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If every household (instead of buying a factory product) is pouring homemade whey down the sink, it's not "in small amounts." It's simply distributing the sourc

If every household (instead of buying a factory product) is pouring homemade whey down the sink, it's not "in small amounts." It's simply distributing the source of the pollution.

Dylan16807 13y ago
That's still a very small concentration, because it's distributed. Acid whey is not a pollutant. It's something you don't want high concentrations of, but low concentrations can be literally harmless. And it doesn't build up over time. Not everything is a tragedy of the commons.
- roel_v 13y ago
  So all the industrial producers should do is get massive amounts of water, mix their acid whey with it, then use that mixture to irrigate the larger area around their plants? Maybe just inject their whey into irrigation systems at the point they pump up their water? (hint: no that is not a solution) Of course the whey is not the pollutant, it's the acids in it. Low concentrations of anything are harmless.
  - Dylan16807 13y ago
    >Low concentrations of anything are harmless. That is a true and useless statement. By the same token high concentrations of anything are harmful but nobody is going to call water a pollutant. The question is about why and how something is harmful and whether it builds up. First off, why are you saying the acid is the problem? From my reading, talking about decomposition sapping oxygen, it sounds like it's the sugar and the fact that it's a food. And food isn't a pollutant. You leave it alone, it rots, nobody is harmed unless you dump large amounts of it in one spot. Now let's contrast with an actual pollutant like smoke. A whole lot of people emitting small amounts of smoke does build up, and it lingers. It causes direct harmful effects.
raverbashing 13y ago
Together with all the other things people pour down their drain, some extra acidic, some extra caustic If the problem is acidity, throw in some chemical base. But the main issue seems to be that's organic matter that ends up being consumed by bacteria
graycat 13y ago
> It's simply distributing the source of the pollution. "The solution to pollution is dilution."!

If every household (instead of buying a factory product) is pouring homemade whey down the sink, it's not "in small amounts." It's simply distributing the source of the pollution.

Dylan16807 13y ago

That's still a very small concentration, because it's distributed. Acid whey is not a pollutant. It's something you don't want high concentrations of, but low concentrations can be literally harmless. And it doesn't build up over time. Not everything is a tragedy of the commons.

roel_v 13y ago
So all the industrial producers should do is get massive amounts of water, mix their acid whey with it, then use that mixture to irrigate the larger area around their plants? Maybe just inject their whey into irrigation systems at the point they pump up their water? (hint: no that is not a solution) Of course the whey is not the pollutant, it's the acids in it. Low concentrations of anything are harmless.
- Dylan16807 13y ago
  >Low concentrations of anything are harmless. That is a true and useless statement. By the same token high concentrations of anything are harmful but nobody is going to call water a pollutant. The question is about why and how something is harmful and whether it builds up. First off, why are you saying the acid is the problem? From my reading, talking about decomposition sapping oxygen, it sounds like it's the sugar and the fact that it's a food. And food isn't a pollutant. You leave it alone, it rots, nobody is harmed unless you dump large amounts of it in one spot. Now let's contrast with an actual pollutant like smoke. A whole lot of people emitting small amounts of smoke does build up, and it lingers. It causes direct harmful effects.

raverbashing 13y ago

Together with all the other things people pour down their drain, some extra acidic, some extra caustic If the problem is acidity, throw in some chemical base. But the main issue seems to be that's organic matter that ends up being consumed by bacteria

graycat 13y ago

> It's simply distributing the source of the pollution. "The solution to pollution is dilution."!