Originally published July 3 2005
Environmental engineer sees no need for waste; provides other options
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Environmental engineer Dr. George Chan noted, in an article published in World Changing, that there is no waste in nature -- one organism's byproduct is another's food source -- and provided several ideas on how humans can follow nature's example via his Integrated Food and Waste Management System (IF&WMS).
What may be waste products for one species is nearly always food for another.
The interconnection between the various organisms in an ecosystem means that, absent external disruption, environmental cycles can continue more-or-less indefinitely.
Environmental engineer Dr. George Chan thought we could do better, and has for the past two decades been working (along with the Zero Emissions Research Initiative) on something he calls the Integrated Food and Waste Management System (IF&WMS), a method of layering different types of production together such that the waste output from one component feeds another.
Fish can be eaten, algae can be used as feed, worms from the vermi-culture gin can fed to the fish and fast growing plants like Napier grass can be added ...
Excess water in the pond percolates into the surrounding berms providing both irrigation and fertilizer for the crops growing on the berms.
Finally aeroponic greenhouses can be added to this system.
The integrated biomass system will not be limited to agricultural production.
The integrated biomass system will enable the development of a variety of value added products and services including electricity for export.
IF&WMS has been successfully employed in Brazil, Mauritius, and Namibia, and there's growing interest in India.
The spent grain from the brewing process (once fed to cattle, which can't properly digest it) is used to fertilize mushroom growth and to cultivate earthworms, which are in turn used as chicken feed.
The waste water, once heavily chemically treated to make it pH neutral, is instead used to grow Spirulina algae; the remainder is channeled to a fish farm.
The waste from the mushrooms, earthworms and chickens provide food for the fish.
Zero emissions is simply the continuation of the drive of industry toward higher levels of productivity and away from waste.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml