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Fort Lauderdale saves nearly $350K after repurposing seaweed into planting soil
- Analemma_ 3y agoInteresting! Do they do some kind of washing or processing to remove the salt? I assume without that step it would be impossible to use as soil, but I don't know.
- stevespang 3y ago[dead]
- frankfrankfrank 3y ago[flagged]
- rasz 3y agoseaweed got what plants crave: It's got electrolytes!
- myshpa 3y agohttps://dcnanature.org/sargassum-fertilizer/ https://dcnanature.org/sargassum-fertilizer/ ... found that vegetables grown in soil enriched with sargassum had higher levels of arsenic and cadmium, heavy metals that can be toxic to humans and animals. Researchers warn that sargassum should not be used to compliment animal fodder, nor used as a fertilizer for consumables until further investigated. https://www.npr.org/2023/03/15/1163385168/sargassum-seaweed-florida-mexico-beaches https://www.npr.org/2023/03/15/1163385168/sargassum-seaweed-... ... we're finding [sargassum] can contain heavy metals, including arsenic. It has fairly high concentrations of the toxin," he said. "There's a concern that, through leaching, that could impact groundwater." https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230622-what-is-causing-the-atlantics-seaweed-blobs https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230622-what-is-causing-... Another interesting thing we discovered is a set of genes called 'zot' genes, which causes leaky gut syndrome," says Mincer. The toxins produced by bacteria carrying these zot genes increase the permeability of the intestinal tract, leading to a range of symptoms including chronic diarrhoea.
- xyst 3y agoWow, how can a city not do their due diligence on this? Literally poisoning the people they serve.
- frankfrankfrank 3y agoBecause cities are run by people and out whole civilization’s incentives structure has been turned upside down and inside out for at least 100 years now. When there are Not only no consequences, but also immense rewards and any few consequences are simply calculated into the operating budget, it leas to all these types of things we see today all across the western world where corruption, fraud, public plunder, and degeneracy are rampant and well being the house of cards down in some period.
- warricksothr 3y agoThe article says the soil mixture is available to residents and being used by the city to restore damaged boulevards. None of this is being communicated as being sold to farms for growing produce. It seems like they probably are doing due diligence and they’re not poisoning the people they serve. They talk about the city using it for fill soil on their site. They do have a picture suggesting it might be usable in a garden but that’s it. https://gyr.fortlauderdale.gov/greener-government/natural-resources-preservation/beach-preservation-and-ocean-wildlife/keeping-our-beaches-clean/seaweed-composting https://gyr.fortlauderdale.gov/greener-government/natural-re... I suggest if you’re concerned that you email them and let them know not to suggest using it for gardening.
- fred_is_fred 3y agoIt's not like the city created this. It's already in the water and and on the beach.
- jjkeddo199 3y agoFarmed seaweed might have different properties than seaweed harvested directly from the ocean. It could be safer in controlled environments.
- obblekk 3y ago
- Solvency 3y agoThey've saved money, sure. They've also added toxic fat soluble molecules and heavy metals into the soil. What a win for the people! This is the same city that made an ecological disaster by dumping thousands of tires into their ocean. So I'm not surprised.
- 3-cheese-sundae 3y agoSource on the former? I know about the latter.
- drjasonharrison 3y agohttps://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/osborne-tire-reef-how-many-left/ https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/osborne-tire-reef-how-m... "The Osborne Reef is an artificial reef project situated off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was one of many attempts in the 1970s and 80s to mimic the environmental benefits of coral reefs using old tires, but it has become an environmental disaster. ...It was approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the dumping operation was supervised by a U.S. Navy minesweeper. In the years to follow, many of the tires — which were held together only with nylon rope and steel clips — came loose, making the “reef” useless as a habitat and, in some cases, damaging real coral reefs nearby. Over the past two decades, groups both public and private have launched programs to remove the remaining Osborne Reef tires from the ocean. ...The state estimated that there were 650,000 tires remaining in 2016, and 4ocean estimates that there are still over 500,000 in 2022."
- justinclift 3y agoThey seem to be asking about the other one, not the tire related thing. ;)
- frankfrankfrank 3y ago[flagged]
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- aaron695 3y ago[dead]