or landfill gas (depending on the type of facility), which is then captured and used to produce energy. The left-over substance – digestate - makes a great fertilizer. This two-fold consequence of the chemical reaction to decomposition not only reduces the size of landfills, it diminishes a dump's carbon footprint by controlling methane (a greenhouse gas) emissions. Talk about a sea-change!

According to the blog Harvest, a leper colony in Bombay, India was the first to realize the benefits of this kind of re-purposing, in 1859. By 1895 the town of Exeter, England was using bio-gas from a septic tank to light their street lamps. Waste-to-energy programs have been in place all across Europe since the 1930's, helping to power homes and businesses – even fuel transportation needs. Germany - the most invested country - boasts having a whopping 6,800 (and counting) large-scale anaerobic digesters at their disposal, while China uses roughly 8,000,000 smaller, 'family-sized' models to meet the heating and cooking demands of it's rural residents.

As long as there is a steady supply of organic waste for feedstock, agriculture, industrial, waste water and municipal solid waste systems can all reap the benefits of anaerobic digestion. According to the Center For Climate and Energy Solutions, agricultural anaerobic digesters produced 453,000 mega-watt hours (Mwh) of energy in the U.S. in 2010. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) facilities generated enough power to heat and light 433,000 homes.

But it is not just about power production, pollution reduction or plant food:

• Waste-water treatment processes destroy disease-causing bacteria while breaking down sewer sludge.
• Landfill bio-reactors eliminate odors caused by organic decomposition.
• Properly run AD operations obviate the hazards associated with accumulating, flammable landfill gases .

As with advancements in any field, proper training and maintenance are absolutely necessary to ensure operational success. But with newer technologies and improved designs, (digesters can even be structured underground!) most of the financial and aesthetic drawbacks to anaerobic digestion have been eliminated. The process is now viewed as a win-win-win for waste management, energy production and the environment. Instead of being seen as toxic eyesores, landfills today can give proof to the ingenuity of man. With trash-to-treasure technology, turning waste into energy is clearly an idea whose time has come.

Note. I am doing a little 're-purposing of my own, I first published this on Hubpages on 11/14/2012. 

Non-Toxic Pest Control

No matter how conscience-driven we are as consumers there are bound to be areas in our lives where, for the sake of convenience and/or effectiveness, we feel forced to compromise. Pest control is one of those areas: we don't like to use chemicals, but they work. I don't know about you but I will do pretty much whatever it takes to prevent or combat a roach infestation. Maybe there is a way, though, for us to hold on to our "green" principles and still get rid of uninvited guests. To keep bugs from bugging you try these environmentally safe, non-toxic pest control ideas. 

We all know what cleanliness is next to (hint: not creepy-crawlies or rodents), so start with a clean house, especially the kitchen and bathrooms.

• Make sure there are no open food or water sources. (Dripping faucets and soaking dishes count.)
• Vacuum all non-traffic areas of carpet, e.g. under sofas/beds.
• Vacuum mattresses and pillows regularly.
• Wash bedding and stuffed animals in hot (55 degrees centigrade or higher) water.
• Shampoo and comb pets regularly.
• Keep the house un-cluttered. (Fewer hiding places)

For a targeted approach aimed at specific species give these natural repellents a shot:

  Ants:

• Place cucumber peels or slices in areas of ant activity.
•  A small line of cayenne pepper, cinnamon, or coffee grounds, or a piece of string soaked in lemon juice or citrus oil and placed at the point of entry will keep ants from crossing.

Cockroaches:

• Make catnip sachets and leave in strategic places, or simmer in water for a spray and apply to baseboards, etc
• 1 or 2 slices of beer-soaked bread put into an empty 1lb coffee can and left out where roaches congregate can be an effective deterrent.

Fleas:

•  Pour 1 cup boiling water over a scored and sliced lemon. Let soak overnight before sponging on pet.
• Add 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to animal's water daily.

When warm weather expands our living space to include the great outdoors these suggestions couldn't hurt:

Mosquitoes:

• Plant Marigolds and Thai lemon grass.
• Mix 1 part garlic juice to 5 parts water for a natural spray. Soak strips of cotton cloth in the mixture and hang for a localized repellent.

Flies:

• Hang cheesecloth squares filled with bay leaves, cloves and eucalyptus in window
• Fill plastic bags with water and hang in doorways and around patios.

To rid your home of mice place dried peppermint leaves behind/under stove and refrigerator.

Diatomaceous earth is a non-toxic, chalky dust that can be used both indoors and out to control many household and garden pests. Made from the fossilized remains of diatoms, hard-shelled algae, the small, sharp particles are harmful only to the exoskeletons of insects. A mechanical, not chemical killer, it clings to their bodies as they walk or crawl over it, cutting the waxy coating and causing them to dry out. The insect dehydrates within 48 hours.

