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Soil Depletion and what it is doing to our waters

July 11th, 2010

    

Soil Depletion When Nutrients Turn Noxious 

  

If global warming seems ominous, consider this new assessment of how humans have disrupted the natural cycling of nitrogen. By using chemical fertilizers, burning fossil fuels and cultivating crops that convert nitrogen into forms plants can use, humankind has over the past century doubled the total amount of atmospheric nitrogen that is converted, or fixed, every year on land. The nitrogen glut is already causing “serious” loss of soil nutrients, acidification of rivers and lakes, and rising atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. Moreover, the oversupply probably explains decreases in the number of species in some habitats, as well as long-term declines in marine fish catches and, in part, the algal blooms that are an unwelcome spectacle in many coastal areas. That alarming evaluation, to be formally published this summer in Ecological Applications, is the work of eight senior ecologists chaired by Peter M. Vitousek of Stanford University. Their study identifies as the chief culprit the industrial fixation of nitrogen gas to make fertilizer. “The immediacy and rapidity of the recent increase of nitrogen fixation is difficult to overstate,” the researchers say. More than half the nitrogen fertilizer ever made before 1990 was used during the single decade of the 1980s, they note. -Tim Beardsley in Washington, D.C.   

 Industry now fixes 80 million metric tons of nitrogen every year to make fertilizer. Leguminous crops, which harbor nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and fossil fuels, which liberate nitrogen compounds when burned, together make another 60 million tons of nitrogen available to living things. The natural global rate of nitrogen fixation on land is between 90 and 140 million metric tons, and the excess stimulates plant growth. Moreover, by clearing forest and draining wetlands humans make the situation worse, because those activities liberate nitrogen that would otherwise be stored.  

 The Environmental Protection Agency, recognizing the damage caused by nitrogen oxides from combustion, has introduced regulations to limit by several million tons emissions from power stations and other industrial plants. And it is negotiating further limits on the already tightly controlled amounts emitted by vehicles. But there are no effective federal controls on the amount of chemical fertilizer a farmer can use. “It is my feeling that this is an emerging issue,” says Gary T. Gardner of the Worldwatch Institute. Gardner asserts that demand for industrially produced fertilizer could be reduced if farmers instead put on their fields organic mineral fertilizers with recovered municipal food and yard waste, rich sources of nitrogen and carbon that together make up a third of the waste volume.  

 Employing fertilizers more efficiently might be “our best hope for doing something,” Vitousek suggests. The Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund is pressuring the EPA to limit runoff into the Mississippi, which the litigation group contends is responsible for a 7,000-square mile “dead zone” that appears every summer in the Gulf of Mexico. Reductions are possible: some states, including Arizona, have initiated successful incentive programs to lower chemical fertilizer runoff. And some U.S. farmers have reduced artificial fertilizer consumption voluntarily.  

   

NUTRIENT CARRIERS The Atchafalaya River, which carries some of the Mississippi River’s waters to the Gulf of Mexico, discharges near the continental shelf where the dead zone forms. Much of the water from the main stem of the Mississippi is diverted offshore.  In the spring, when nutrient runoff is at its peak, phytoplankton in the Gulf feast on the nutrients discharged by the river. The microscopic plants grow in massive numbers and then eventually die. Their tiny carcasses drift from near the surface into the colder, saltier, and denser lower layer of water below. There, bacteria consume the dead phytoplankton along with much of the oxygen in the water, leaving less than 2 ppm of the dissolved gas. A healthy concentration of dissolved oxygen is around 5 ppm. The oxygen is not replenished because the heavier layer of water at the bottom does not mix with the lighter, fresher, warmer, and more oxygenated water nearer to the surface. Fish are able to swim away from the hypoxia zone to waters richer in oxygen, but many bottom-dwelling creatures, such as crabs, die because they cannot move as fast.  

 A spokesman for the Fertilizer Institute in Washington, D.C., a manufacturers organization, says industry is already developing ways of getting more growth from less fertilizer. But assessments such as Vitousek’s report should, the institute argues, acknowledge the rapid escalation in the human population’s demand for food. It points out that global nitrogen chemical fertilizer use in 1995 was down 3 percent from the peak year of 1988 – although it apparently is on the rise again. Those numbers may need closer scrutiny as the global population zooms to an estimated 10 billion during the next century. Scientific America.  

