Mars Rover Update

The press has almost forgotten our two rovers on their walk about on Mars. That they are still functioning is astonishing and they have made us at home on mars in a way that was never quite possible on the moon. That does suggest that we should several such devices there with the same mandate.

Since weather does not exist, we should be able to travel extensively and look at as much curious rock types as possible. This would be excellent preparation for our actual return to the moon. We obviously already have the experienced operators to assist.

We have also learned that it is possible to design and operate equipment that will stand up to these extreme conditions. Not good enough to get cocky but still reassuring.

Mars Rover Update
03.26.2009

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/26mar_marsroverupdate.htm?list1109684


March 26, 2009: In January 2004, NASA landed two identical robotic rovers named Spirit and Opportunity on the surface of Mars. The twins were primed for a brief 3-month mission to tell us a story of water and possibly life itself in the planet's past. More than five years later, the dynamic duo are still roving the Red Planet, engaged in a saga of overachievement that has transformed Mars exploration.

"Spirit and Opportunity helped invent a whole new discipline -- robotic field science," says Steve Squyres, principal investigator for the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. "They've taught us how to organize large teams of scientists and engineers to operate robotic rovers on a distant planet. We all had to learn to work together effectively year after year to squeeze the most possible science from the rovers."

The teams are still squeezing.

Among the remarkable findings from these solar-powered robots over the half-decade: Mars wasn't always as cold and dry as it is today. Maybe it didn't look like a set for The Sound of Music, but it had water and was warm enough for life.

Mars Exploration Mission team members have also learned the perils of maneuvering robotic rovers located a hundred million kilometers away. They've gotten the vehicles stuck more than once. "We now know how to negotiate sand dunes and piles of rocks," says Squyres, "and perhaps more importantly – how to avoid them. We've translated five years of experience into new and improved maps and driving software that will help us in the remainder of our mission, and will also help future rovers."
Hopeful planners are already setting future operations for the twins, assuming the pair will continue to plow ahead but acknowledging that one or both of the rovers could fail at any time. After all, these robots aren't exactly spring chickens. Spirit has been driving backwards since one of its wheels jammed in 2006, and a broken electrical wire has reduced movement of Opportunity's robotic arm.

Provided the twins hold up a while longer, here are the latest plans:

Opportunity, "the lucky vehicle since day 1" according to Squyres, has been crater-hopping since the beginning of the mission and is now heading south to the largest crater yet. The Endeavor crater is 20 km in diameter and 100s of meters deep.

"We'll have to double the odometer reading on a five year old vehicle to get there," says Squyres. "And it will take at least two years to reach it. [100 meters per day is an average day for Opportunity.] It'll be a long march across the plains, but it will be well worth it. The deeper the crater the older the history of Mars we can look at."

Ray Arvidson, deputy principal investigator, elaborates: "Endeavor is an intriguing target because the rocks close to it look different from the ones surrounding the other craters Opportunity has visited. Part of Endeavor crater's rim is sticking up – Mars' ancient bedrock exposed -- and rocks nearby may be suggestive of acidic lakes on Mars' surface billions of years ago."

And what about the other twin?

"Spirit is the more challenging rover to operate," says Squyres. "There's not as much wind at its location to clean the solar arrays, and that affects the vehicle's power. Also, Spirit has to travel a more challenging terrain. The rocks and loose sand at Spirit's location are treacherous. Of course, to top it all off, Spirit is driving backwards.

Luckily, Spirit's landing site features a compact geology with enormous diversity and variability in a small area."

Spirit is now creeping steadily along a route to von Braun, an interesting looking mesa-shaped cap-rock that stands only about 250 meters away but will take months to reach. Then Spirit will head to a 30-meter diameter pit that may be a volcanic explosion crater -- and perhaps a location for hydrothermal activity.

"Because of the geology of its surroundings, Spirit specializes in looking for evidence in the rock record of water-charged explosive volcanism," says Arvidson. "Such areas could have once supported life."

"Home Plate, where Spirit spent the winter, is a volcanic structure eroded down so we can see the layers," explains Arvidson. "And we think von Braun and the neighboring Goddard structure may be made of the same stuff."

The Mars Exploration Team members have high hopes for the rovers to achieve all these ambitious goals but are mindful of the twins' limitations.
"We have no way of knowing what the future holds for the rovers at this point," says Squyres. "The mission could easily end tomorrow. But, the miracle could continue."

Arvidson recalls the day, over five years ago, when Spirit first touched down on the red planet.

“I was on a plane on my way back from Hawaii, headed to the Los Angeles airport, when Spirit was due to land. I just had to know if the rover had made it, so I asked the pilot to radio ahead to air traffic controllers and find out if Spirit had landed safely. I was overjoyed when he did so and confirmed that Spirit was sitting on Mars' surface, ready to go!"

Spirit is still going, Opportunity is still going, and Arvidson is still overjoyed.

Einstein@home Launches Binary Pulsar Search

This program needs to be expanded. I know that the first such program was SETI online that launched around ten years ago and is ongoing. I think that this is much more important, because we have the raw data and mapping the sky to a better resolution can only improve our understanding.

I am throwing this link up on my link list:

http://einstein.phys.uwm.edu/

This recent program is targeting a specific type of object and that makes it increasingly useful as a method. I hope they do a good job including the users in the information loop. Folks who participate in these schemes actually care, and want to share in the thrill of discovery, however vicariously.

So do your bit for science and have your computer hunt binary pulsers.

Einstein@Home Effort Launched To Search For New Pulsars

by Staff WritersMilwaukee WI (SPX) Mar 25, 2009

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Einstein_Home_Effort_Launched_To_Search_For_New_Pulsars_999.html

Einstein@Home, based at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (UWM) and the Albert Einstein Institute (AEI) in Germany, is one of the world's largest public volunteer distributed computing projects. More than 200,000 people have signed up for the project and donated time on their computers to search gravitational wave data for signals from unknown pulsars.

Today, Prof. Bruce Allen, Director of the Einstein@Home project, and Prof. Jim Cordes, of Cornell University and Chair of the Arecibo PALFA Consortium, announced that the Einstein@Home project is beginning to analyze data taken by the PALFA Consortium at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

The Arecibo Observatory is the largest single-aperture radio telescope on the planet and is used for studies of pulsars, galaxies, solar system objects, and the Earth's atmosphere. Using new methods developed at the AEI, Einstein@Home will search Arecibo radio data to find binary systems consisting of the most extreme objects in the universe: a spinning neutron star orbiting another neutron star or a black hole.

Current searches of radio data lose sensitivity for orbital periods shorter than about 50 minutes. But the enormous computational capabilities of the Einstein@Home project (equivalent to tens of thousands of computers) make it possible to detect pulsars in binary systems with orbital periods as short as 11 minutes.

"Discovery of a pulsar orbiting a neutron star or black hole, with a sub-hour orbital period, would provide tremendous opportunities to test General Relativity and to estimate how often such binaries merge," said Cordes. The mergers of such systems are among the rarest and most spectacular events in the universe.

They emit bursts of gravitational waves that current detectors might be able to detect, and they are also thought to emit bursts of gamma rays just before the merged stars collapse to form a black hole. Cordes added: "The Einstein@Home computing resources are a perfect complement to the data management systems at the Cornell Center for Advanced Computing and the other PALFA institutions."

"While our long-term goal is to detect gravitational waves, in the shorter term we hope to discover at least a few new radio pulsars per year, which should be a lot of fun for Einstein@Home participants and should also be very interesting for astronomers. We expect that most of the project's participants will be eager to do both types of searches," said Allen.

Einstein@Home participants will automatically receive work for both the radio and gravitational-wave searches.

The large data sets from the Arecibo survey are archived and processed initially at Cornell and other PALFA institutions. For the Einstein@Home project, data are sent to the Albert Einstein Institute in Hannover via high-bandwidth internet links, pre-processed and then distributed to computers around the world. The results are returned to AEI, Cornell, and UWM for further investigation.

Gravitational waves were first predicted by Einstein in 1916 as a consequence of his general theory of relativity, but have not yet been directly detected. For the past four years, Einstein@Home has been searching for gravitational waves in data from the US LIGO detector.

Radio pulsars, first discovered in the 1960s, are rapidly spinning neutron stars that emit a lighthouse-like beam of radio waves that sweeps past the earth as frequently as 600 times per second.

Radio pulsars in short-period binary systems are especially interesting because the effects of general relativity can be very strong. Systems that have already been discovered have been used to verify that Einstein's predictions about gravitational wave emission are correct to better than 1%.

The discovery of new pulsars in much shorter-period binaries would improve estimates of the rates at which binary star systems form and disappear in our Galaxy, and also provide new targets to search for with gravitational wave detectors.

The Arecibo Observatory is the largest single-aperture radio telescope on the planet and is used for studies of pulsars, galaxies, solar system objects, and the Earth's atmosphere.

The first binary pulsar was discovered at Arecibo in 1974 and led to Hulse and Taylor's 1993 Nobel Prize in Physics, because of its stringent test of general relativity. The new pulsar survey uses a specialized radio camera, the Arecibo L-band Feed Array, and is conducted by the PALFA Consortium.

The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) is the largest research institute in the world devoted to the study of general relativity. Its two branches in Potsdam and Hannover support research in astrophysics, theoretical physics, mathematics, and experimental physics.

It operates the GEO600 gravitational wave detector near Hannover, Germany, is a partner in the American LIGO project, and plays a major role in the analysis of the data from all existing gravitational wave detectors, including the VIRGO detector in Italy.

The software that will be used in the Einstein@Home radio searches was developed by the AEI in Hannover.

The University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee hosts the Einstein@Home project and plays a major role in the data analysis activities of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. It also carries out Arecibo radio observations as an Arecibo Remote Control Center (ARCC).

The U.S. National Science Foundation supports this work through grants to the Einstein@Home project, to the PALFA project, to the BOINC project at the University of California at Berkeley, and through a cooperative agreement with Cornell University to operate the Arecibo Observatory.

The Albert Einstein Institute for Gravitational Physics is supported by the Max Planck Society and the University of Hannover.

The Einstein@Home project, launched in 2005, is an undertaking of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, and was primarily developed by UWM and the AEI. Einstein@Home is built using the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) developed at the University of California at Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory.

Biobacksheet

Stuff like this is a little mundane, but it also reflects something else. The green advantage is promoting the rapid development of plastics based on non hydrocarbon feedstocks. The cost differential is likely minimal and the need for bragging rights is now driving this industry.

So while we have been focused on the problems associated with displacing gasoline, the plastics industry realized that they had a much easier task in replacing hydrocarbons, simply because feedstock limitations are solvable at the volumes needed.

So as long as we want sustainability, this industry is working to deliver and by the time anyone really notices, it will be complete.

That is really what this story truly means, and it is wonderful news.


BioBacksheet Will Help Reduce Cost Per Watt Of Solar

by Staff WritersSanta Clarita CA (SPX) Mar 25, 2009

http://www.solardaily.com/reports/BioBacksheet_Will_Help_Reduce_Cost_Per_Watt_Of_Solar_999.html


http://www.solardaily.com/images/biosolar-backsheet-bg.jpg

Designed to replace petroleum-based components with renewable plant sources, BioBacksheet is a premium-grade backsheet consisting of a cellulosic film combined with a highly water resistant and high dielectric strength nylon film made from castor beans. The patent-pending BioBacksheet technology for crystalline silicon (C-Si) photovoltaic solar cells is in the pre-production phase.


BioSolar "is challenging (DuPont) Tedlar with a new lower-cost solar panel backsheet made entirely of biomaterials," according to the February 2009 edition of Plastics Technology.

According to The Residential Solar Power Contractors blog, CaliFinder, BioSolar's "BioBacksheet is not only manufactured with renewable natural resources making it a green product, it's also cheaper to produce than traditional solar panels and is extremely effective and durable...This new innovation will also help to reduce the cost per watt of solar cells, making solar power a more cost effective initiative."

BioSolar recently announced plans to expand the company's BioBacksheet technology to accommodate copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film modules, as reported on Nanowerk News.

In addition, emerging energy news provider, Energy Current, recently reported that the company has "concluded successful testing on BioBacksheet samples from its first pre-production runs."

"By removing petroleum from photovoltaic solar modules, BioSolar makes solar energy a true green source of energy," said Dr. David Lee, BioSolar chairman and CEO.

"Whether solar cells are produced using crystalline silicon, thin film or other solar technologies, BioSolar can help reduce the cost per watt through the use of its lower cost bio-based materials."

Renewable Distributed Energy Generation Markets To Reach 61 Billion Dollars

This study provides hard statistics for the distributed renewable energy market. This is a sector that is not easy to evaluate and measure, so a resource such as this biennial report is invaluable as it reaches out to the industry and acquires the information.

Otherwise we are left to rely on proponent wishful thinking to evaluate such markets and proxies such as manufacturer’s sales.

The solar sector has become, in spite of a not overly favorable cost profile. Direct subsidy and public policy has helped hugely as it must for the introduction of this type of technology.

This tells us that we now have a huge installed base. That base is about to expand radically with the advent of Nanosolar’s panels which will come in at $1.00 per watt, representing a seventy five plus percent drop in cost.

The importance of the present installed base is that all the peripheral tools and components exist, so that a game changer such as Nanosolar needs to merely deliver.

Renewable Distributed Energy Generation Markets To Reach 61 Billion Dollars

by Staff Writers
Boulder CO (SPX) Mar 20, 2009

http://www.solardaily.com/reports/Renewable_Distributed_Energy_Generation_Markets_To_Reach_61_Billion_Dollars_999.html

Global system revenues for sub-utility scale Renewable Distributed Energy Generation (RDEG) grew at a breakneck pace between 2007 and 2008, rising 76% to an estimated $29.9 billion at the end of 2008, according to a new report from Pike Research.
The cleantech market research firm forecasts that the RDEG market will continue strong growth in the coming years, more than doubling in value to $60.6 billion by 2013.
"Renewable distributed energy generation is a sector dominated by small solar energy installations," says industry analyst David Link.
"Solar represents approximately 98% of the world market, with small wind power and stationary fuel cells each accounting for about 1%, a mix that we expect to remain constant during the next five years."
In each country where RDEG technologies have established a foothold, the market is heavily reliant upon government subsidies, most often in the form of feed-in tariffs for solar installations. However, says Link, this reliance will subside in the long term as system installed prices come down, and Pike Research forecasts that these costs will decline at a compound annual rate of -6% between 2008 and 2013.
"Dependence on solar energy subsidies will taper off in Europe during the next 3-5 years," comments Link, "though we expect that horizon to be somewhat further in the U.S., approximately 5-10 years away."
Pike Research's study, "Renewable Distributed Energy Generation", provides a comprehensive overview of the opportunities and challenges associated with deploying RDEG technologies, including solar photovoltaics, small wind, and stationary fuel cells, to meet the world's increasing demand for electricity. The report includes an examination of key market drivers over the coming years, analysis of cost factors for each technology, and detailed market forecasts. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the firm's website.

Here is the link to the exec summary:

http://www.pikeresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/rdeg-09-executive-summary.pdf


I have taken the liberty to copy the initial text portion of the summary. The cost of the report is $3500, for those that need it and you well have to register to get the summary in its entirely.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Increasing numbers of countries have committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and diversify energy resources to include more renewable sources. The European Union has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020 compared to 1990 levels, and has even committed to a 30% reduction if global agreement on this target can be reached. Clearly, concerns related to global warming are becoming top of mind for leaders of nations throughout the world.


Meanwhile, the planet has a seemingly insatiable appetite for energy. The world’s electricity generation is expected to increase from 4.2 terawatts (TW) in 1997 to 7 TW by
2030. In addition, the incumbent electricity grid’s centralized power generation model is very inefficient and limited. In most industrialized countries, the overall generation efficiency averages 30-35% by the time electricity reaches the customer and the electricity grid is getting more and more congested. Further, it is estimated that 33% of the global population lives without power today. Extending the electrical grid to reach this customer base is in most cases impractical. Also, with the expanding presence of wireless telecommunications networks to more remote regions of the world, challenges arise as to how to ensure that these networks are properly powered.


One of the ways to answer the challenge of global electricity requirements is with renewable distributed energy generation (RDEG) technologies. RDEG technologies generate power at the point of consumption, avoiding costly and inefficient transmission and distribution. RDEG technologies generate electricity with few if any emissions. They
have the potential to minimize the complications associated with centralized energy sources, giving businesses and consumers more control, agility, and, most importantly, cost savings. However, today the economics of RDEG technologies do not stand on their own. For this reason, governments have stepped in to subsidize their commercial development. Not surprisingly, RDEG technologies are gathering steam in these regions, which tend to be the some of the places with the highest prices for conventional electricity and highest levels of environmental consciousness. Simultaneously, with technological advances and resulting cost reductions, RDEG technologies are generating power at price points that are showing legitimate signs of being competitive with grid- produced electricity. RDEG technologies are comprised of three principal technologies: photovoltaic (PV), small wind, and fuel cells. In breaking down the market, RDEG technologies make up only a fraction of the total electricity generation sources worldwide. In addition, even with impressive growth over the next 20 plus years, the majority of electricity will still be provided by conventional sources such as coal, natural gas, nuclear, and hydroelectric. Of the 4.2 TW of global cumulative electricity generation capacity in 2007, only 4%, or 160 gigawatts (GW), of that total is considered renewable (not counting hydroelectric as renewable). Of the 160 GW of renewable capacity, only 4% is distributed, with the balance being centralized. Even though renewable technologies comprise just 4% of cumulative capacity, they comprise 16% of 168 GW of new capacity additions or approximately 24 GW, and of that only 8% are distributed capacity additions, which is just under 2 GW. Clearly, there would appear to be upside potential for RDEG contribution to the global electricity generation mix.


