Make a living, recycle waste and grow food. Two guys figured out that none of those things cancel each other out – Upcycling’s Upshot: How Urban Mushroom Farmers Turned Scavenging into a Business
In 2009, Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez were recent graduates of the University of California at Berkeley who had both been offered positions in consulting and investment banking. Yet both were stuck on an idea they came across in their business ethics class: Gourmet mushrooms grow and flourish in recycled coffee grounds; thus, waste from one industry could be fertile ground for another. Trash, if not treasure, could be a sustainable and cost-free raw material.
…Back To The Roots began including Peet’s coupons in its grow-your-own-mushroom kits; Peet’s sold the kits in its cafes. Products from the two companies are shelved side-by-side in Northern California Whole Foods stores. What started as a small-scale farm supplying local restaurants and a few groceries expanded to include the mushroom kits, which now sell at 1,000 retail centers nationally. Since its founding, Back To The Roots has repurposed 1 million pounds of coffee grounds. After one year, the company had revenue of a quarter-million dollars; last year, it increased that number to $1.4 million. The company forecasts $5 million in revenue this year.
ironically even in this case recycling and growing still left some waste. The leftover reused coffee grounds. After a successful appeal on Craigslist, where gardeners picked up the repurposed grounds to use as compost, Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez were inspired to take the next step. Create an all-natural, sustainable, soil enhancer, which they plan to sell as organic MycoRootBoost fertilizer, an alternative to the chemical based plant nutrient mixes like MiracleGro.
Crayola Katydid & Cowboy Frog Among 46 Newfound Jungle Species
A spiny armored catfish and a cowboy frog are among 46 species that may be new to science discovered in the South American country of Suriname, researchers now reveal.
The species were discovered in a scientific expedition into southwest Suriname, which holds one of the world’s last pristine tropical forests.
“Our team was privileged to explore one of the last remaining areas of vast, unroaded wilderness in the world,” said Trond Larsen, director of Conservation International’s Rapid Assessment Program. “As a scientist, it is thrilling to study these remote forests where countless new discoveries await, especially since we believe that protecting these landscapes while they remain pristine provides perhaps the greatest opportunity for maintaining globally important biodiversity and the ecosystems people depend upon for generations to come.”
Katydid (Copiphora longicauda) observed during Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program in southwest Suriname in August and September 2010. Katydids are recognised by scientists as indicators of habitat disturbance for an ecosystem. Photograph: Trond Larsen/Conservation International
This seems to be the best selection of photographs of some of the new species - New species discovered in Suriname – in pictures. Of the 46 species there are 18 pictured along with some other photographs. I cannot even find all 46 at Conservation International’s website ….except for the photos in a pdf you can download here – called A Rapid Biological Assessment of the Kwamalasamutu region, Southwestern Suriname, August-September 2010 (PDF – 3.9 MB) . The pdf is very well done. Even the photos are very clear. And lastly they did a nice little video synopsis of the expedition, Kwamalasamutu, Suriname Expedition – Rapid Assessment Program (RAP), Conservation International (CI)
Suriname is a small country in the north-eastern coast of South America.
New App Helps NASA Keep Track of Meteoroids.
Surprising but true: Every day, on average, more than 40 tons of meteoroids strike our planet. Most are tiny specks of comet dust that disintegrate harmlessly high up in Earth’s atmosphere, producing a slow drizzle of meteors in the night sky. Bigger chunks of asteroid and comet debris yield dozens of nightly fireballs around the globe. Some are large enough to pepper the ground with actual meteorites.
With so much “stuff” zeroing in on our planet, NASA could use some help keeping track of it all.
Enter the Meteor Counter–a new iPhone app designed to harness the power of citizen scientists to keep track of meteoroids.
These science/nature apps are great yet it is unfortunate that so many of them or made just for the iPhone and/or iPad. In addition to all the Android users ( which comprised 42% of the Smart phone market as of 2011) they also ignore small laptops running Windows or MAC.
Flamingo Tongue on Gorgonian fan. The scientific name of the sea snail making its way across the fan is Cyphoma gibbosum. The animal itself has a neat brightly colored body and the shell appears colored due to live mantle tissue which usually cover the shell. If the animal is removed or dies you have an attractive through relatively plain tan and white shell. The shells are common on some beaches. The snail is becoming rare because of over collection by divers and the deaths of coral communities.
How President Obama Plans to ‘Double Down’ on Clean Energy
Early in his state of the union speech, President Obama renewed his call of last year for investments in clean energy. Unbowed by the troubles with Solyndra, Obama said he would direct the defense department to throw its buying power behind clean energy supplies for the U.S. military.
…Early in his state of the union speech, President Obama renewed his call of last year for investments in clean energy. Unbowed by the troubles with Solyndra, Obama said he would direct the defense department to throw its buying power behind clean energy supplies for the U.S. military.
Having the military move toward using some percentage of alternative energy and associated technology will have a big impact on the green energy business. The Department of Defense burns $18 billion worth of oil a year, four fifths of the federal governments’ energy tab. The president’s announcement was not exactly news since the military started the fuel transition a year ago, it was more a national recommitment to those goals.
