I spent a good chunk of the day slimming down my Debian install on the #MangoPiQuad. I moved from (and uninstalled) #XFCE to #OpenBox. I wholesale uninstalled many preinstalled apps (such as Libre Office, Emacs, Bluez, and much, much more).
I installed #CairoDock and #Nitrogen I gotta say, it is running smooth. I am even able to run #MinecraftPiReborn with out maxing out the CPU or RAM!
"Scientists have identified a set of nine ecological and biophysical limits within which the Earth can continue to sustain human society. These are known as the ‘safe planetary boundaries.’
...There are three planetary boundaries that have already been breached. They are biodiversity loss, climate change and the nitrogen cycle."
"The net #CarbonSink in grasslands worldwide intensified over the last century (Fig. 2), mainly driven by North #America, #Europe
and #Russia."
"However, climate change drivers contributed a net carbon sink in soil organic matter, mainly from the
increased productivity of grasslands due to increased #CO2 and #nitrogen deposition.
#Flowers grown floating on polluted waterways can help clean up nutrient runoff
Cut-flower farms could be a sustainable option for mitigating water pollution.
by Jazmin Locke-Rodriguez and Krishnaswamy Jayachandran, The Conversation
2/17/2024, 7:08 AM
"Flowers grown on inexpensive floating platforms can help clean polluted waterways, over 12 weeks extracting 52 percent more #phosphorus and 36 percent more #nitrogen than the natural nitrogen cycle removes from untreated water, according to our new research. In addition to filtering water, the cut flowers can generate income via the multibillion-dollar floral market.
"In our trials of various flowers, giant #marigolds stood out as the most successful, producing long, marketable stems and large blooms. Their yield matched typical flower farm production.
Why it matters
"Water pollution is caused in large part by runoff from #farms, urban #lawns, and even #septic tanks. When it rains, excess phosphorus, nitrogen, and other chemicals wash into #lakes and #rivers.
"These nutrients feed #algae, leading to widespread and harmful #AlgaeBlooms, which can severely lower oxygen in water, creating 'dead zones' where aquatic life cannot survive. Nutrient runoff is a critical issue as urban areas expand, affecting the health of water #ecosystems.
"Water pollution is an escalating crisis in our area of Miami-Dade and Broward counties in #Florida. The 2020 #BiscayneBay fish kill, the largest mass death of aquatic life on record for the region, serves as a stark reminder of this growing environmental issue.
How we do our work
"We study sustainable agriculture and water pollution in South Florida.
"Inspired by traditional floating farm practices, including the #Aztecs’ #chinampas in Mexico and the #Miccosukees’ tree island settlements in Florida, we tested the idea of growing cut flowers on floating rafts as a way to remove excess nutrients from waterways. Our hope was not only that the flowers would pay for themselves, but that they could provide jobs here in Miami, the center of the US cut-flower trade.
"We floated 4-by-6-foot (1.2-by-1.8-meter) mats of inexpensive polyethylene foam called Beemats in 620-gallon (2,300-liter) outdoor test tanks that mirrored water conditions of nearby polluted waterways. Into the mats, we transplanted flower seedlings, including #zinnias, #sunflowers, and giant marigolds. The polluted tank water was rich in nutrients, eliminating the need for any fertilizer. As the seedlings matured into plants over 12 weeks, we tracked the tanks’ improving water quality.
"Encouraged by the success of the marigolds in our tanks, we moved our trials to the nearby canals of Coral Gables and Little River. We anchored the floating platforms with 50-pound (22.7-kilogram) weights and also tied them to shore for extra stability. No alterations to the landscape were needed, making the process simple and doable.
What still isn’t known
"The success of the giant marigolds might be linked to the extra roots that grow from their stems known as adventitious roots. These roots likely help keep the plants stable on the floating platforms. Identifying additional plants with roots like these could help broaden plant choices.
"Future raft designs may also need modifications to ensure better stability and growth for other cut-flower and crop species.
What’s next
"Our promising findings show floating cut-flower farms could be a sustainable option for mitigating water pollution.
"One of us (Locke-Rodriguez) is expanding this research and working to scale up floating farms in South Florida as a demonstration of what could take place in the many locations facing similar issues worldwide.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
"A new study uncovers how the interplay between Sargassum spp., plastic marine debris and Vibrio bacteria creates the perfect 'pathogen' storm that has implications for both marine life and public health. Vibrio bacteria are found in waters around the world and are the dominant cause of death in humans from the marine environment. For example, Vibrio vulnificus, one of more than 100 species of Vibrio, sometimes referred to as flesh-eating bacteria, can cause life-threatening foodborne illnesses from #seafood consumption as well as disease and death from open #wound infections.