By far the largest and most important of the three RDEG technologies is distributed PV. The PV industry has experienced rapid growth over the past few years. PV growth has been spearheaded by markets such as Germany, Japan, Spain, and the U.S. Remaining countries in the European Union are starting to pick up strong momentum as well. Emerging markets in India and China show promise in the longer term. Of all the opportunities in PV, the most compelling growth potential lies in decentralized electricity
generation, whether small rooftop or large commercial installations. PV has the advantage of being truly modular, as it can reach cost efficiencies with installations that are just a few kilowatts (kW) to 20 MW or even 200 MW. For the purposes of this report, distributed PV is considered to be those systems less than 20 MW in size, where electricity does not pass through the traditional transmission and distribution system prior to being used. The estimated size of the distributed PV market in 2008 was 3.6 GW, and it is expected to grow to 9.7 GW by 2013, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR)% of 22%. This translates into a market with a dollar value of $30B in 2008 that will grow to nearly $60B by 2013, representing a CAGR% of 15%.


Although it is an important part of the solution, small wind is likely to remain a niche technology for the foreseeable future. It is most often used in concert with another energy
source, such as PV, diesel generation, or battery backup power. With the exception of the
U.S. and U.K., small wind has not benefited from strong government subsidies or other support, and even the programs in those countries have been lacking in comparison to what has been extended to PV or large wind installations. However, a surge in demand for small wind in the U.S. is likely as a result of the recently enacted 30% uncapped dollar for dollar tax credit. The estimated size of the small wind market in 2008 was 38 MW, and it is expected to grow to 115 MW by 2013, representing a CAGR% of 25%. This translates into a market with a dollar value of $165M in 2008 that will grow to nearly $412M by 2013, representing a CAGR% of 20%.


Stationary fuel cells offer enormous long-term potential. They offer a clean, efficient source of electricity and range in size from 1 kW up to 10 MW or more. With reformer technology, fuel cells are able to tap into established or accessible sources of fuels such as natural gas, and they can run off of various other fuels including biofuels and gases that are by-products of adjacent industrial processes. With cogeneration or combined heat and power, efficiencies improve dramatically from 40–50% up to as high as 85%. However, cost issues make the technologies’ long-term potential difficult to predict. In order for costs to come down, volumes will have to increase. However, in order for volumes to materialize, costs will need to be reduced substantially. Without uniform government subsidy programs, it is unclear if or when that tipping point may occur. The estimated size of the fuel cell market in 2008 was 38 MW, and it is expected to grow to 219 MW by 2013, representing a CAGR% of 33%. This translates into a market with a dollar value of $242M in 2008 that will grow to nearly $716M by 2013, representing a CAGR% of 24%.

Israeli and Palestinian Ongoing Water Crisis

This enunciates the underlying problem facing the Israelis and the Palestinians. It is not going to be solved accessing any further sources of fresh water. It is not going to be solved by shifting the available water away from agriculture either because the population is expanding. The whining over the current water split reflects past arrangements based on available agricultural land, most of which is in Israel.

If the water issue were to be totally resolved by deus ex machine, everything else would sort itself out.

In terms of current options, a desalination plant could supply potable water sufficient to supply the consumer market. It is expensive but it puts the burden directly onto the user population and allows natural surface water to be used in agriculture.

The plant(s) would have to be on the coast were much of the population is anyway. I was previously involved with an innovative desalination technology that could have economically resolved this problem. Regrettably, the physicist died and it was stillborn. I am waiting for it to be reinvented again.

More likely we will get there with the Eden Machine sooner. Recall that all these hillsides were covered with woodlands and forest soils. There is enough rain, even today to support such forests. That means that restoration will entail a temporary use of the Eden Machine to establish cover from a fast growing tree. Soil will also need to be manufactured, but that trick is in hand with the advent of biochar.

Restoring the native forest cover on the hillsides will restore natural ground water in the valleys were agriculture is undertaken.

Most of Israel and Palestine can become forested and water retaining with ample surplus available for human usage. The same applies north into Lebanon and Northern Syria as we restore the natural forests of the Fertile Crescent. Recall that the demands of the Bronze Age destroyed all these forests and soils. Yesterday’s post on Bronze makes this abundantly clear.

Solve water problems before peace deal: Abbas

4 days ago

ISTANBUL (AFP) — Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas accused Israel on Thursday of forcing Palestinians to live in chronic water scarcity and declared a "rightful share" of water should not be tied to a peace deal.

In a message read at the World Water Forum in Istanbul, the Palestinian Authority president said Israel's unilateral control over rivers and aquifers meant scarce water resources were not being shared equitably "as required by international law."

Palestinians had four times less water per capita than Israelis living in Israel, a consumption level that fell far below the World Health Organization's guidelines for minimum daily access to water, Abbas said.

"The reason for this disparity has nothing to do with lifestyle between Palestinians and Israelis -- for when it comes to water all human beings have the same needs -- but due to Israel's control and inequitable distribution to the Palestinians," Abbas said.

"It is with dismay that I see 9,000 Israeli settlers in the Jordan Valley utilise one-quarter of the water that the entire Palestinian population in the West Bank utilises," he said.

"It is also with dismany that we witnessed Israel's systematic de-development and destruction of Gaza's water infrastructure, where today only 10-20 percent of the water there is drinkable."

Abbas said the situation "is not only unjust, but unnecessary."

"Palestinians should not be forced to wait until a peace agreement is reached before (they are) allowed (their) rightful share of the transboundary water resources. Water is an essential human necessity that should not be subject to the dictates of a single party or used as a tool of control."

The statement was read at a press conference by Shaddad Attili, head of the Palestinian Water Authority.

Attili said Israel uses 90 percent of transboundary water resources, and Israelis have per-capita water consumption of 348 litres (76 gallons) per day; the Palestinians are alloted the remaining 10 percent, and have daily consumption of 78 litres (17.6 gallons) per day, compared to WHO recommendations of at least 100 litres (22 gallons) a day.

Abbas also said the Palestinian Authority, upon gaining statehood, would become party to a 1997 UN pact on water supplies that cross international boundaries.

This document -- the Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses -- requires a country that controls an aquifer or watershed that straddles an international boundary to ensure other parties have equitable use of the water.

Only 16 countries have ratified the convention so far; 35 are needed before it becomes international law. France this month announced its intention to ratify.

In the Palestinian-Israeli case, the struggle over water supplies pertains to the basin of the Jordan River and a coastal aquifer that stretches underneath Gaza.

The World Water Forum has gathered more than 27,000 policymakers, corporate executives, water specialists and activists in a broad conference focused on the globe's worsening problems of freshwater. The seven-day event winds up on Sunday.

Peggy Korth's Cattail Notes

These notes from Peggy Korth bring us up to date as a new growing season begins. It is welcome to follow a group of enthusiasts learning the rules of cattail husbandry and sharing the results. Step by step, some level of mastery is achieved.

Actually, this type of log, I find seriously exciting. We are watching a major new crop been mastered for human consumption and industrial feedstocks worldwide. When done, everyone will wonder why we took so long.

We learned something here today. The roots are actually kept on top of the water table and kept saturated. This strongly suggests that sewage treatment pads can be built in such a way as to avoid significant standing water and undesirable conditions. Instead we concentrate in developing trickle down pads that receive the fluids.

This also reminds me of the awful excessive spraying of raw cattle and pig manure onto fields, far in excess of their carrying capacity. Converting those same fields into cattail pads will likely largely if not completely solve the problem and deliver a salable or even directly usable crop for the farm

The fields are been constantly saturated, so little more is needed besides planting the cattails. I had assumed, naturally enough that we needed to manage extensive ditching and drainage not unlike a rice paddy. This could not be further from the truth. We want to manage wetness instead and that is a lot easier. It is also easier to dry out at harvest time.

Recall that she is also marketing a nifty ethanol still. See my earlier post some months back.

