Biosolids are a class of fertilizers and composts made from treated sewage sludge.  It has been shown that biosolids contain heavy metals and other toxic chemicals, yet these make their way onto crops year after year.  There is not enough evidence to suggest that biosolids pose a hazard to humans, but there has not been enough research either.  The lack of evidence doesn’t necessarily mean that there isn’t a problem, but the EPA hasn’t learned this yet in science class.

Biosolids is basically a euphemism for giving people their own waste back to them in the form of fertilizers and composts, with the bonus of additional toxins.

Don’t get me wrong, I love euphemisms.  They make unpleasant things sound so much more pleasant.  One of my favorite euphemisms is when my grandmother calls the room with a toilet and a sink in her house the “powder room.”  Ladies don’t use the toilet, they go to powder their noses.

The New Zealand-based clean tech company LanzaTech has just announced a successful run of its new technology for reclaiming industrial waste gasses to produce 2,3 Butanediol, a foundational chemical from which spring a variety of products including fuels and even plastics.

If LanzaTech’s technology proves successful on a commercial scale, it provides yet another pathway for the world to continue manufacturing products, including energy products, without continuing the high-risk harvesting of fossil fuels that has wrecked so many local economies. It also provides another alternative for producing plastics and fuels without using food crops or taking land out of food crop production.

Chalk up another reason to make the switch to high efficiency LED lighting: Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a graphite foam that extends the life of LED lights. The foam is used as a passive cooling element, which plays a critical role in the lifespan of LED components. The breakthrough could help lower the cost of LED’s and make them more attractive in the mass market.

A wholesale switch to high efficiency LED technology could be part of the solution to the conundrum posed by the coming wave of new electric vehicles, which is how to manage overall energy consumption (and carbon emissions) when millions of new electric car owners start charging up their vehicles.

The average American uses 2000 gallons of water each day. What’s surprising is how much of that is hidden in our lifestyle.

Only 5% of that 2000 gallons is actually used as water in the home – drinking, washing dishes, bathing, watering the yard and garden, and other things. The rest is embedded in the things we do, the food we eat, and goods we buy.

National Geographic has put together a water footprint calculator that can help each of us understand where we use the most water and how we can cut back. Through a series of questions, like how many loads of laundry do you do each week, how long are your showers, and what sort of plants grow in your yard, the calculator determines how much water you use.

“Drinking coffee responsibly?” some might ask…but not Eat Drink Better readers! You know that after oil, coffee is the most highly traded commodity on the planet. The ravaging demand for the other “black gold” is the main reason for massive deforestation projects to create agricultural land for coffee plantations in South America and Asia. As if that weren’t enough, a team of researchers concluded that it takes up 200 liters of water to produce just a single cup of latte when you consider cultivating, harvesting, transporting, and producing the final cup of coffee. Then there’s the heaps of paper and plastic products used with coffee (cups, filters, napkins, plastic tops, stirrers, etc.) that are discarded by the millions every single day. And don’t forget the “coffee crisis” which refers to dramatically low coffee prices causing labor problems where coffee farmers can barely provide for their families.

If you’re an egg-eater, you could swear off eggs until federal investigators determine the cause of the Salmonella outbreak that has sickened thousands of people and led to the recall of a half billion eggs.

Or you could use common sense and avoid industrial eggs all together.

Salmonella outbreaks occur in chickens when they live in unsanitary and inhumane conditions. Infected hens transmit the bacteria to their eggs.

Chickens that are confined in cages or crowded sheds are more likely to be contaminated, while chickens raised on pasture are less at risk for disease.

Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have discovered that cleanliness is next to cheapliness. They have developed a simple one-step method, based on wax and soap, that will enable researchers to develop a wide variety low-cost materials for use in lithium-ion batteries.

The high price of lithium-ion batteries is a big roadblock to mass commercialization of electric vehicles, so any success in bringing down costs at the research and development end could have a significant impact on the consumer market and help the way for introducing electric fleets into more businesses.

Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa has issued a recall for 380 million eggs possibly infected with salmonella. The recall started on Friday, Aug 13 with 228 million, but expanded to 380 million eggs on Wednesday, Aug 18.

The eggs are packaged under several brands – Albertson, Bayview, Boomsma’s, Dutch Farms, Farm Fresh, Hillandale, Kemps, Lucerne, Lund, Mountain Dairy, Nulaid, Ralph’s, Shoreland, Sunshine, Sun Valley, and Trafficanda – as well as served in restaurants. If you’re wondering if the eggs in your fridge have been recalled, check out this handy chart. Scroll down to the bottom of the chart for a lesson on how to read the codes on the egg carton.

Dutch Farms has accused Wright County Egg of packaging eggs and selling them under the Dutch Farms brand without the permission of Dutch Farms.

There’s something about defecation that seems to both fascinate and revulse humans at the same time. In other words, there’s just something funny about poop and I can’t explain it. I will however, direct your attention to a poop-powered VW Bug built by some enterprising Brits.

GENeco has streamlined a process that allows this VW Bug to run on methane. This has been done before, but many methane vehicles had decreased performance because the fecal fuel wasn’t “clean” enough. GENeco seems to have solved this problem, and the Bio Bug as it is being called, is being hailed as a breakthough in poop-power.

Shrimp season may have just opened in the Gulf, but as people show concern over the safety of Gulf seafood, individuals and businesses may begin to look elsewhere, most likely to imports.

Over 80 percent of shrimp consumed in the US is already imported, so it’s nothing new and nothing to really be afraid of; however, with Gulf shrimp possibly in short supply, some overseas companies may try to cut corners to meet the demand quickly.

Learn how you can choose your shrimp wisely.

There is much talk of buying local and trying to eat more sustainably, but how is a small regional food system actually created? How does that happen? It seems that it may be built one jar of delicious sauerkraut at a time.

Fermented Inspiration

Three former Evergreen State College students turned their respective diverse passions into a small food company that is helping to create positive change, and strengthening the local food system here in Washington. The idea for the business germinated while the entrepreneurs were still in college, initially as a fermented vegetable CSA. They then got lots of feedback and insight from teachers and others, who helped to shape and refine the company’s structure and priorities, which has now evolved into a successful small organic sauerkraut business based in Olympia.

Solar is great if you have a good roof. But what if you don’t? Why not make kilowatt-hours in your basement? Small residential Combined Heat & Power (CH&P) boilers that run on natural gas can effectively cut the greenhouse gas emissions in half, because these boilers don’t just make hot water, they also make electricity.

A few companies are now introducing residential-sized CH&P units that are about the size of a clothes dryer, and make from 1 KW to 6 KW of electricity, just the amount of power needed in an average home using from about 300 kWh a month to about 900 kWh (you’d need to look at your bill to see your monthly usage, but most of us are in this range.)

Then the hot water produced is more than enough to supply the needs of average homeowners. And great for homeowners in cold climates who want to do radiant heating as well as hot water (as well as get the electricity!)