WORD OUT! The Blog to Build a New Society

Finally, a truly useful tweet! I use Twitter as part of my marketing responsibilities but I must say, I have been slow to warm to this use of technology. A discovery today has re-inspired me.

Sadly, the plants in our office often have to resort to dropping leaves onto our keyboards in order to attract attention to the increasingly desert-like conditions in their pots. But help is at hand, and from Twitter, no less.

Today I met Pothos on Twitter. Pothos is a plant in New York City. Thanks to Botanicalls, the very clever technology developed by NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, Pothas plant can send messages via Twitter requesting to be watered, or advising of over watering. I guess it would be beneficial for a human in the same vicinity of the plant to follow it, but once that is accomplished, the plant can communicate it's need for a cold one as needed.

In this humorous presentation on the Ignite Show, Katie London explains some even more broad-reaching applications for this technology.

The crew in Denver have had a busy couple of days with lots of time with New Society authors. We met with Mel Bartholomew, the Square Foot gardener, to talk about his new book with New Society Publishers. A gracious and enthusiastic man, he got us totally inspired about his gardening system and book ideas. This short video explains the mission of the Square Foot Gardening Foundation, to solve world hunger.

Then we were off to the Denver Convention Centre to set up our display. At the entrance to the Convention Centre there is a two-storey statue of a blue bear entitled "I See What You Mean" created by artist Lawrence Argent. The Denver City webpage says the bear is a stylized representation of native fauna, however, our cabbie told us the artist originally intended it to be a representation of capitalism looking in at big business - an interpretation that was not popular with the city leaders.

There was a great line up of speakers at the Festival like Thom Hartmann, Amy Goodman and Alan Weismann. Dan Chiras dropped by the booth bringing postcards announcing his new educational centre in Missouri and signing copies of Power From the Wind: Achieving Energy Independence.

We ended our busy day with at Root Down, a sustainable foods restaurant in a restored service station built with 70% reclaimed and reused material, including the wooden floor of basketball court and a wall panelled with tin can lids. It is 100% wind powered, serves local food with an on-site seasonal garden. Very cool. See our photos on Facebook.

The following post was submitted by James O'Shea, a reader concerned about potential soil contamination from vermiculite. Vermiculite is widely used in gardening for moisture retention. If you buy plant starts or potted plants from the garden center, the little whitish bits that you often find mixed in with the soil are vermiculite.

Vermiculite May Pose Asbestos Hazard

The mineral vermiculite is an extremely effective soil conditioner for moisture retention enhancement. Avid gardeners praise the material for being inexpensive and easy to incorporate into different garden arrangements. However, there may be a darker side to the mineral that is now becoming manifest. Unfortunately, many vermiculite deposits are known to contain not only the targeted mineral, but also hazardous asbestos.

Vermiculite occurs across the globe in mineral form and is mined not only for commercial and private gardening uses, but also for commercial insulation materials and industrial compounds. The origin of the mineral is another mineral known as biotite. Over millions of years of age and weathering, biotite will become vermiculite. Biotite would often be found in close proximity to another mineral known as diopsid, which over millions of years and the same weathering conditions would eventually become asbestos, a known carcinogen.

Most asbestos products were banned in the late 1970’s by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency. In 1989, a total phase out of asbestos was enacted but eventually overturned. Today, products which contain more than one percent asbestos are considered asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) and are banned.

When vermiculite is mined, often so too are trace amounts of asbestos dust. In Libby, Montana, W.R. Grace, a specialty chemical and mineral company was mining thousands of tons of vermiculite each year. When the mine’s employees and residents of the town began to become ill with mesothelioma (an aggressive form of cancer known to be caused only by asbestos exposure) and other respiratory conditions, it became clear that asbestos contamination had become a major issue in commercial vermiculite mining. While W.R. Grace was mining vermiculite before existing regulations were in place, the fact is that even vermiculite which contains less than one percent asbestos is potentially hazardous to human health.

Asbestos, prior to being regulated, was used in a myriad of industrial capacities. It had unique insulation qualities and proved to be particularly adept at preventing temperature transfer. For this reason it was used in thousands of construction materials. When asbestos exists within a solid construction compound, it poses no true hazard as the fibers cannot be released. It is only when the compound is rendered “friable,” or able to pulverized by human hand pressure, that the material is hazardous. Residual asbestos dust, as was found in the Libby vermiculite, is already friable as it is not in any stable compound.

For this reason, today most vermiculite manufacturers will label their product as “non dusty.” It is important to use only vermiculite which is labeled as such. Those who encounter a great deal of residual dust in their vermiculite should likely dispose of the material and be careful not to disturb it. Asbestos cancer is among the most devastating malignancies known and mesothelioma treatment is typically limited to palliative therapies to ease symptoms. Fortunately, asbestos exposures due to vermiculite can now largely be avoided by being conscious of the material you are working with and identifying potentially hazardous vermiculite granules. Vermiculite can be used both safely and effectively if certain precautions are undertaken.

References:
Environmental Protection Agency: Asbestos Regulations and History
Consumer Product Safety Commission: Asbestos: Risk and Assessment
Environmental Protection Agency: Libby Amphibole Asbestos

The temperature is climbing, the birds are singing, the clocks have sprung forward, and it's finally time to start thinking about coming out of hibernation. (Unless of course you're reading this in Eastern Canada or the Northeastern US, in which case you might still have a few weeks to go.)

If you're starting to experience spring fever, we have some great gardening books to get you in the mood.

In Gardening When It Counts Steve Solomon introduces readers to traditional low-input gardening methods which can be used to establish a highly productive, drought-resistant food garden which requires minimal cash outlay.

Check out Carolyn Herriot's A Year On The Garden Path for a 52-week organic gardening guide which covers covers everything from soil building to pruning to four-season food growing and seed saving.

David Tracey's Guerrilla Gardening is your guide to greening public spaces, with or without permission.

And you can get "down to earth" with Robin Wheeler, whose humorous yet practical gardening guide, Gardening for the Faint of Heart is perfect for the novice gardener in your life.

Enjoy!

Monday was Thanksgiving in Canada - a time for reflecting on our harvest bounty and therefore the ideal time for this guest post sent in by Stephen Morris, excerpted from The New Village Green. Thanks Stephen!

Famous Last Words

Part I–Spring

Next year in the garden I won't plant my seeds too early just because I am excited by a warm day in April. I will wear a long sleeve shirt while pruning roses, raspberries, and blackberries. I will open seed packets the right way so that they reseal. I won't just rip off the tops, then wonder why my pockets are filled with spilled seed.

Next year in the garden I will read the instructions before planting the seeds. That is, I will read the instructions IF I remember my reading glasses. Gardening is yet one more activity that now requires those damn things.

Next year in the garden I won't read the newspapers as I lay down the mulch, and I will take off my muddy boots before coming into the kitchen.

I won't shout "Ignition!" when I see the first green dots of germination. I won't pump my first and say "Yes!" when green shoots of garlic poke through the hay. I will take it in stride, with the right stuff of a master gardener.

Next year in the garden I will keep detailed records of what I do, when, and where. I won't mark planted rows with little sticks and kid myself that I will remember what I planted.

And I won't plant too many zucchini, or too few. I promise.

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