Cattail Histhings
March 2009

Water Assurance Technology Energy Resources
40 Sun Valley Dr., Spring Branch TX 78070
FAX (830) 885-4827; Cell: (512) 757-4499
Email: rpk@gvtc.com

New Outlook: We all need each other to make a statement about the value of small and midsized production… either farm-based or community focused. Now that the government is pouring billions into ‘recovery’ it is empowering regulators to make moves never before considered. Regulating is what regulators do. I encourage everyone to dedicate time ‘right now’ to their self-sufficiency steps. Our work is being copied by university scientist and we are feeding them good ideas. By being “OPEN SOURCE” and having all you great people share in the development of our common interests, we should circumvent proprietary projects that would seek to restrict our commercialization. If we all work together to build one with another we may conquer supply and demand obstacles.


I feel a Cattail A’rizing: With the influx of spring the stored starches in the rhizomes will be zooming into stalks. Please consider grubbing out a few rhizomes at your earliest convenience and checking starch conversion. You do not need to distill the rhizomes in order to make a mash. So what good is a mash without distilling it? Solely for research and data sharing… and practice… and testing enzymes… and learning how to shred the rhizomes and plenty of other preliminary processing practice. This can be a great science project to share with kids, too.


International Community of ‘Locals’ Unite: AK writes…I live in an intentional community that has had problems with waste water. We have contacted and worked with our state authorities and they advised a septic system that we have installed and has failed. They recommended a 10,000 foot leach field and all the houses (18 total with 250 people) have individual systems that the overflow goes into the overflow system. This large system has saturated the soil and has caused the area to run off with green gack. Some of the houses are not hooked into this system and they are all running out on to the ground. It is quite disgusting. This is where I was hoping you could help.


I have applied and received my alcohol permit from the ATF and we are hoping that raising cattails in our sewage overflow will create alcohol for sale and for the community. I have several men that are helping me with everything, so I am not alone in my venture. We are very interested in getting greener and the attitude of the members is conducive to changing our habits to use less energy. What can your organization do for a community like ours? I eagerly await your response.

PK Suggests Problem Solving on Multiple Levels: During a feasibility design by a group of associates from Sustainable Technology Systems (STS) we address both purpose and functionality. State regulators can advise and approve final design if necessary in your location. During a recent EPA regional meeting Cattails to Ethanol was presented to individuals from government, community groups, and industry. For the first time in decades the EPA appears to be more open to new ideas. They are very interested in the potential of remediating surface water from feedlots. HOWEVER these ideas must often flow through state regulatory systems. Louisiana approves botanical remediation and many states are allowing test systems or wetland variations. Therefore, when STS address a community project we include a small part of the budget for an investigator to work with regulators and review variances or special permitting if that state has restrictive conveyances in place.


At this time one of the poorest towns in Texas cannot meet their wastewater discharge levels and cattails can offer a great deal of hope for this community including multiple purposes. However, the commission that regulates wastewater has not yet accepted botanical remediation. This regulatory agency demands a very expensive processing system that is simply not affordable. Therefore, whatever answer I give to any interested party is tempered with the understanding that it may or may not be implemented according to local regulators.


Yes, there are a number of botanicals that can address sewerage discharge remediation. The reason that I promote cattail is because it has so many additional benefits and co-products Cattails can be grown as a field crop. Energy availability is important. Merging various technologies to solve energy needs is practical. If parabolic solar energy is an option, then that is an excellent resource. In a desert town where we intend to set up a pilot project, parabolic solar energy is most practical. Also, because this community is located close to a National Forest and in an area of invasive species we may use waste heat from a gasifier that can also generate electricity. All work is evolving and all I ask in return for my efforts in writing Cattail Histhings is that you share back with us on your trials and successes. Now more than ever we need to assure that local communities can provide basic services.


TS writes concerning a narrative posted to the Alcoholfuel forum on Cellulosic Enzymes: Just keeping up with you is a challenge; the wealth of information there is amazing. Thank you for all your time and effort you expend on the project, we need more people who will put in the hours and years even if it isn’t popular. The information on the cellulose enzymes is very interesting. I hope they do come through with it in 2010, if not sooner. Seems we are always 5 years or one year from getting something.

PK Comments: If requested, I can reprint my narrative. Let me hear from you.


TS Continues: Things will start happening faster. The snow has melted from one of the cattail patches enough that I think I can get a few buckets of them. Of course I can’t give sugar content numbers, but I can give how many lbs makes how much. The warmer weather allows me to keep a more constant heat going, so I might be able to make the first batch of 09 soon. Please don't think I am just excited and will fade away, or that I am unable to do things so they are useful to the scientific community, if I know what to record and in what values it will be. If you can point me in the direction of where to purchase equipment to measure sugar content and proof, or how to make them, I can get them either right now or first week of April. I will have another piece of the puzzle in place with the tools. I wish I was at this point two years ago, but the information took its time finding me. :)

PK Suggests: http://gillesenergies.webs.com remains the best reference resource for small scale fuel ethanol production. Shopping for good pricing on component parts could save a little money. Be sure to review how to use the hand instruments. Additional educational resources are available through the New Distillers at Yahoo Groups and the archives of both the Alcoholfuel forum and the New Distillers forums. DO NOT discuss fuel on the distiller’s forums. They are beverage people and limit discussions to the art and science of distilling.

Please Debunk Myths: When you start your trials this season, please develop a protocol. Suggestion: carefully measure one square meter of rhizomes or stalks and share your data with us. There is no right or wrong number. And it will be nice to learn about ‘your’ cattails. Comments of interest could include: depth of the water, relative cleanliness of water (flow), ambient temperature (night and day—more or less), approximate age of the cattail stand and whatever else you think would be of interest. Be sure to tell us what you put in the mash pot such as shredded rhizomes, common enzymes, % of alcohol, etc. Real numbers will be good to discuss. Thanks for sharing your efforts.


Stripping Stalks: A specialized process for splitting cattail stalks allows better juicing potential. Sugar cane, sweet sorghum, cattail, and several other crops show better juicing and co-product value when processed with pulp extraction and not simple squeezing. The difference in stalk girth is significant when the cattails grow in the presence of urea: the more urea, the more sugar.


Zealous Action: Dig, Scrape Chop, or use standardized farming equipment. One reader states, “Another harvest method might be a bulldozer since trench ponds only need to be about a foot deep. I'd like to see someone fabricate a 12' bucket out of expanded metal to release the water and reduce weight. Then those sweet sugary little rhizomes could get scooped and dumped I assume after the stalks were chopped away manually?”


PK Comments: Whoa! Big Bull. Processing the rhizomes and the stalks can be two entirely different mashing methods; also they are optimized for sugar content at different times of the year. Also, your feedstock should be clean and free of excess dirt, mud and muck.


Cattail roots do not need to be in standing water, but they do need to be in saturated soil. In my opinion, the best use of a bulldozer would be to set up trenches that could be drained during the harvest. And Big Bull, if you feed those sweet stalks to the cows, they will follow you anywhere—especially after cooking in a mash. Cows love a little residual alcohol in their mash which also promoted milk production.


Just a few seed heads will do Ya’—One reader states: The cigars contain the thousands of seed for the next crop and if there were a sheltered workshop or Eli Whitney out there to give us a machine to pluck the fluffy down from the flower it would make good use of by product.

PK Replies: Ideally the seeds are harvested in the fluff stage and planted within a few weeks. The ground only needs to be moist and does not need to be covered with water to sprout the seeds. Young plant may be transplanted in three months to a year. Be sure to check the seed heads to be sure that they are in tact. Be cautions about stepping into a marsh. A curtain rod with a hook on the end and a net below can capture more than enough seeds for most projects.


Another Untapped Resource: Korean investors and scientists are searching the United States for good cattail beds to be used for paper and fiber. Working through the University of Nebraska, several bales of dried cattail stalks and leaves were sent to the University of North Carolina for pulp quality testing. This test batch is reported to have 30% excellent pulp for paper processing. The better news is that with our associate’s superior processing method, more fiber can be preserved without ‘ratting’ the billets. Billets are stacks of stalks cut for processing. Ratting is flailing the biomass to break it down. If you are interested in cattails as a wood pulp replacement (as is Asia) let me know. Scaling down a system for small producers will require several inquiries of interest. It’s like asking an engineer that designs eighteen-wheelers to design a sports car…. And we do have their interest! This is NEW cutting edge investment into cattail as a pulp and paper technology resource and you are among the first to know.



M. Experiments with Biomass Mash: I wonder if a sorghum press would squeeze liquids from the stalks that could be cooked up and 'stilled. And could the residual stalks be chopped into feed additive or just composted? I was going to try the chipper method to chop 'em up even if it takes a couple of passes to reduce the buggers down to grinding size. This is one of the more challenging steps in the process because it eats a fair amount of time and energy.