 The Gulf of Mexico dead zone is one of dozens that occur along populated coastal areas around the world all the time. And fertilizer runoff-fed dead zones are only one of the profound harms we’re constantly doing to the marine environment. Carbon dioxide pollution is acidifying the oceans and killing coral reefs, along with climate change, by warming the water. We’re destroying basic food supplies with overfishing, we ravage the benthic (bottom) environment with steel-netted drag trawlers. Now we all See the affect of the BP oil spill and what kind of effect that has on everyone so what’s next?  

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Green Investing

May 31st, 2010

Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day. Since that time, there has been plenty of talk and interest in creating a cleaner and more sustainable environment, but until recently, there has not been a lot of action. Over the last 40 years, we have seen dramatic growth in the population and consumption on every continent, only increasing the need to be thinking about how we can continue to survive and grow without consuming our very planet. Only recently have we seen the opportunities open up for the investment world as we go from “thinking green” to “going green”

As more and more of the world’s largest purchasers are demanding evidence of sustainability practices from their suppliers, competitive advantage will go to the manufacturers and distributors that have positioned themselves as Green leaders within their industry.

Are you ready for the next steps to be taken in the investment markets in terms of green, social and impact investing?  Following the bear market of late 2007 through early 2009, investors are in a new mindset. The severe breakdown in trust of Wall Street institutions and the markets have lead investors to demand a more favorable blend of outcomes-more transparency with less of a “me first” investing mentality. This is one of the key reasons green investing, along with the other ‘incentive-based” investing, approaches will accelerate.

The key to the growth in green investing is not the demand for it but the new supply of opportunities in this area. The new wind, solar, fuel cell, Organic farming and alternative-energy projects demand huge capital investment. For the first time, there is actually a place to invest “green” rather than invest in companies doing their regular business “a little greener.” Now that these new opportunities have finally become available to invest in, we have just recently seen the first billion-dollar venture-capital fund established strictly to invest in green/alternative-energy projects. In fact, I read an article titled “Who Will Be the Green VC Giant?”  The same venture capitalists that provided the seed capital for many of today’s most successful technology companies are now racing to secure the important green deals.

Now’s the time to start planning for the future for you and your family, not only invest in GREEN, but to use many of the green methods and start implementing them to start seeing the green get back into your wallet.

For more information, Please go to : www.usnnm.com

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Natural safeguards decreases with the use of herbicides and pesticides

May 31st, 2010

Fruits and veggies grown organically show significantly higher levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants than conventionally grown foods, according to a new study of corn, strawberries and marionberries. The research suggests that pesticides and herbicides actually thwart the production of phenolics — chemicals that act as a plant’s natural defense and also happen to be good for our health. Fertilizers, however, seem to boost the levels of anti-cancer compounds. .

The findings appear in the Feb. 26 print edition of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society. The article was initially published Jan. 25 on the journal’s Web site

Flavonoids are phenolic compounds that have potent antioxidant activity. Many are produced in plants in response to environmental stressors, such as insects or competing plants.

 If Aphid’s are eating the leaves of the plant then the plant produces phenolics to defend itself.  “Bitter or harsh phenolics guard the plant against these pests.

The need for these natural safeguards decreases with the use of herbicides and pesticides in conventional agriculture. This decrease is reflected in the total amount of antioxidants the plants produce. “This helps explain why the level of antioxidants is so much higher in organically grown food   By synthetically protecting the produce from these pests, we decrease their need to produce antioxidants. It suggests that maybe we are doing something to our food inadvertently.

Alyson Mitchell, Ph.D., a food scientist at the University of California, Davis, did testing which his results showed a significant increase in antioxidants in organic and sustainably grown foods versus conventionally grown foods. The levels of antioxidants in sustainably grown corn were 58.5 percent higher than conventionally grown corn. Organically and sustainably grown marionberries had approximately 50 percent more antioxidants than conventionally grown berries. Sustainably and organically grown strawberries showed about 19 percent more antioxidants than conventionally grown strawberries.

Antioxidant levels were highest overall in sustainably grown produce, which indicates that a combination of organic and conventional practices yields the highest levels of antioxidants. “This may reflect the balance between adequate nutrition in the form of fertilizers and external pest pressures because of the lack of pesticides and herbicides,” Mitchell explains.

 ”Originally, the question was just really intriguing to me,” says Mitchell, whose research grew naturally from a personal interest in organic foods. “I found that the higher level of antioxidants is enough to have a significant impact on health and nutrition and it’s definitely changed the way I think about my food.”

