Many of the substances that make wastewater a pollutant can also be useful as fertilisers for agriculture and in generating gases for small power stations, says report
… wastewater a pollutant can also be useful as fertilisers for agriculture and in generating …
A new study sets out the huge benefits of organic farming to people and the environment, writes Peter Melchett, including more wildlife, healthier consumers and farm workers, lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduced soil erosion and increased water retention. We need more of it, fast!
… which depends heavily on fossil-fuel based fertilisers - namely manufactured nitrogen and … requires other inputs such as labour, fuel, fertilisers (mined, manufactured or from other …
A 1971 editorial from the ecologist founding editor Edward Goldsmith on how our society is becoming ever more addicted to gimmicks intended to ensure our survival in ever less favourable conditions
… their soil than they did before artificial fertilisers were available. Everywhere farmers … from government subsidies, as artificial fertilisers do. In the meantime the soil, …
The Gates Foundation has just announced a $42 million project over several years to develop a toilet that doesn't need water, mains power or sewerage and that will cost next to nothing
The mission to build a toilet that utilises human poo Paul Miles | 11th August 2011 News Toilet Health Waste And Recycling Compost toilet.jpg There are still some 2.6 billion people around the world …
How we farm matters, writes Pat Thomas - not just for water, insects, birds and the wider environment, which benefit from organic farming, but also the nutritional value of our food. It's time to value the quality of what we eat, instead of prizing quantity above all.
… on a vicious treadmill. They add chemical fertilisers to the soil in the hope of … is available for the soil so farmers use more fertilisers. Using synthetic fertilisers to make plants grow in otherwise …
Coalition of environmental groups including RSPB and the National Trust urge government to introduce a levy on chemical industry and enforce bigger fines for polluters
Pesticide companies told to fund clean up of waterways Tom Levitt | 10th November 2010 News Water Pesticides Pollution Waterways Chemical Industry Health rivertrent.jpg Crop protection industry …
It's one of the healthiest, most versatile 'weeds' around. Asian countries have enjoyed the benefits for centuries. So where is the market for homegrown UK seaweed?
Why we should grow and eat more seaweed Eifion Rees | 20th July 2010 Ethical Living Green Living Food And Farming Health Seaweed Sustainable Food Biofuel Fertiliser Supefood seaweed-image.jpg Seaweed …
With supermarket milk cheaper than spring water, it's time to rethink the modern dairy industry. It's not just the milk that's become a throwaway product - the high-octane Holstein cows that produce it are also in the knackers yard after just two or three lactations, the living waste of a loss-making, environment-trashing industry.
Dairy - the case for greener, healthier, lower performing cows Mark Eisler Graeme Martin Michael Lee | 8th September 2014 Comment Food Farming Health Animal Welfare bull-cow-cut.jpg Contented cattle …
March 22nd in World Water Day, an UN initiative to draw attention to the dreadful conditions in which many millions of the world's citizens draw their water. Maggie King reports
… Vietnam. There the overuse of pesticides and fertilisers in coffee production has … the water would not be affected by the use of fertilisers and pesticides in crop production. …
What possible good can come from adding a known poison to our water supply? None at all, argues John Graham
Riding the fluoride tiger John Graham | 18th June 2008 Comment Fluoride Water Additives Health tap water 2.jpg What possible good can come from adding a known poison to our water supply? None at all, …
Agroecology is key to retaking control over food, farming and land from the 'monstrous machine' of agribusiness, biotech, big finance and 'free trade', writes Colin Todhunter, as it represents a truly viable alternative to agriculture for corporate profit. But such are the powers ranged against the world's small farmers that it must be supported by a broad-based, global people's movement.
… that were dependent on petrochemical fertilisers and pesticides to boost yields. … in. The exotic varieties, grown with chemical fertilisers, were more susceptible to 'pests …
There's no such thing as 'healthy food' if it's not produced by sustainable farming systems on living soils, Patrick Holden told the recent 'Food: The Forgotten Medicine' conference. But after 70 years of industrial farming, there's a huge job to be done to restore our depleted soils and the impoverished genetic diversity of our seeds and crops.
… In the case of plants we used chemical fertilisers; with animals it was high protein … to biology in the way that we farm. Nitrogen fertilisers are one of the principal reasons …
As England chokes in Level 10 smog, Rob MacKenzie says we shouldn't worry too much about headline-grabbing sand from the Sahara. Far more insidious and damaging to health are the fumes from our own cars and lorries.
England's smog - Saharan sand is the least of our problems Rob MacKenzie | 3rd March 2014 Comment Pollution Transport Health Africa sahara-sandstorm-camels.png As England chokes in Level 10 smog, Rob …
Organic farming produces more nutritious food than chemical agriculture, writes Colin Todhunter, while sustaining soils and building organic matter. And we know this from real, peer-reviewed scientific studies - unlike the pseudo-science touted at us by the self-interested advocates of industrial agribusiness.
… with petro-chemical pesticides and fertilisers. Over the past 60 years, … of the indiscreet and excessive use of fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides. The …
Plastic waste, often burning, is a constant companion in Gambia, a poor country where few enjoy formal rubbish collection, writes Louise Hunt. Now a pioneering project to upcycle waste plastic is beginning to tackle the problem - and in the process enhancing women's social and economic status.
… work with are gardening and buying expensive fertilisers so we tell them how to make …
In the second part of our adaptation of Fatal Harvest’s iconoclastic analysis of agribusiness propaganda, The Ecologist reveals the real cost of industrial food.
… environment. Intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers seriously pollutes water, soil and … these pathogens through exposure to tainted fertilisers and sewage sludge. Contamination …
I’m sitting opposite the large Coca-Cola bottling plant next to the village of Plachimada in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Plachimada is a farming village of about 800 families, many of them tribal. The ugly factory looks rather out of place in such a beautiful setting, the Western Ghats mountains clearly visible in the distance.
Killa Cola Keith Hyams | 1st April 2004 News Coca-Cola Plachimada Plant India Local Farmers Community Companies International Development Community Globalisation Fast Food Sugar Drought Health …
The Government's 'National Pollinator Strategy' has a fatal flaw, writes Georgina Downs - it contains no meaningful measures to address farmers' spraying of highly toxic pesticides, often in mixtures that can further increase the harm they cause. And with 80% of the UK's pesticides used in agriculture, that's setting the 'strategy' up to fail.
Agricultural pesticides - the gaping hole in the UK's 'Pollinator Strategy' Georgina Downs | 6th November 2014 Comment UK Farming Toxics Politics Health windy-day-spray-cut.jpg Spaying …
The history of humankind might also be said to be the history of warfare. From Roman times to the present day, human conflict has been the hallmark of our historical progression. But the fight against ourselves isn’t the only war we’ve embarked upon.
The War on Bugs by Will Allen Phil Moore | 26th November 2008 Reviews Bugs Book Review Farming Pesticides Farming Agribusiness Food And Farming Health Pollution Society Bug_War_MAINjpg.jpg The …
Since defeating the government in 1984 over its compulsory warble fly erradication scheme, Mark Purdey has been travelling the world to find the real cause of BSE and vCJD. His conclusions are controversial, fascinating, and if proved right, will cost the government millions in compensation.
… exposed to a toxic combination of manganese fertilisers and fungicides, infrasound derived …
It's a global phenomenon - we are consuming more calories, and more of those calories are the same, writes David Nally. Just ten crops produce 75% of our food, as factory-farmed meat, sugar, wheat, corn, soybeans and palm oil displace more nutritious and diverse diets. It's not good for us, or the planet - but it's great for corporate food monopolists!