PK Comments: One of our cattail people reported tearing up a chipper from the tough rhizomes. The stalk can be processed like slaw in a mash; the remains can be added to animal feed.


M’s Frugal Thoughts: I am using salvaged heating oil so some cost stay in check. This is one of those "opportunities" we are all awaiting to get invented and no doubt there is a guy with a wind/water grist mill somewhere who is going to get very rich. I only hope he sacks the stuff in 35# bags so my back can keep up. Keep us posted as you perfect better- more efficient methods.


PK: Grist mill, tub grinder, and whacks with a machete followed by a stone mutate could all work. You are so right about reducing labor. Right now, we simply need investigators. Thanks for the ideas. I recently visited with a man that is actually using a machete. If anyone is taking this much care, please set a grid and map your yield by the square meter. Its a great way to start.

Let’s Talk: Ideas to consider when mashing, fermenting, and distilling. What are you doing?

1. Optimum enzymes in plant growth such as ‘hormone impulses’ are often triggered by physical or climate influence. This kind of enzyme changes the root starch into a stalk sugar.

2. pH adjustments are best related to optimizing microbes that make enzymes to break down complex sugars or starches than to a plant once the sugars/ starchy biomass is exposed.

3. The exposure of sugars can be a physical property in mashing and juicing. Reports from experimenters that have tried simply chopping up the stalks were quite disappointing.

4. For best results consider grinding the rhizomes and shredding or juicing the stalks.

5. When processing stalks, remove the leaves and pre-clean the rhizomes. An ultrasound pre-bath could be ideal if it is available for a number of reasons--and this can be another research option to include in a protocol. Older roots are extremely tough. Ultrasound should remove muck from the outer surface and may somewhat impact the fibrous tissue prior to grinding. A used mechanics' ultrasound machine for cleaning parts or an old ultrasound unit from a medical/ dental office may serve your purposes for bench testing. A medical or dental supply house may have trade-ins available for the asking. My mentor from Florida used a blender for mashing in his bench testing. Another Florida man used a shrubbery mulching machine. Both were amazed at the tenaciousness of the rhizome almost ruining the equipment. Therefore, I recommend first cutting the rhizomes into manageable pieces. Once we develop a commercial formula, we plan to sell an appropriate piece of equipment. Young rhizomes can be processed with a blender or food processer for bench testing but still need to be pre-cut.

6. The Native Americans ground the cattail root (rhizome) into a meal or flour when using it as a sweetening agent. Many of their processing areas were dips in the stones of the creek bed where they pounded the rhizomes with a round rick. Projects in South America plan to use the rhizome as a binding agent in food processing and products

7. SARE has a great graduate student assistance program with a modest sum to support research projects. Please consider cattails if you are a grad student.

8. One simple inexpensive research still is called a 'ministill'. The free plans are published on the 'newdistillers' yahoo forum by bokabob. Australia is the home of many distilling participants primarily based in beverage distilling who love their art and craft. Contact these distillers for practical advice--even on enzyme selection but not directly related to fuel production but rather to starch conversion. Their archives are immense with good 'search' capabilities.

9. One good point to repeat is to develop projects in incremental or modular growth/ development according to return-on-investment. Plans flexibility can become affordable.
10. Incorporate project management outlines and other groundwork essentials before you hire your first employee. Check out Bioenergy Business as presented by WATER.


Preaching and Teaching: Until about two months ago, the only other person that I was aware of actively preaching cattail investigation was David Blume (besides several hundred new-comers that receive the Cattail Histhings newsletters). If you do not have Dave Blume's book, "Alcohol Can Be a Gas", consider adding it to your library. One DB student stated that Dave uses a referactometer in the field to estimate potential biomass sugars. Cattails to Ethanol prints an actual study as submitted to the Department of Energy in the grant summary. We appreciate bench testing or actual runs of feedstock to use as a baseline rather than field estimates. Please send in your figures to share with the group.


During the past couple of months, old cattail researchers seem to be rising out of the swamp. They wish to pick up their studies with the intent to take up the lead in research funding for academic institutions—stimulated by funds availability. If you are an academic researcher, please consider that the world at large needs your input as you move through your test regimes. Thanks for keeping us informed just as you are inspired by our sharing through these newsletters. And thanks for also giving credit where credit is due. BTW, there are literally thousands of scientific papers written about cattails but not much information is devoted to fuel or paper potential. How about trying something new in research? For the rest of us, we will be simply making fuel while the university labs study various comparative anatomies and growth potential. With this ‘weed’ all you really need is wastewater and a good grinder.


Our Harmonious Band Plays On: (A grad student was offered an idea to serve cattail producers with lab products yet has not yet responded to the following suggestion.) Over the past fourteen years I have befriended many excellent researchers and collaborated on a number of projects. And now a number of us band together to become 'associates' with individual businesses that cooperate on projects as necessary. If you [the grad student] decide to move forward with your study as a co-lateral business, we may be able to network clients. A dedicated lab man is needed for biomass/ specimen evaluation during feasibility design. Stages of development require various specialists. Therefore, perhaps our reader-investigators could practice the craft and gather data while making money at the same time. With my travel, it is difficult to maintain multiple facilities and such a service would help new interests get started.


Each associate is responsible for his individual work so that my company contracts the participant as a consultant one project at a time without direct legal affiliations other than the one-by-one contract. There is enough wealth for each of us to enjoy creative and fulfilling lives.


My participation with assisting people requires that I have access to recommendations following experimentation. Some of the simple answers should be shared with the world at large. Proprietary information is available solely to the discoverer; yet we would want access to your dissertation and/ or grant summary. One example of commercialization can be the sale of microbes to clients. I have long lists of future clients that can purchase products from our associates. The lab that also has the ability to make broth, culture strains, and keep a library of microbes is gold plated. Pure cultures from the American Collection cost anywhere from $150 to $350. Of course, an investigator can simply buy commercial products for experimentation.


Our engineers are designing small to mid-sized state-of-the art equipment for bioenergy production including adjunctive technologies. We plan to debut some of these in the near future. Biochemistry is an important part of the big picture.


2010, 2050, and Beyond: Suppose the major fuel suppliers cannot quite reach their mandated goals. Who do you think will be rationed? Who can the limitations of available biofuels most effect? People in the western states are quite spread out without a mass transit. Congress is being pressured into making decisions based on East Coat rationale and zealous environmentalist often have a limited focus. Having your own fuel available sets you apart from some compliance and availability concerns. Expect more and tighter restraints as we move into our next few years of belt-tightening. Be prepared. Grow and process cattails to ethanol.


Community leaders take care of ‘home-base’: Community self-reliance is important to homeland security. Can one grand concept save the country or the world? This new methodology could cover many basic community needs thereby relieving pressure and providing liquid fuel. Use cattail flour meal to provide energy. Let the municipalities eat cake (as Marie Antoinette would say). We must work for family, then community, and then spread out from there. Because we may be headed for a bumpy few years, let's focus on solutions.


As a country we are broke. Any action that helps in healing must be considered. We need a competitive labor market—a workforce without rampant litigation. We need reliable employees. The only thing we are entitled to is freedom. If communities are self-sufficient, we could switch the power to the state governors and down-size DC. It takes a great deal of effort to implement change in a way that will not cost future generations. Consider the 7th generation.


Water Management Companies Petition to LOWER Standards: Instead of lowering standards, we can raise them with cattail remediation in wastewater streams. Several water management companies have petitioned EPA to lower water-quality standards because the need for water is increasing exponentially and they cannot keep up. We need to assure that our local town fathers keep our water clean even though the federal government may try to continue to feed their dinosaurs by lowering standards. So let's stay active on our local level to supply what we know if best for our communities. Consider cattail remediation.


Bioenergy Glossary Can Define Terms: A reader asks…Can you tell me how to quantify about how much methanol one could expect from an acre of cattails? I am on the verge of buying some property in west Texas and will probably put a cattail pond on it to produce my own methanol.


PK Replies: I am just now learning about methanol production from swamps or trash dumps and harvesting said gas. There are Internet forums that specifically discuss methanol. However I will comment on Cattails to Ethanol. Both stalk growth and rhizome growth are optimized by the nutrient value of the water. High urine content in wastewater is very nutritive to the cattails Rhizomes store starch during the dormant cycle of the plant. If you plan to harvest the stalks, then it will be more difficult for the rhizomes to pull down the sugars from the stalks and convert them into starch. Also, be sure to cut the stalk so that several inches remain ABOVE the water line so that the stalk allows the rhizomes to breathe and re-grow.