 ADVANTAGES OF ORGANIC FOODS

Organic foods such as an organic tomato have a qualitative value which a commercial tomato could not match. The organically grown tomato has not had any pesticides used to keep its natural enemies away from them. Typically, organic farmers use a natural pesticide that is safe and does not diminish the quality of the tomato. However, a commercially grown tomato has lost a great deal of its nutrition because of the pesticides used to keep it safe from its natural enemies. Another reason to eat an organic tomato (or foods for that matter) is that organic food is picked when it is ripe versus the commercial tomato. This may seem like a small issue but it is perhaps the most important issue which makes organic food a most invaluable tool..

Since organic food is picked when it is ripe, the food has had the ability to absorb all the trace vitamins and minerals which is sadly lacking in commercial foods. Commercial foods are picked when the vegetables are still green and does not have the opportunity to absorb all the trace vitamins and minerals which the soil offers.   In essence, all the consumer is getting from the commercial grown food is filler with very little amounts of vitamins and minerals. In contrast, the organic tomato has an enormous amount of nutrition and a taste which the commercially grown tomato will not match.

Another benefit of eating organic food is that the body is getting most  of the quality of the nutrition without having to eat huge amounts of food, which commercial foods could not match.  We feel no matter eating Organic or commercially grown foods the soils over decades have been depleted of most if not all of the nutrients.  By adding Excelerite to the soil with over 78 nutrients and minerals, it will help feed the microbes in the soil and inturn help what’s grown in the soil.

 For example, an organic tomato has the nutritional equivalent of four commercial tomatoes, thus the less amount of food a person has to consume to get all the necessary nutrition. 

 Just look at the loss of vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables today compared to 1975.

  • Apples: vitamin A is down 41%
  • Sweet peppers: vitamin C is down 31%
  • Watercress: iron is down 88%
  • Broccoli:  calcium and vitamin A are down 50%
  • Cauliflower: vitamin C is down 45%; vitamin B1 is down 48%; and vitamin B2 is down 47%
  • Collards greens: vitamin A is down 45%; potassium is down 60%; and magnesium is down 85%

These are the USDA’s own numbers.  The vitamin and mineral content of our fruits and vegetables has dramatically plummeted — in just 34 years!

Notice that minerals like iron and magnesium have dropped by more than 80 percent. That’s from commercial farming and powerful fertilizers that practically sterilize the soil — leaving it with little to no mineral content.

If the soil doesn’t have minerals, there’s no way for vegetables to absorb them.  And that answers the question of why the use of Excelerite is so important!

 

Note:  For a complete list of all of the elements and nutrients,  please look at our Excelerite techincal data post and click on the Lab Analysis  at www.usnnm.com

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MEDICAL GEOLOGY CLAY- EXCELERITE

May 30th, 2010

Geology is no longer confined to the study of rocks and minerals. I suspect that as the field of medical geology becomes better known, the medical community will discover that geology could play a major role in the etiology of a variety of diseases. Uncovering these relationships is an inherently multidisciplinary task. After all, for medical geology and geochemistry to be of use to the public and to health authorities of a given region, all samples from the local environment–that is, rock, soils, water, plants, and food–need to be studied together and correlated with in vivo studies.
In the medical field, too, as discoveries are made in the physiology and metabolism of trace elements, the biochemical mechanisms underlying the body’s absorption and rejection of trace elements, and the cellular mechanisms that regulate these processes, researchers may also find a greater need for the understanding of geology and trace-element geochemistry.
Geology and medical science, disciplines that until now have been considered poles apart, may now find themselves joined into a multidisciplinary framework for unraveling some of nature’s most interesting secrets.

Every day we eat, drink and breathe minerals and trace elements, never giving a thought to what moves from the environment and into our bodies. For most of us this interaction with natural materials is harmless, perhaps even beneficial, supplying us with essential nutrients.  These interactions are the realm of medical geology, a fast-growing field that not only involves geoscientists but also medical, public health, veterinary, agricultural, environmental and biological scientists. Medical geology is the study of the effects of geologic materials and processes on human, animal and plant health, with both good and possibly hazardous results.

 

 Strata view from our Panaca, NV mine.   EXCELERITE

The relationship between the Earth’s surface that we humans inhabit and our health is under debate. The fact that a continuum and indelible link exists is not in doubt. We have obtained food, water, and shelter since Homo arrived, but in the twentieth century we have learned that disease as well as health may by derived from our environment.  Certain diseases are attributed to several minerals sensu latu (concept that includes the minerals sensu restrictuconsidered as natural, inorganic and crystalline solids, the so-called oligoelements or trace minerals, the biominerals and mineral resources such as natural mineral water), naturally or humanly derived. Within minerals, clay minerals, the essential constituents of clays, are omnipresent at the earth surface where organisms live, and due to their specific properties they can interact, positively as a rule, with them. Some clay minerals are being used, either as active principles (gastrointestinal protectors, laxatives, antidiarrhoeaics), or as excipients (inert bases, emulsifiers, lubricants) in certain medicines. Also they participate in formulations used for topical applications in both dermopharmacy and dermocosmetics.