"Since 2011, Sargassum, free-living populations of brown macroalga, have been rapidly expanding in the #SargassoSea and other parts of the open ocean such as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, including frequent and unprecedented seaweed accumulation events on beaches. Plastic marine debris, first found in surface waters of the Sargasso Sea, has become a worldwide concern, and is known to persist decades longer than natural substrates in the marine environment.
"Currently, little is known about the ecological relationship of vibrios with Sargassum. Moreover, genomic and metagenomic evidence has been lacking as to whether vibrios colonizing plastic marine debris and Sargassum could potentially infect humans. As summer kicks into high gear and efforts are underway to find innovative solutions to repurpose Sargassum, could these substrates pose a triple threat to public health?
"Researchers from Florida Atlantic University and collaborators fully sequenced the genomes of 16 Vibrio cultivars isolated from eel larvae, plastic marine debris, Sargassum, and seawater samples collected from the Caribbean and Sargasso seas of the North Atlantic Ocean. What they discovered is Vibrio pathogens have the unique ability to 'stick' to microplastics and that these microbes might just be adapting to plastic.
“'Plastic is a new element that’s been introduced into marine environments and has only been around for about 50 years,' said Tracy Mincer, Ph.D., corresponding lead author and an assistant professor of biology at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College. 'Our lab work showed that these Vibrio are extremely aggressive and can seek out and stick to plastic within minutes. We also found that there are attachment factors that microbes use to stick to plastics, and it is the same kind of mechanism that pathogens use.'
"The study, published in the journal Water Research , illustrates that open ocean vibrios represent an up to now undescribed group of microbes, some representing potential new species, possessing a blend of pathogenic and low nutrient acquisition genes, reflecting their pelagic habitat and the substrates and hosts they colonize. Utilizing metagenome-assembled genome (MAG), this study represents the first Vibrio spp. genome assembled from plastic debris.
"The study highlighted vertebrate pathogen genes closely related to cholera and non-cholera bacterial strains. Phenotype testing of cultivars confirmed rapid biofilm formation, hemolytic and lipophospholytic activities, consistent with pathogenic potential.
"Researchers also discovered that zonula occludens toxin or 'zot' genes, first described in Vibrio cholerae, which is a secreted toxin that increases intestinal permeability, were some of the most highly retained and selected genes in the vibrios they found. These vibrios appear to be getting in through the gut, getting stuck in the intestines and infecting that way.
"'Another interesting thing we discovered is a set of genes called ‘zot’ genes, which causes leaky gut syndrome,' said Mincer. 'For instance, if a fish eats a piece of plastic and gets infected by this Vibrio, which then results in a #LeakyGut and diarrhea, it’s going to release waste nutrients such #nitrogen and #phosphate that could stimulate Sargassum growth and other surrounding organisms.'
"Findings show some Vibrio spp. in this environment have an ‘omnivorous’ lifestyle targeting both plant and animal hosts in combination with an ability to persist in oligotrophic conditions. With increased human-Sargassum-plastic marine debris interactions, associated microbial flora of these substrates could harbor potent opportunistic pathogens. Importantly, some cultivation-based data show beached Sargassum appear to harbor high amounts of Vibrio bacteria.
"'I don’t think at this point, anyone has really considered these microbes and their capability to cause infections,' said Mincer. 'We really want to make the public aware of these associated risks. In particular, caution should be exercised regarding the harvest and processing of Sargassum biomass until the risks are explored more thoroughly.'"
The condemned inmate, #KennethEugeneSmith, would be the first to die this way if the #execution proceeds as planned. Smith was convicted in the 1988 killing of a pastor's wife as part of a murder-for-hire scheme & has been imprisoned for decades in #Alabama. He already survived a botched #LethalInjection in Nov 2022 — 1 of 4 in AL since 2018, which was the same year the state authorized the use of #nitrogen hypoxia in the death chamber.
…Breathing #nitrogen through a mask could in theory cause a person to lose consciousness before oxygen deprivation leads to death, & #Alabama ofcls have insisted that this is most likely….Smith's legal team… accused the state of using him as a "test subject" for a lethal experiment. And the #UnitedNations' #HumanRights office called on AL to stop the #execution, noting there is "no scientific evidence to prove" that execution by nitrogen inhalation will not cause "grave suffering."