My mentor focused on rhizome growth. The literature states that cattail reach maturity by two years. One cattail grower reported dynamic new seeding by only a few plants after one year. Seeding is a product of maturation. Rhizomes continue to grow over time and shoots can emerge from intertwined rhizomes or any where along the lateral root system as another means of propagation. The only documented data we have relates to rhizome conversion in a pond that was just over a year old in planting. Therefore, reproduction surveys come from a literary review. The reports on stalk sugars do not have supportive data that I am aware of and I tentatively plan to initiate studies on stalk sugar analysis when funded. I continue to ask the people who share the newsletter list to report on their findings. We need more dedicated participants to send us information. Hopefully this spring will sprout a few reports as well as good fuel ethanol. When an interested party is ready to perform systematic analysis, please contact me to assist in a test protocol that suits your needs as well as helping the rest of us understand your work. Parameters include water quality, climatic conditions, and more. When a person requests help with protocol development we request access to findings. This kind of study could qualify for grants… perhaps small SARE grants can apply. To answer your question, the only figure I can give is from the literature and that is more than 1000 gallons per acre. David Blume projects a far greater number and I look forward to publication on that data.


Still Waiting: I am interested in purchasing a still also. Can you forward me a price for the 6 gallon a day product?


PK Answers: STS has a manufacturing entity bidding on the AirCore (MAC) systems at this time. We assume it will be about a dollar per annual gallon production capacity. Unlike most distillery producers, the MAC series cost less as the size increases. We will keep the price as low as possible. Also, there are a number of kits and plans that can be obtained for nominal fees or even free plans on the Internet. Many people who are handy with tools construct small stills. Even the little MiniStill from the New Distiller’s forum is adequate to learn distilling and test feedstock. MAC series = MiniAirCore, MidiAieCore, and MaxiAirCore. Patents pending.


Officially On Line: I accepted a consulting position with an international firm. They are to provide clients and I am paid by the hour. Primarily the job description is in explaining bioenergy and giving advice to small investors. I see this opportunity as a way to introduce equipment and methods that can be contracted separately. I do not expect significant income from the consulting, but can bank off the referrals. (Pun intended) Wish me a client or two.


TS Commented in January: Awesome newsletter this month! One of the entries looks familiar. February will be the start of my project with cattails. I am going to buy a food disposal, the type that is mounted under a kitchen sink. Going with a 1/3 hp model for starters. It will be mounted under an old cast iron sink that was here when I moved in, with a 5 gallon bucket under it to start. Need to find out how much water and how fine the rhizomes come out, if it takes two passes, so be it, if only one then one of my conversion barrels will go under it. If it works well, then we can pass that along for low cost processing ideas.


PK Confirms: Yes, a garbage disposal should work well for the rhizomes. Hopefully you will find a heavy duty one. One of our people from the past used a small garbage disposal that was abandoned from a remodeled kitchen and it didn't hold up. We look forward to a great report. The consistency of the mash should approach beverage production consistencies. The more area of the concentrated starch that is exposed, the easier it will be for the yeasti beastie to munch. The mash should become more liquefied as it ferments. We need people like you to give us reports and estimate workable proportions—develop recipes…. I would tend to be a little generous with the water in the beginning because of the concentration of polysaccharides. Balancing the pH may be easier with less water.


The Acid Truth: When adding acid, start with less than what you expect. Then, as you near your desired pH only add very small amounts incrementally. Our lab man was horrified with the heavy hand used by the technicians during practice batches for processing a number of various feedstocks. Each feedstock responded differently to the addition of acids. Some quickly ramped into desired ranges and some needed more, and more, and more acid added. Battery acid is cheap and available at most any automotive store.


A Barrel of Fun: A reader laments: My problem right now is finding enough plastic barrels, since I want to do the conversion and fermenting in them. They take the corrosion of that process a bit better than the steel drums. Once I find enough larger tanks, or can afford to buy some, I will move up a bit. Until then it only takes four barrels to get a 250 gallon still charged. I'm planning an 8" packed column to start, and I will probably end up buying 16' of it in 4' sections, unless my incredible scrounging skills uncover some pipe, like they found the tanks for the boiler. Most of what I build is from parts I have scrounged, even my cars.

PK Suggests: Smaller, strong-resistant barrels can usually be obtained from soft drink companies such as Coca Cola. The barrels we obtained in the Rio Grande Valley cost $10 each and proved to be an excellent container for mashing and fermenting. The most expensive purchases were the various pumps because we demonstrated various feedstock mashes side by side which requirred a pump for each batch. A late cold front with heavy gusts of wind greatly impacted the temperatures of the demonstration batches. The total success was amazing considering the demonstration sight and the trials of a new technical crew attempting to show 'how to'. As we understand… we all of us have our 'trials'. Please share yours.


TS Is Ready for Spring. Are you? I have permission to harvest another 4 acres of cattails a mile down the road. Also I can use the backhoe to get them if I provide the fuel for it, and of course don't break it while running it. So this summer should prove to be quite educational provided I get enough rhizomes, a bit of pipe, and my methane power plants up and running. The plan is to document everything as I build the new still, get it operational, and process the cattails for fuel. I have been having somewhat heated discussions about ethanol of late, and I am itching for some proof of yield, ease of processing, and general low cost of fuel since methane made from yard waste will be my heat source. Now not only do I want to get my cars running on it, and provide heat for the house and shop in the process, but I want to show the world how anyone can make enough fuel for themselves, and perhaps the community, all with natural energy and weeds.


PK Comments: Thank you for this inspirational email. You will find mature rhizomes in a well-established stand of natural growth. They will be so intertwined that a flood could not wash them away. Read the information in the book Small Scale Fuel Ethanol Production: Cattails to Ethanol to understand more about their growth potential and patterns. And remember as an invasive species cattails tend to grow back. And this is a good thing!


Thanks for the opportunity to visit about cattails. I have much more to report, but eight pages are enough for one issue. More later…. Best Wishes, Peggy

Draft Animals

I grabbed this post by Dave Thomas from the biochar forum. He muses on how we might do better in the husbandry of male beef animals. I heartily concur that there is room for improvement.

I see a fit with the advent of woodlot management. These are huge land tracts unsuitable for crops but suitable for a well managed tree growing operation. I have posted earlier on the need for refugia type thinking there rather than the present monoculture approach.

I have also posted on the possibility of reforesting the Sahara. All these need a population of ruminants to process the ground cover and possibly the leaf litter. This is likely to create a huge surplus in excess of meat demand that can be offset by aging the herds.

In the meantime, it is obvious that a marketing opportunity exists in sale of properly aged mature beef, properly attested and priced. None of this beef is other than grass fed, unless it is fattened at the end in a feed lot. Since it clearly tastes superior to much younger beef, the differential can be worth a lot. Animal record keeping today is excellent, so that supply integrity is possible.

It will take a handful of dedicated ranchers to launch this market. The restaurant trade will buy in immediately and introduce it to the public.

Dave emphasizes the integration of cattle with crop land which was the dominant agricultural protocol before the advent of factory farming. I certainly concur, but with the added improvement of integrating adjacent woodlands properly. That also opens the door to other ruminants including buffalo and dear.

However, the day of the oxen is long gone, and so is the day of the scythe. Our time is far better used, unless we are hobbyists. I wonder how many folks still know how to properly sharpen a scythe. I wonder even if my muscles still retain the proper memories.



RE: Draft animals: As I have indicated on the list before, A current supply for draft animals in training already exists in the form of dairy bull calves, which are currently either killed and dumped, as happens with many Jersey or Guernsey calves, or turned into baby and pet food or raised as either veal, or raised as beef; usually in a feedlot. A lucky few end up grazing pasture until they are turned into locker beef. Fewer still live a long life as draft animals (oxen).

On a personal level, I once ended the suffering of an ox raised from a dairy calf, (Brown Swiss Breeding) who lived a good life grazing pasture and eating hay and grain and performing useful work for sixteen years, but finally his legs, feet and respiratory system started to fail. We humanely slaughtered him, then canned the meat and boiled the bones for broth. He weighed, in his prime, somewhere around a ton. Now that is a lot of tasty, grass fed beef.

Most steer beef cattle today are slaughtered around two years of age. In my experience such a young animal, although it provides tender meat, is not as rich in real beef flavor. Having experienced well aged meat (That is mature beef, hung until tender in the cooler) from an older, well finished grass fed animals, I can honestly say I agree with real beef epicures in this opinion. Economics, not necessarily what is best for the animals or the consumers, dictates what occurs in today's developed world beef industry. Ideally, in my mind dairy bull calves would be raised as oxen, then humanely slaughtered at an advanced age.

Far from being in conflict with human food production, the grazing animal should form the basis for human food production. The grass/legume pasture - grazing animal complex is the original and best form of no-till production and performs multiple environmental benefits, including: Carbon sequestration, fertility building, production of excellent quality grass-fed animal products as human food and other useful products, recycling of crop residues, feedstock for compost and methane generation and the harvest unit through grazing for pasture cropping as per the posts about this practice in Australia recently.