The geochemical distribution and biochemical availability of the elements that are required for human existence are not uniformly distributed over the Earth’s surface. For example, low concentrations of iodine (I) characterize the soils and rocks at high elevations and in limestone terrains. This is a natural global phenomenon. Medical acumen and geostatistical and epidemiological investigations have identified iodine as an essential nutrient. The thick necks that were depicted in ancient Chinese scrolls, and the cretinism found in mountainous regions, are now recognized as symptoms of the endemic disease goitre. Jharkhand and other Eastern states in India are a Iodine deficiency zone. Reduction, but unfortunately not eradication, of this preventable malady is now possible through the use of iodine-enriched table salt and oils.

Specific properties of clay minerals such as the nanometer size and thin platy or fibrous shapes, the negative electric charge, and high adsorption and absorption capacities justify the therapeutic uses referred to. Also, these and other properties justify the nuse of clay minerals for improving environmental quality which is fundamental for the living quality of man and other organisms as they can act as catalysts for potentially benign chemical processes. Due to the properties referred to, particularly the surface properties, clay minerals and other colloidal minerals (oxides, hydroxides and oxy-hydroxides of Fe, Mn and Al) constitute environmental factors of paramount importance since they can control the bioavailability, ecological effects, biogeochemical cycles, and distribution of trace metals and metalloids in ecosystems (know heavy metals and metalloids have critically important biological effects, both beneficial and harmful.

According to natural waters and soil solutions can be readily taken up from solution by clay minerals and other colloidal minerals, the efficiency of the phenomenon depending on the properties and concentrations of the reactants and on environmental factors that affect the forms of the Jackson, 1998; Sparks, 2005). As we Jackson (1998)  trace elements in natural waters and soil solutions can be readily taken up from solution by clay minerals and other colloidal minerals, the efficiency of the phenomenon depending on the properties and concentrations of the reactants and on environmental factors that affect the forms of the elements and the surface properties of the colloids.

 The process involves:

 1) Sorption by clay minerals, oxides and clay–oxide–humic complexes;

 2) Co-precipitation with oxides;

 3) Complexing by organic matter.

 Among the clay minerals, montmorillonite and vermiculite are those that exhibit higher adsorption capacities.  In aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems clay minerals and other colloidal minerals can act as sinks and secondary sources of trace metals and metalloids with important biological consequences as they can limit or prevent their uptake and bio-availability by organisms.  The binding and release of trace metals and metalloids by colloidal particles limiting the biological uptake provides the control of the nutritional and toxic effects of the trace metals and metalloids to the benefit or detriment of the organisms.

The surface properties of clay minerals and other colloidal minerals allow them to function as catalysts in many organic reactions (Malla et al., 1991; Sun Kou et al., 1992) and the role on pollution prevention and reduction. For instance, clay-liners have revealed great importance in the case of landfills to avoid migration of toxic metal ions and organic pollutants into neighboring soil, groundwater, and surface water. Also, the use of clay to remove metal ions from wastewater is another important field of application (Sharma et al., 1991; Gupta et al., 1992). A further application is the remediation of polluted environments such as rivers, lakes and lagoons, where toxic metals from both natural and artificial sources become concentrated, either in fine-grained bottom sediments, or in dispersed particulate matter.

Geophagy, the deliberate intake or ingestion of soil or clay by man or other animals (may be to compensate dietary deficiencies), is an old and generalized practice still taking place, these days, in some regions of the world.

          Minerals washed away through the Cathedral Canyon, Panaca, NV

 

“Clay minerals, the most abundant and chemically active components of the surface mineral world, are the key to understanding the links between nature (life), its substrate (essentially silicates), and a mastery of the total ecosystem by man”

 The evolution of life from seawater could be supported by the similarity of the compositions of seawater, human body serum, and human red cells, in terms of free cations and anions such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chloride, bicarbonate and phosphate (Lindh, 2005a,b).

Clays and clay minerals formed in terrestrial or deepsea vent hydrothermal systems rich in iron and manganese sulfides and unstable silicates, are microcrystalline and have specific properties such as layer charge, high specific surface area, high ion exchange capacity, and high adsorption capacity. They would be the appropriate substrate for bacteria and enzymes. Concerning bacteria, interesting investigations have been carried out on the scientific domain of microbial ecology of hydrothermal systems, on which life on earth could have been initiated.

