Trash Talk Follow-Up

Last month I posted a link to an Economist article reporting on an imminent global food shortage due to farmland being converted to grow plants for biofuel production. Today Science published a paper that corroborates this theory and provides a convincing model that shows greenhouse gas release will actually be greater if this pursuit continues. It seems the problem lies in clear-cutting and farming new land in order to keep up with demand. But let's not dispair. New advances in Waste-To-Energy (WTE) science are making it easier not only to mine methane from landfills, but actually to create ethanol from the trash. Farming and landfill mining are both attempts to create new fuel from current systems. However, the former wastes food — making us no better off — while the latter turns waste to food.

In September I posted about Frog Design staff carrying their trash with them for a week. CNet has a new photo essay on several folks that have been living with their trash for years! EcoWoman's photo to the right shows her reduction in plastic waste from 2006 to 2007 — very motivating when you literally live with it. It's happened to us on a minor scale in Chattanooga since our Mayor cut the budget of the recycling program. My back deck is covered in bags and boxes!