Properly managed, integrated crop-livestock systems leads to, in my experience again, less land needed for actual production of edible crops such as vegetables, fruit and grains. I rotate a small portion of my one acre parcel from pasture to garden regularly. The pasture builds up fertility and I then apply the compost from livestock bedding to the garden area. The dead pasture plants really provide excellent "tilth" to the garden area. Rotating pasture with cropping essentially eliminates the supposed conflict between livestock forage and human food production. Here I am thinking of grain production as human food production. Vegetable production actually requires a small percentage of land area compared to grain production. Although here again, grain can be rotated with vegetable production on the same ground.

In reality, as fond as I am of good pancakes, bread, and hominy, whether we actually need grain for adequate human nutrition is debatable. For example, look at the websites discussing the "Cave Man diet" and the proponents of the "Atkins' diet". Some argue, however, that we still need grain to feed pigs and poultry, which is also debatable. It appears that if we fill our bellies mainly with vegetables and some fruits and nuts and top it off with grass fed animal products, grass fed poultry products, fish, and other seafood we can keep our Omega 3 levels up where they belong and keep our waistlines in good condition. I tried the Atkins diet for a while and lost 35 pounds and felt great, until the eating of nuts and seeds twice put me in the hospital with bad bouts of diverticulitis. Not everyone can eat the same way; I found out the hard way.

Ultimately, I think there is a role for both animals, draft and otherwise, and sustainably produced biofuels integrated with biochar. For example I am working with a gentleman growing sunflowers for tractor and automobile fuel. The integration of the grazing animal comes in where the expressed sunflower seed residue is used as a great livestock feed supplement, high in beneficial oils; the animals can also graze the crop residue after harvest, or even graze cover crops planted before and after sunflowers to conserve fertility. I anticipate that remaining crop residue not grazed can be used for biochar,biooil, syngas feed stock in conjunction with small wood harvested from orchard trees, nut trees, windbreak trees, berry vines and shrubs.

Not everyone knows that Rudolf Diesel actually intended for the engine he developed to be fueled from agriculturally produced oils, such as peanut oil. Whether he envisioned an agriculture independent of draft animals or not, the fact remains, that draft animals don't efficiently provide all of the forms of energy needed on a truly self sufficient farm. Therefore some form of fuel for powering engines, cook stoves and home heating is or will always be needed for a truly sustainable farm.

Following up on Diesel's vision, I can envision the small garden farm of the not too distant future using vegetable oils as biofuels to run engines and possibly to heat and cook a home, supplemental to wood heat. Manure and other feedstocks, possibly including human waste, can be used as a source of feedstock for methane production; and some wood and crop residue which the animals don't eat can be used as fuel directly or for a compost feedstock and/or for a biochar/biooil/ syngas feedstock.
Draft animals and human labor can still perform much of the field work. For example, I can still mow a significant amount of forage with my European style scythe after work and on weekends. Oxen can haul the forage to the barn or haystack. Many people can be profitably employed in the various aspects of such an envisioned agriculture. But the real seller, in addition to the sustainability aspect, is that because so many of the owner/worker's physical and social needs are met in such a system, the needs for vast amounts of money just to survive is greatly reduced. Therefore, such a system is a buffer to some degree of economic swings that currently affect society so greatly. I think Thomas Jefferson would be pleased.

Mt Redoubt Wakes Up

Thought I would share this. Not a particularly big event nor likely to get larger. But it reminds us that a lot of bid ones are up there and they can surprise us.

Alaska volcano Mount Redoubt erupts 5 times

By MARY PEMBERTON, Associated Press Writer Mary Pemberton, Associated Press Writer – 18 mins ago

WILLOW, Alaska – Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano erupted five times overnight, sending an ash plume more than 9 miles into the air in the volcano's first emissions in nearly 20 years. Residents in the state's largest city were spared from falling ash, though fine gray dust fell Monday morning on small communities north of Anchorage.

"It's coming down," Rita Jackson, 56, said Monday morning at a 24-hour grocery store in Willow, about 50 miles north of Anchorage. She slid her fingers across the hood of her car, through a dusting of ash.

Ash from Alaska's volcanos is like a rock fragment with jagged edges and has been used as an industrial abrasive. It can injure skin, eyes and breathing passages. The young, the elderly and people with respiratory problems are especially susceptible to ash-related health problems. Ash can also cause damage engines in planes, cars and other vehicles.

Alaska Airlines on Monday canceled 19 flights because of the ash. In-state carrier Era Aviation canceled four, and Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage kept 60 planes, including fighter jets, cargo aircraft and a 747 commercial plane, in shelters.

Five of 20 Alaska state senators were scheduled on the morning flight from Anchorage to Juneau, which was canceled. As a result, consideration of legislation, including a resolution accepting federal stimulus funds, was delayed.

The first eruption, in a sparsely populated area across Cook Inlet from the Kenai Peninsula, occurred at 10:38 p.m. Sunday and the fifth happened at 4:30 a.m. Monday,

The wind took the ash cloud away from Anchorage, toward Willow and Talkeetna, near Mount McKinley, North America's largest mountain.

There were reports of a quarter-inch of ash in Trapper Creek and up to a half-inch at a lakeside lodge near Skwentna.

Dave Stricklan, a hydrometeorogical technician with the National Weather Service, expected very fine ash.

"Just kind of a light dusting," he said. He said the significant amount of ash probably dropped immediately, right down the side of the volcano.

"The heavier stuff drops out very quickly, and then the other stuff filters out. There's going to be a very fine amount of it that's going to be suspended in the atmosphere for quite some time," he said. "The finer ash is going to travel farther, and any ash can affect aviation safety."

Jackson said she was taking a sip of coffee when she tasted something funny on her lips — ash. She was experiencing other affects, too.

"My eyes are itching really bad," she said as she hurried to get out of the store and to her car.

Jackson, who unexpectedly got the day off, left the grocery store to secure a motorcycle, snowmachine and vehicles under protective blue tarps at home.

The 10,200-foot Redoubt Volcano, roughly 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, last erupted during a four-month period from 1989-90.

In its last eruption, Redoubt sent ash 150 miles away into the path of a KLM jet and its four engines flamed out. The jet dropped more than 2 miles before the crew was able to restart all engines and land safely. The plane required $80 million in repairs.

The volcano became restless earlier this year. The observatory had warned in late January that an eruption could occur at any time.

Increased earthquake activity over the past 48 hours prompted scientists to raise the alert level for Mount Redoubt on Sunday.

On Sunday morning, 40 to 50 earthquakes were being recorded every hour.

A steam plume rising about 1,000 feet above the mountain peak was observed Saturday.

Three seismometers on the mountain were damaged in the eruption but seven others remained in place, said observatory geophysicist John Power.

The observatory planned a helicopter flight to the mountain Monday afternoon to sample ash, repair equipment and monitor flooding along the Drift River, which flows from a glacier of the same name.

Power said the history of past eruptions of Redoubt indicate the volcano could erupt again in the next few days or weeks.

"It's something we need to stay prepared for," he said.

Tata Nano

It is not pretty, but neither was the Volkswagen. Recall that the selling price for Volkswagen in the late sixties was just under $2,000. That is now forty years ago and a major inflation ago. Recall also that the majority of the major brands were created by entering the market with the cheapest solution. Who can forget the early Toyota?

The new vehicle standard is going to be light and electric because they are going to be range sensitive from now on. Everyone will be conscious that their personal weight and passenger weight is a major fraction of total load. This was rarely the case before.

Since we will be so directly conscious of total load, just like in an airplane, we will begin making our choices accordingly. At least until the third generation super capacitor power pack comes out with enough juice to carry a ton or so a thousand miles.

I see real merit in a short two seater vehicle not dissimilar to this. Getting rid of the unloved and barely used rear seat is a great weight saver. Right now, such a design would lengthen the effective range from current battery technology.

Manufacturing technology has clearly evolved and this is a massive shift into a brand new automotive market that is many time larger than the present market in terms of vehicle volume.

World's cheapest car is launched

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7957671.stm

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44347000/jpg/_44347595_tata_car_416.jpg

The Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, has been launched in India.
Costing just 100,000 rupees ($1,979; £1,366), the Nano will now go on sale across India next month, with deliveries starting in July.

Tata hopes the 10-foot (3-metre) long, five-seater car will be cheap enough to encourage millions of Indians to trade up from their motorcycles.

Tata owner Ratan Tata has described the Nano as a "milestone". Analysts say it will not make a profit for six years.