The relationships between Geology and Biology are the goal of Geobiology, the science that understands the earth as a system, and life as part of it. In space and time, life influences earth development, and earth’s changing environment moulds life (Noffke, 2005).  On the other hand, the interactions between Geology or Geo-sciences and the Ecology are the goal of a scientific area called Geo-ecology, which particularly highlights the interactions between man and the ecosystems.

According to Hazen (2005a,b), the investigations carried out on the origin of life lead to the conclusion that minerals must have played key roles in virtually every phase of life emergence, catalyzing the synthesis of key biomolecules, and selecting, protecting and concentrating these molecules. They jump-started metabolism, and they may even have acted as first genetic systems.

The fertility of a soil is largely dependent upon the activity of micro-organisms.

EXCELERITE® is the richest known source of naturally chelated nutrients and minerals suspended within a natural lacustrine Montmorillonite Clay deposit located in Panaca, Nevada.  Dr. Dickers studied the Panaca Source and found it to be the perfect rejuvenator for abused and over farmed soils.  He also found it to be a valuable supplement for the diets of both animals and humans to restore proper nutritional balance in their diets.  Editor – USNNM, Inc.

References

Jackson, T.A., 1998. The biogeochemical and ecological significance                             

of interactions between colloidal minerals and trace elements. In:

Parker, A., Rae, J.E. (Eds.), Environmental Interactions of Clays.

Springer–Verlag, Berlin, pp. 93–205.

Sparks, D.L., 2005. Toxic metals in the environment: the role of

surfaces. Elements 1, 193–197.

Sun Kou, M.R., Menioroz, S., Fierro, J.L.G., Rodriguez-Ramos, I.,

Palacios, J.M., Guerrero-Ruiz, De Andres, A.M., 1992. Naturally

occurring silicates as carriers for copper catalysts used in methanol

conversion. Clays and Clay Minerals 40, 167–174.

Malla, P.B., Ravindranathan, P., Komarneni, S., Roy, R., 1991.

Intercalation of copper metal clusters in montmorillonite. Nature

351, 555–557.

Sharma, Y.C., Prasad, G., Rupainwar, D.C., 1991. Removal of Ni (II)

from aqueous solutions by sorption. International Journal of

Environmental Studies 37, 183–191.

Gupta, G.S., Singh, A.K., Tyagi, B.S., Prasdad, G., Singh, V.N., 1992.

Treatment of carpet and metallic effluents by China clay. Journal of

Chemical Technology & Biotechnology 55, 277–283.

Noffke, N., 2005. In: Noffke, N. (Ed.), Geobiology: Objectives,

Concepts, Perspectives. Elsevier, Amsterdam

Hazen, R. M., 2005b. Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life’s Origin.

National Academy of Sciences, Joseph Henry Press, Washington

DC.

Lindh, U., 2005a. Biological functions of the elements. In: Selinus, O.,

Alloway, B., Centeno, J.A., Finkelman, R.B., Fuge, R., Lindh, U.,

Smedley, P. (Eds.), Essentials of Medical Geology: Impacts of the

Natural Environment on Public Health. Elsevier Academic Press,

Amsterdam, pp. 115–160.

Lindh, U., 2005b. Uptake of elements from the biological point of

View. In: Selinus, O., Alloway, B., Centeno, J.A., Finkelman, R.B.,

Fuge, R., Lindh, U., Smedley, P. (Eds.), Essentials of Medical

Geology: Impacts of the Natural Environment on Public Health.

Elsevier Academic Press, Amsterdam, pp. 87–114. 

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Scientific Study-”EXCELERITE” increases Microbial growth and metabolic activity

March 6th, 2010

Effect of Montmorillonite and Trace Elements on the Growth of Penicillium frequentans: I. Ammonium Nitrogen Source1

R. W. McCormick and D. C. Wolf2

ABSTRACT

In laboratory studies, the addition of clay to culture media has been shown to increase microbial growth and metabolic activity. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of montmorillonite clay and three trace element treatments on the growth of Penicillium frequentans with NH4-N as the N source.