#KennethSmith, a prisoner on death row in #Alabama who survived a previous state execution attempt by lethal injection in Nov. '22, is set to be executed by a "new method" on Jan. 25 that deprives the person of #oxygen by placing a mask over their face and pumping in pure #nitrogen gas.
No one knows what the process will be like or how it was developed. Alabama apparently lacks all of the resources it needs for lethal injection, as do other states.
A nitrogen reduction target is proving controversial for farmers at Dutch election.
As the world's second-largest exporter of agricultural products, along with half of its land being devoted to agriculture, the Netherlands is widely considered an agri-food superpower despite its tiny size.
In a country of less than 18 million people and more than 116 million livestock, agriculture reigns supreme.
'The team will look at how cyanobacteria can convert nitrogen from the atmosphere into... guanidine, ammonia and urea. All three of these compounds can be used in place of chemically synthesized fertilizers, which require massive amounts of heat and energy to produce. The cyanobacteria also capture carbon dioxide (CO2), all while being powered by the sun..."
"Designs at the Venice Architecture Biennale are rethinking the modern flush for a water-strained world.
"Visitors to the Finnish pavilion at 2023’s Venice Architecture Biennale are greeted with an unlikely sight at a festival typically devoted to the avant-garde and newfangled: a no-flush #outhouse toilet.
"While the structure, known as a #Huussi, may seem a bit primitive to some, it’s long been a popular toilet design in rural parts of #Finland because it requires no connection to water supplies: It processes waste not by flushing it away, but by converting it to compost in a hay-filled container. It’s a design that’s making a comeback because it saves water and recirculates waste back into the #ecosystem — both essential goals in a world where many areas are drying out thanks to #ClimateChange, and where as much as 30% of urban #water supplies are used to flush human waste. Our modern toilet practices are likely to become unsustainable within the next few decades; by 2050 it’s estimated that up to five billion people could be facing #watershortages.
"Toilet composting could also fuel an alternative to the carbon-heavy manufactured #nitrogen#fertilizer and mined #phosphorus widely used in farming today. Chemical fertilizers also deplete carbon from one of the few places we want to retain it — in the soil itself, where it fosters vital microbial activity.
"Some designers in Finland are looking to the recent past for more sustainable, hygienic solutions for sewage, while others are using more modern technologies to reduce or eliminate the need for water. Part of what the exhibit at the Venice Biennale, open until Nov. 26, highlights is that these toilet designs are far less offensive to our modern olfactory sensibilities than many might assume. Here are some of the ways that architects and planners are rethinking toilet systems to help them fit into a circular economy, reducing the excess water and pollutants that billions of us literally flush down the toilet."
Sept 22 (Reuters) - The Supreme Court of Alabama is weighing whether to allow the state to become the first to execute a prisoner with a novel method: asphyxiation using nitrogen gas....
"Substituting half of [#meat and dairy] with more sustainable alternatives could “almost fully halt” the conversion of forests and natural land for agriculture, according to new research.
Global agricultural area decreases by 12%, which releases 653m of hectares of land for other uses. #Nitrogen use is halved, compared to the reference scenario. #Water use drops 10% and greenhouse gas #emissions decrease by 2.1bn tonnes of CO2-equivalent (GtCO2e) per year by 2050."
"Much of the reluctance to do what #ClimateChange requires comes from the assumption that it means trading abundance for #austerity, and trading all our stuff and conveniences for less stuff, less convenience. But what if it meant giving up things we’re well rid of, from deadly #emissions to nagging feelings of doom and complicity in destruction?
What if the austerity is how we live now — and the #abundance could be what is to come?"
"Reducing #AirPollution to #WHO guideline levels would prevent a significant number of attributable deaths in the #EU-27; 253,000 from exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5); and 52,000 from exposure to #nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
For specific diseases, the greatest harm to human health (burden of disease) is from ischemic #HeartDisease for PM2.5 and #diabetes mellitus for NO2."
Alabama seeks to execute prisoner using nitrogen gas asphyxiation (www.reuters.com)
Sept 22 (Reuters) - The Supreme Court of Alabama is weighing whether to allow the state to become the first to execute a prisoner with a novel method: asphyxiation using nitrogen gas....