Tata's managing director Ravi Kant said that from the first orders, a ballot would then select the initial 100,000 people to get their Nano.

"I think we are at the gates of offering a new form of transport to the people of India and later, I hope, other markets elsewhere in the world," Mr Tata added.

"I hope it will provide safe, affordable four-wheel transportation to families who till now have not been able to own a car."

Environmentalists are warning that the Nano will add to India's already clogged up roads, and pollution levels will soar. Tata says the Nano will be the least polluting car in India.

Factory row

The four-door Nano has a 33bhp, 624cc engine at the rear.

The basic model has no airbags, air conditioning, radio, or power steering.

However, more luxurious versions will be available.

Han Joachim Braun on Wheat Fungus

This is a red alert that warns us that a rust variety is spreading that has the ability to collapse huge sections of the global wheat crop. And as is pointed out, it has almost passed in living memory in North America. I do recall it been discussed in the fifties when it scared farmers of wheat if a better alternative existed.

The vulnerability is very real and can abruptly slash wheat harvests almost anywhere by forty to eighty percent

This reports on the emergency action now underway, but as observed, new seed stocks need time to be grown and distributed. In the meantime, let us hope that customs are now doubly vigilant, and ask anyone returning from the affected countries it they visited farms there. This time it is for real.

That it has not devastated China and India is only because Iran is suffering severe droughts.

I actually cannot see us dodging this particular bullet in the next couple of years. A weather change in Iran and an air traveler can do the rest just too easily.

Global Wheat Crop Threatened by Fungus: A Q&A with Han Joachim Braun

A new strain of a devastating fungus could impact wheat crops the world over--and scientists are scrambling to nip it in the bud
By David Biello

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=global-wheat-crop-threatened-by-fungus&sc=CAT_INNO_20090320

In 1999 agricultural researchers discovered in Uganda a new variety of stem rust—a fungus that infects wheat plants and wiped out 40 percent of U.S. wheat harvests in the 1950s. Millions of spores have spread from Uganda to neighboring Kenya and beyond to Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen, wiping out as much as 80 percent of a country's harvest. In fact, the only thing that has stopped the rust from devastating the breadbaskets of China, India and Ukraine has been several years of drought in Iran.

The world should hope for three more dry years in that region, because that's how long it will take to breed enough seeds of wheat strains that are resistant to the fungus, according to Hans Joachim Braun, director of the global wheat program at leading agricultural research institute, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico. An international symposium on the agricultural threat was held this week in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, and ScientificAmerican.com spoke with Braun, who attended, to glean the latest developments on efforts to defeat the fungus.

[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]

What is the problem we are facing?

Ten years ago we identified a new stem rust race in Uganda—that's why it's called Ug99. More than 90 percent of the world's wheat varieties are susceptible to it. Clearly, this represents a major threat to production because, historically, stem rust was the most important wheat disease.

In the late 1950s stem rust was the first disease for which agricultural scientists developed resistant wheat strains. Resistance was so good that for 50 years, we didn't worry. Norman Borlaug [1970 Nobel Peace Prize–winner and developer of resistant wheat] saw the susceptibility to Ug99 and he rang the alert bell. The Global Rust Initiative was established then to fight stem rust on a global level.

Some 300 to 350 people involved in wheat breeding, and particularly rust resistance, gathered this week [at the international symposium] to discuss the latest progress in developing varieties resistant to stem rust.

How big is the problem?

Stem rust has been confirmed in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen, Sudan and Iran. Historically, central and eastern Africa is a big center for new rust races. We know that it spreads very fast from East Africa to Asia, southern Africa, even Australia.

From our monitoring system, the rust from eastern Africa is already moving into Asia. It is already established in Iran. Then it can travel via Afghanistan to Pakistan into India and then China. That happened before in 1986.

Back then, a yellow rust race was discovered in East Africa. Within six years, it moved from there to India and caused more than a billion dollars in wheat losses, mainly in Turkey, Syria, Iran and Pakistan.

We have what is called a Rustmapper, which continuously monitors wind movements. At any time, we can look up where there is an outbreak of rust disease and check the direction in which the wind is blowing. That allows us to predict where to look for rust movement.

Based on wind direction, we've seen spores move in 72 hours from Yemen via Pakistan to India and up to China. At any point, if it rains and the spores come down, we could have a new epidemic.

Remember, there are billions of spores produced once a susceptible variety is infected, so it multiplies very fast in the right environment. They go into the air, are carried by the wind and, in a short period, infect large areas. Last year, we were lucky that Iran had a very sever drought so the rust would not be multiplying. I am sorry for Iranian farmers but it really protected the world from Ug99.

How was the yellow rust stopped?

We identified new sources of resistance and replaced susceptible varieties with new varieties. In the case of Ug99, this process is slower because resistance can only be tested in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Every wheat breeder who knows that stem rust could be a problem is sending breed lines to Kenya and Ethiopia for screening. Some 20,000 to 30,000 lines have been tested for response to this rust. The world really has to thank these two countries for making their resources available. Otherwise, we could not screen for resistance to this disease and the world would just have to wait for this disease to arrive.

What has the testing found so far?

We have found wheat that is resistant to the fungus. This [symposium] brings rust researchers together so they can exchange what new genes are available to fight the infection. Most of the rust-resistant genes are not effective anymore.

Generally, rust resistance is based on one gene. Either the plant is resistant or susceptible. A spore lands on the surface of the leaf. The spore germinates. The plant responds [if it's resistant]. The cells that the spore tries to open kill themselves and the spore cannot grow and also dies. This is a typical resistance reaction.

But it only takes one mutation on the rust side, and then it can overcome this resistance. Such resistance genes typically last for four or five years. Then nature produces a mutant that can overcome this resistance.

CIMMYT has developed another approach where we try to bring together four or five minor genes. None of these individual genes provide total resistance or immunity but each reduces the infection by 15 to 20 percent. If you bring four or five genes like that together, you can bring the level of resistance very high. Then a mutation that overcomes one gene doesn't cause as much of a problem.

That worked with leaf rust. We are now producing lines for stem rust that combine such minor genes. We have identified such lines in Kenya, and USAID [U.S. Agency for International Development] has provided funds for seed production in countries such as Ethiopia, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The multiplication of resistant varieties is well underway.

How vulnerable are countries like Australia, Canada, the U.S. and Ukraine, which provide the bulk of the world's wheat?

They are as vulnerable as the rest of the world. Seventy-five percent of the varieties in the U.S. are susceptible. Historically, stem rust was the major disease in Australia, U.S., Canada and Ukraine. Their [temperate] environments allow the rust to move fast.

Imagine a tourist in a wheat field in Kenya. Millions of spores cling to his trousers and shoes. He doesn't wash them and goes into a wheat field that is ready to be infected. You only need a few spores.

The most dangerous transmission is through people. A very virulent yellow rust was introduced to Australia by a farmer who visited Europe.

Will farmers plant these new strains?

We must provide farmers with varieties that are better than what they currently grow. Farmers haven't seen stem rust for 50 years so they will just ignore [the threat]. We have to have strains with 10 percent higher yield, otherwise they won't change.

Will these new strains offer benefits for other problems, like drought?

We cannot develop a cultivar only for one specific trait. They have to have a package. That package includes drought tolerance, yield, ability to withstand nutrient deficiency, and resistance to a wide spectrum of disease.

I am concerned about investment in wheat research. The private sector has limited interest in investing in wheat. Most wheat research is done by public institutions. But we could have similar progress in wheat like genetically modified cotton, canola and soy. Five or six big international companies invest more than a billion dollars each year in maize research. That's twice as much as the budget of all [public sector] international agricultural research centers.

Transgenic wheat [which incorporates modified or imported genes] would be interesting. But we're not allowed to use it. No country has released a genetically modified wheat. If we could use genetic modification, that would be a new road to address production constraints in wheat.

Will the new cultivars be susceptible to some new form of rust?

If we have only major genes the [new strains] will not last very long, that's why [CIMMYT] is pushing this minor-gene, or durable-gene, resistance concept. Bring together four or five genes [where] each has a smaller effect. [Combine] all five [of these] genes, each of which provides 20 percent resistance, and you may have zero infection. This resistance will last much longer than [that] based on only one gene.

Have farmers started planting the new strains?

We did an emergency multiplication last summertime. We made 3.5 tons of a total of 12 resistant lines. This seed has been sent to the six countries I mentioned earlier, plus Turkey. The multiplication is going well. The lines will produce all together several hundred tons of seed in these countries.

Larger areas will be planted this and next fall, then the year after that [the seed will] also be given to farmers. What we really need, what we really pray for, is another three to four years where the environment is not conducive to a stem rust epidemic. Then we would have sufficient varieties out there to avoid disaster.