 

The fungus was grown in 100 ml of a defined basal medium with glucose as the carbon-energy source and NH4Cl as the N source. The trace element treatments were (i) no trace elements, (ii) trace-element solution 1 which contained the following final concentration of trace elements (µg/ml): FeSO4·7H2O, 0.20; ZnSO4·7H2O, 5.0; CuSO4·5H2O, 0.02; CoSO4·7H2O, 0.02; Na2MoO4·2H2O, 0.02; and H3BO3, 0.10; and (iii) trace element solution 2 which contained a 0.1M pH 6.0 phosphate buffer plus the following final concentration of trace elements (µg/ml): Fe2(SO4)3·nH2O, 10.0; ZnSO4·7H2O, 2.5; CuSO4·5H2O, 0.5; CoCl2·6H2O, 1.5; Na2MoO4·2H2O, 2.5; H3BO3, 0.5; MnSO4·H2O, 1.0; and CaCl2, 10.0. Either clay, at a concentration of approximately 500 mg/100 ml, or distilled water (controls) was added in dialysis tubing to the trace-element treatments.

 

In the no trace element treatment, the biomass of the control was increased from 624 to 1,211 mg with the addition of clay. In the trace-element solution 1, biomass was increased from 1,084 to 1,197 mg with the addition of clay. In both treatments, the addition of clay increased CO2 evolution, glucose and N utilization, and the economic coefficient of cell synthesis. Neither biomass nor metabolic activity was increased in the trace element-solution 2 with clay addition. There were no significant differences in biomass production among the no trace element treatment with clay, the trace-element solution 1 with clay, and the trace-element solution 2 with or without clay. Except for the trace-element solution 2, which contained a phosphate buffer, the addition of clay resulted in a decrease in the pH of the medium. In all three treatments, the addition of clay increased the Cu and Fe content of the fungus. With the addition of clay, the Zn content of the fungus increased in all treatments except the trace element solution 1. After fungal growth, the structural Zn and Cu contents of the clay, in the no trace-element treatment, were reduced from 51 to 21 µg/g and 37 to 21 µg/g, respectively.

 

It appeared that P. frequentans removed trace elements from the clay for growth which accounted for a large portion of the stimulation in growth due to clay.

NOTES

1 Scientific Article no. A-2452 and Contribution no. 5481 of the Maryland Agric. Exp. Stn., Dep. of Agronomy, College Park, MD 20742.

2 Research Assistant and Associate Professor of Soil Science, respectively.

Received for publication May 19, 1978. Accepted for publication July 26, 1979.

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TOXIC SLUDGE BEING SOLD AS “ORGANIC COMPOST”

February 25th, 2010

Support OCA and San Francisco Garden Activists Giving Toxic Sludge Back to the City that Has Been Distributing It as “Organic Compost”

 

If you think human waste is the worst thing that enters the sewage system, think again. All across the country, factories using toxic chemicals, meat-packing plants slaughtering animals from factory farms, hospitals treating sick people with heavy duty antibiotics, anti-microbials, pharmaceuticals and radiation therapy, nuclear power plants using cool water to stave off melt-downs, and farms spreading dangerous pesticides and fertilizers, all have access to the sewer systems.

The sewage system is supposed to take all this tainted waste water, separate out the solids and toxins and produce water clean enough to return to the environment. Well, you may have heard that our oceans, lakes and rivers aren’t as clean as they should be, but what about all the toxic stuff that’s been removed from the water? Where does that go?

Ever heard of toxic sludge? That’s the product of wastewater treatment and, up until the 1990s, it was dumped in the oceans. Now, it’s spread on farmland.

A lot of it is even sold at garden stores as “organic compost.” Please, if you ever see something called “organic compost” make sure it’s certified organic by OMRI or an accredited organic certifier.

San Francisco, home to Gavin Newsom, who some have called the World’s Greenest Mayor, is actually giving the stuff away to unsuspecting organic gardeners, calling it “organic biosolids compost.”

On March 4th at 12 noon, OCA National Director Ronnie Cummins will join garden activists at San Francisco City Hall to give this toxic sludge back to the city. If you’re in the Bay Area, please join us! (Link directs to a Facebook event)

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Update on Barley Test Plot – Coachella Valley

February 23rd, 2010

The top photo was taken on February 16, 2010. 

This plot has some growth since the last photos in January but the amount is much less than the plot next to it that was treated with Excelerite. 

The health and maturityof this plot is far less than that of the plot pictured below.

The bottom photo was also taken on February 16, 2010.  As you can see, the Barley is much taller and has matured and ready for harvest with full budding.

Excelerite has not only produced bigger and healthier Barley plants but also the crop is far more advanced.

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EXCELERITE and PROBIOTICS

February 20th, 2010

Ecology of Soil Fungi, Dr. D. M Griffin Australia (Extracts prepared by Dr. Melchior T Dikkers):

Bacteria are the smallest and the most abundant of the free living organisms in the soil.  About 25,000 (side by side) measure an inch.  Despite their minute size, their total weight in the top foot of an acre of fertile soil may be as much as a thousand pounds, or.03% of the weight of the soil.