Treading lightly is the best way to avoid leaving an imprint so keep your green-tinted glasses on and let your imagination show you some simpler solutions to pest control. Your health, pets, environment, and wallet will all reap the rewards.

Green Roofs: Going Green From the Top Down

Looking for a way to help the environment, save some wildlife and add visual charm to your neighborhood? Want to save money doing it? Start at the top and go green – as in a green roof. Unlike the single purpose surfaces usually seen covering our buildings, living roofs are designed to do more than simply give shelter. They:

• help clean up a smoggy environment,
• reduce greenhouse gas emissions,

• cool down a sweltering 'heat island effect',
  
• improve insulation and reduce energy costs,
• soften the unwanted sounds of human activity (i.e. noise pollution),
• absorb storm water runoff which can swamp sewer systems,
• provide a habitat for wildlife,
• and add extra growing and/or amenity space.

Overlooking Bay & King, Toronto, Chris Tyler - WikimediaCommons 

Whew! And that's just for starters.

The benefits of having a green roof so outweigh the burden, the city of Toronto, Canada, has been mandating their use in new construction since 2010. They are the first North American city to adopt such a bylaw .

Not every place needs a legal imperative to green-up their municipalities. A lot of forward thinking communities in the United States have been going green, one rooftop at a time, for a while. Chicago got serious about them in 2001, as part of Mayor Daley's Urban Heat Island Initiative. Today, the Windy City has over 500 green roofs covering more than seven million square feet! Washington DC, Minneapolis MN and Baltimore MD have all followed suit with green-roof-goals of their own. They were all named on non profit Green Roofs For Healthy Cities North America's 2009 Top Ten Green Roof Cities list.

Chicago City Hall, TonyTheTiger - WikimediaCommons

Wikipedia defines a green roof as a “roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane.” They can be divided into three types: intensive, semi-intensive or extensive, with the type being determined by planting depth and required maintenance.

Viking Recreation, Newfoundland, Dylan Kerluk, WikimediaCommons

Building - lower Manhattan, By: Alyson Hurt, Flickr

The use of grasses or shrubs to cover dwellings can be traced back to at least the Middle Ages. L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland is a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to the reconstructed remains of three Norse sod houses, dated 1000 A.D. Today's “new and improved” designs took root in Germany, in the early 1960's. Proving the adage “everything old is [can be made] new again.”

Norway, Velociostrich, WikimediaCommons

The initial costs of setting up an Eco-friendly covering can leave some consumers feeling like they are in over their head. EPA estimates range from $10 to $25 per square foot, depending on the size and style. This money is recouped in time though, with the real payoff being realized in long term performance savings. Portland State University, University of Toronto and Green Roofs For Healthy Cities worked together to develop an energy calculator that can be used to compare the efficacy of different kinds of roofs. Further savings come from improved durability: a properly installed and maintained living roof will last 2-3 times longer than one made with conventional materials.

As charming as they appear, living roofs are not just architectural eye candy. These canopies have a higher purpose. Whether set in a concrete jungle, a suburban enclave, or a country village - covering a corner of a building or encompassing the entire rooftop, great rewards are reaped when we start at the top and go green. Green roofs are a good idea...for everybody. 

Welcome to My Blog!

2012 ended without the Apocalyptic bang alarmists were expecting. Instead of the Cosmic Grand Finale end-timers had predicted, the page was turned on that whole Mayan calender thing and here we are. Let's not breathe that sigh of relief just yet, though. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) announced on January 14, 2013 that The Doomsday Clock would remain at last years setting - 5 minutes to midnight. Time is standing still... for now. Or is it tick-tick-ticking towards too late? The watchdog group accused World Leaders of being distracted by “the politics of the economic recovery”. They further warned against the “long term threats that face humanity...specifically the dangers presented by climate change and nuclear weapons.”

By சஞ்சீவி சிவகுமார் (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

These unaddressed challenges are pushing our planet past the proverbial point of no return. For real. The sky might not be falling but according to the latest scientific data, it is heating up - and way too fast. We might be running out of time. How can we stop those clock-hands from creeping closer to kaput? By going a lot greener.

I hate to break it to Chevron CEO John Watson – but global warming is not just government's responsibility. We all own this. While the profits for exploiting our natural resources have been disproportionately divvied up, the final cost is going to be paid by everyone. It is time for a top-to-bottom Eco-makeover. Governments do need to do more. And so does industry. And so does anybody lucky enough to have a choice. And that's what this blog is about: highlighting some of the ways we can all go green – while there is still time.