Need Clean Water? Use Herbs

Freshly harvested cilantro

Plants having multiple uses is nothing new to science, turning corn into ethanol, the perennial foxglove into digitalis for heart conditions, and indoor plants cleaning the air of toxic gases, are a few examples.  Now college students at Ivy Tech Community College, in Lafayette, Indiana, along with students from Universidad Politecnia de Francisco J. Madero in Hidalgo, Mexico have been studying one of my favorite herbs - cilantro - as a water filter for contaminated water.

Using a process called bioabsorption, the two colleges successfully collaborated on a research team to confirm using cilantro to capture heavy metals will remove lead and nickel from polluted water.  Douglas Schauer, lead team member, says that the "ground-up cilantro can be inserted into a tube into which water is passed through. The cilantro allows the water to trickle out but absorbs metals, leaving cleaner drinking water. Dried cilantro can also be placed into tea bags that are placed in a pitcher of water for a few minutes to suck out the heavy metals."

Other possible bioabsorbant herbs include dandelions and parsley.

Read the entire article.

Harvesting Rain From The Skies

Polish architect students Ryszard Rychlicki and Agnieszka Nowak use gutters that surround the entire building to harvest rainwater for its 500 residents.  Rychlicki and Nowak hope to reduce water use by 25%.

Using rainwater to irrigate is a way of life in Europe and other continents around the world. 

Since 1900 the total water consumption in the US has increased by 1000%. At present, an average American uses five times more water than a citizen of developing countries. Such an increase is related to among others, improved living standards. On the other hand, a national hobby of the Danes is collecting rain water for washing and watering plants. within the last ten years average use of pure water in Denmark dropped by 40% and inhabitants of the so called eco-villages use a third part of the national average.

While acknowledging the health factor of sanitation is important to Americans, we have to really work hard to increase our water efficiency of indoor plumbing and outdoor irrigation.  Using rainbarrels, cisterns, and surface water needs to become more than a hobby - it should become a way of life for our country.

H/T to WebEcoist

Controversial Fertilizer Study Heating Up

In an effort to reduce stormwater runoff pollution in water bodies, fertilizing ordinances were passed by Florida cities in 2009. This fertilizer ban prohibited applications on lawns during the summer citing that lawns did not need additional nitrogen and phosphorus. Nitrogen and phosphorus increase the TDML's (total maximum daily loads) of water bodies. Controversy grew as the University of Florida published a study that said the ordinances would have unintended consequences, such as contributing to more stormwater runoff as homeowners and companies would use more fertilizer during other seasons.

Titled "Unintended Consequences Associated with Certain Urban Fertilizer Ordinance," the study was published in March 2009 amid virulent debate at the Capitol -- and at the request of industry lobbyists.


Though critics have been loud in their indictment of the study, which the institute acknowledges was funded by the fertilizer industry, it has been used at government meetings statewide to slow regulation.


Now Sarasota County, which in 2007 enacted the first strict fertilizer ordinance in Florida, has taken aim at the IFAS study.


"It's tobacco science," said County Commissioner Jon Thaxton, who is leading the way at the county to compel researchers to release documents associated with the study.

Now for the first time in its history, the University of Florida has pulled the contentious study, citing that they are going to publish more thorough research backed by more evidence. It will be interesting to see what happens and who gets the green - fertilizer companies or cities working to lower their TMDL's?

Fertilizing correctly is the best solution. If homeowners would only learn how to apply the right fertilizer analysis in the right amounts at the right time of year, we would have healthier landscapes, less pest and disease problems, and cleaner water bodies.

Its not the correct time of the year now for fertilizing, but save this University of Florida page for the springtime. Make sure you understand the best management practices to take care of your lawn.

Water Gardening - Daytona Beach Style

UPDATE: Setting historic record (5/17 - 5/23)

Daytona Beach 23+ inches
Ormond Beach 30+ inches
New Smyrna Beach 20+ inches
Orlando 12 + inches (my home)

Daytona International Speedway gives flash a different meaning when it comes to flooding. Click here for more photographs of the 25" + of rain dropped in the last ten days on the most famous beach in the world.

Photo credit: Nancy501s

Most of China's Water Polluted

Reuters is reporting that two-thirds of China's water supply is polluted.

Only 37.6 percent of 585 cities surveyed had air quality "indicating a clean and healthy environment," down 7.3 percentage points from 2005, the China Daily said, citing a report by the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA).

Thirty-nine cities, many scattered across the northern coal-rich province of Shanxi and China's northeastern rustbelt province of Liaoning, suffered "severe" air pollution, the paper said.

"The report also found that the ratio of quality water in the major urban areas, either for drinking or industrial use, had dropped by 7.24 percent," the paper said.
Two hundred cities had no "centralized sewage management system" and 187 had no garbage disposal plants, it said.

The government planned to have at least 70 percent of sewage and at least 60 percent of garbage treated effectively by 2010, but "the environment issue remains of serious concern and there is difficulty realizing the goal," the paper quoted the report as saying.

The report comes as the capital Beijing on Tuesday was shrouded in thick smog, which local media said was exacerbated by smoke blown into the city from crop burning in neighboring provinces.

On Monday night, an index measuring air pollution from Beijing's southern Daxing county read over 850 particles of "particulate matter" per square meter, which was eight times the norm, the Beijing News said.

Plastic Water Bottles Safe

The latest urban legend hitting your email boxes. Plastic water bottles are safe and do not contribute to cancer in women.

Bottled Water Better Than Tap?

World Health Organization: Bottled Water Safety

Keep Food and Water Safe In Emergencies