Autotrophic (self nourishing) bacteria form protein and carbohydrates out of nitrates and carbon dioxide.

Chemotrophic bacteria oxidize carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide; sulfur to sulfates; hydrogen to water, and ammonia to nitrous acid, and nitrous acid to nitric acid.

Denitrifying  bacteria.  A few bacteria are able to make use of nitrogen from the air.  These are principally the legume nodule bacteria or rhizobia which do so in partnership with leguminous plants.  In this case the nitrogen taken from the atmosphere is available to both partners.  However, the right kind of legume bacteria must be present for each legume plant.

Actinomycetes form long threadlike branched filaments and live at the expense of organic residues on or in the soil.  The slightly must odor of newly plowed grass sods or old grains and straw is due mainly to actinomycetes.  They are important in the decomposition and the humification of organic residues.  Some produce antibiotic substances.

Fungi (including molds) constitute about one percent of the total census of the three main groups of micro-organisms in the soil.  Some fungi are microscopic yeasts and simple molds.  Fungi have no green pigment (chlorophyll) and must feed on organic materials.  Many forms are parasites on plants and animals. Fungi are important in decay because they grow vigorously once they have gained a foothold, and they can initiate decomposition.  They can attack organic residues on the surface of the ground whose moisture contents are too low to permit bacterial invasion.  When air circulation is good, fungi rapidly convert organic wastes into cell substance and to carbon dioxide and water.

Algae are the simplest of the forms of plant life that commonly bear photosynthetic prgments.  They are classified as blue, green, red or brown algae and accordingly certain members have animal characteristics leading to new classifications in recent years.  Seaweeds and plankton have significant algae representatives.  Only in the presence of light can algae manufacture their own carbohydrates by using light’s energy to combine carbon dioxide and water.  Some algae also can fix nitrogen from the air.  The protein content of algae dry matter has been measured in excess of 50 percent with yields up to 40 tons per acre on an annual basis.

Nine elements are said to be essential for absorption by plants, i.e.: hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium and iron.  Certain plants like wheat display dramatically enhanced growth by the addition of colloidal silicon.  These may be called the macro elements that everyone knows need to be added back to the soil.  However, just as importantly are the so-called essential trace elements whose minute proportions with their catalytic properties may make the difference between effecting synergies amongst the foregoing or not.  These include boron, molybdenum, vanadium, iodine, nickel, tin, manganese, chlorine, fluorine, copper, zinc, cadmium, cobalt, lithium, lead and selenium.  Some of them are markedly more important for higher life forms which can’t easily obtain these trace elements without supplementation unless they are contained in the plant food that herbivores ingest.

There are about 10 – 20 million bacteria per gram of soil.  The function of these micro-organisms is to break down organic matters such as cellulose and proteins into simple inorganic substances directly available for plan nutrition, or as intermediate products for further synthesis by autotrophic organisms.  A by-product of this process is the dark colloidal material known as humus.

Editor – Chemical fertilizers greatly reduce the number of micro-organisms in our soils causing reduced production and nutrition in the crops.

Humus binds sandy soil and lightens heavy soil.  The power of humus to adsorb bases and hold them against the leaching action of water is one of its most important functions in the soil.  Humus may behave as a weak acid and provides a buffer action on the hydrogen ion concentration of the soil.

Suitable nitrogen compounds tend to increase the bulk of plants, and frequently, to increase the bulk of the less valuable parts of the plant.

Clay particles with their crystalline nature harbor exchangeable cations that occupy definite positions in the “lattice”, a theoretical geometric configuration of special relationships of certain elements comprising a given compound or mineral.  In montmorillonite the layers forming a sandwich of different kinds of sheets (comprised of unique arrangements of the aforesaid lattice “scaffolding”) are not firmly held together, and water can penetrate.  This allows the exchange of cations to take place within the crystal wall as well as on the outside of the clay particle.

The fertility of a soil is largely dependent upon the activity of micro-organisms.

EXCELERITE® is the richest known source of naturally chelated nutrients and minerals suspended within a natural lacustrine Montmorillonite Clay deposit located in Panaca, Nevada.  Dr. Dickers studied the Panaca Source and found it to be the perfect rejuvenator for abused and over farmed soils.  He also found it to be a valuable supplement for the diets of both animals and humans to restore proper nutritional balance in their diets.  Editor – USNNM, Inc.

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World’s topsoils are in DANGER!

