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There is a researcher named John Todd whose work has been able to break down DDT in a matter of weeks. In this video, he gives a talk about some various projec

There is a researcher named John Todd whose work has been able to break down DDT in a matter of weeks. In this video, he gives a talk about some various projects. In the first one, he uses these methods to clean up a site contaminated with the top 15 pollutants (at least at the time). Heavy metal were sequestered by algea; 14 of the 15 toxins were below detectable levels, and the 15th was reduced by 99.999%; solids were eaten by armored carp. The output is drinking standard water, and it takes 10 days for the contaminated water to flow through the system. The key design principle is putting many species across all five kingdoms, from different biomes, and they start self-organizing around the pollutants. The resulting communities break down the pollutant, but are all new. https://youtu.be/SeQotnmhO5I https://youtu.be/SeQotnmhO5I In a different interview, he talks about microplastics — and while he has not worked on it, he believes a solution can be found in incorporating all five kingdoms. So not just sequestering them, but breaking them down so they can be useful in the ecosystem again.

pohl 3y ago
I enjoyed that video. I recommend watching that video, albeit at 2x speed because his delivery is so slow, but great content.
buffington 3y ago
Neat video, but let's not forget two important things about the Great Salt Lake. It's enormous. 950+ square miles. It's a salt lake. Far saltier than the ocean. No carps are going to be eating solids. The algea or other biological methods described in the video will not work to reset a lake of salt that is nearly the size of Rhode Island. Revitalizing an area of that size would likely be a far larger undertaking than solving the problem of reduced flow into the lake due to agricultural overuse. I'm all for clever solutions, but they can also lead people into thinking that it's a problem solved, and that addressing the root cause of the problem isn't needed. It allows people to be complacent and allow abuse to continue. When it all implodes, those who caused it get sit back and see how the rest of us deal with it.
carapace 3y ago
His website: https://www.toddecological.com/ https://www.toddecological.com/ Revolutionary technology.

pohl 3y ago

I enjoyed that video. I recommend watching that video, albeit at 2x speed because his delivery is so slow, but great content.

buffington 3y ago

Neat video, but let's not forget two important things about the Great Salt Lake. It's enormous. 950+ square miles. It's a salt lake. Far saltier than the ocean. No carps are going to be eating solids. The algea or other biological methods described in the video will not work to reset a lake of salt that is nearly the size of Rhode Island. Revitalizing an area of that size would likely be a far larger undertaking than solving the problem of reduced flow into the lake due to agricultural overuse. I'm all for clever solutions, but they can also lead people into thinking that it's a problem solved, and that addressing the root cause of the problem isn't needed. It allows people to be complacent and allow abuse to continue. When it all implodes, those who caused it get sit back and see how the rest of us deal with it.

carapace 3y ago

His website: https://www.toddecological.com/ https://www.toddecological.com/ Revolutionary technology.