February 5th, 2010

A farmer in Surrey: Britain facing food crisis as world's soil 'vanishes in 60 years'
Over use of land is one factor being blamed for the soil crisis, a farming conference in Australia was told. Photo: PA
Britain facing food crisis as world's soil 'vanishes in 60 years'
Ensuring soil could be restored required less ploughing and improved management, the conference heard. Photo: REUTERS
The North Sydney Olympic Swimming Pool and the Harbour Bridge: Britain facing food crisis as world's soil 'vanishes in 60 years'
Last year Sydney was blanketed by thousands of tonnes of soil during its worst dust storm in 70 years. Photo: RYAN LAHIFF

Fertile soil is being lost faster than it can be replenished and will eventually lead to the “topsoil bank” becoming empty, an Australian conference heard.

Chronic soil mismanagement and over farming causing erosion, climate change and increasing populations were to blame for the dramatic global decline in suitable farming soil, scientists said.

An estimated 75 billion tonnes of soil is lost annually with more than 80 per cent of the world’s farming land “moderately or severely eroded”, the Carbon Farming conference heard.

A University of Sydney study, presented to the conference, found soil is being lost in China 57 times faster than it can be replaced through natural processes.

In Europe that figure is 17 times, in America 10 times while five times as much soil is being lost in Australia.

The conference heard world soil, including European and British soils, could vanish within about 60 years if drastic action was not taken.

This will lead to a global food crisis, chronic food shortages and higher prices, the conference heard.

Despite better than average farming practices, European soil might last for 100 years if no further damage occurs worldwide, scientists said.

In reality, however, increased land pressures aimed at compensating global production losses would likely mean it will run out faster, they added.

Last September the government launched new plans to protect the nation’s soil which included farmers being asked to use less fertiliser.

Britain imports about 40 per cent of all its food it consumes, a figure that has steadily risen over the past few years.

Almost £32 billion of food was imported into the UK in 2008 up from more than £27.7 billion the year before.

John Crawford, professor of Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Sydney, who presented the study, said it was unknown how long soil will last.

“It could be as little as 60 years and that is a scary figure because it is not obvious that we have time to reverse decline and still meet future demands for food,” he said.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that soil is the most precious resource we have got, and… (we) are not up to the task of securing it for our children never mind our grand children.”

Prof Crawford, the former chair of the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’s Agri-Food Committee, said restoring soil required several factors.

These factors include minimum ploughing, improved management and “resting” soil by covering crops which helps replace carbon in soil.

It can however, take decades to significantly increase the amount of useful carbon in soil, which helps make it fertile.

While organic farming could be part of the answer, he said there was “no clear evidence that we can feed the current population using organic approaches, never mind meeting demands in time”.

Latest forecasts predict the world’s population will grow from 6.8 billion to more than 9 billion by 2050, placing even further pressure on food production and farming.

The world last year faced a cereal crisis as wheat stocks dropped to a 30-year low after demand for wheat and rice outstripped supply for the past six out of the previous seven years.

This resulted in grain prices rocketing, which sparked civil unrest in many countries.

Extreme evidence of how soil is being eroded was seen in September when Sydney was blanketed by its worst dust storm in 70 years.

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EXCELERITE REVIVES DAMAGED SOIL WITH AMAZING RESULTS!

January 31st, 2010

 

The first photo is of a plot that is one of several that were rejuvenated with Excelerite which was applied on October 30, 2009.  These pictures were taken on 1-30-2010.  The results on all plots tested clearly showed that the addition of Excelerite to the soil dramatically increased both the total growth and the maturity of the crops.  In this test plot the Barley has full seed heads and is nearing harvest maturity.  The rich, deep green color of these healthy and nutritious plants is quite appearant when compared to the second photo.   

The second photo was also taken on January 30, 2010.  This plot is adjacent to the first photo and was not rejuvenated with Excelerite.  It is very clear that the growth is less that one half the amount observed in the first photo and the seed heads are either absent or very immature.  Notice the dull green color of the plants.

The following three documents were provided by Dos Arroyos Land & Cattle owned by Don Courtney.  Don is on the Coachella Valley Water Resouces Board and is active throughout Riverside County, CA, working with the USDA, to promote increased crop production while conserving the county’s precious water resources.

The first document provides the preparation, planting and early irrigation schedule.  Subsequent rounds of irrigation were done in November and early December.  Further irrigation was not required due to heavy rains during late December and throughout January. 

The second document below summarizes the particulars of the property conditions, the decision to re-claim the property for farming purposes and the two year process that was followed to get the ground prepared for this test.

The third document confirms that these tests were performed and managed by Don Courtney and overseen by the local head of the USDA.

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