2008 National Environmental
Conference, SPU-QC
“Learn recycling from Nature – the passing of seasons that govern the cycle of life.”
- AVR
Smog (smoke and fog) blankets a city for days or weeks. Smog comes down as acid rain.
“Everything on earth and in the universe undergoes a cycle, a beginning
and an end, and in between a period of growth, stability and senescence.
Yet no cycle could succeed unless it is part of an interrelationship with
and among other cycles in the biological and physical world, each lending
a vital role aimed at a holistic and perpetual oneness apparently designed
by an unknown hand.” - AVR
Dr Abe V Rotor
Conference Resource Person
When
asked what is the best way to keep “balance of nature”, an old man living by a small
mountain lake atop Mt Pulog answered, “Leave Nature alone.”
I
expected a different answer because the book says man is the “guardian” of
living things, and of all creation for that matter.
But how
could it be when the earth is five billion years old and man’s arrival is not
earlier than two million years ago?
The
difference in viewpoint is further aggravated by direct conflict between man
and nature throughout the ages. And our
Darwinian view that survival is an ultimate struggle.
Then this
relationship took a different turn. Now the enemy of nature is man.
“The ultimate test of any civilization
is not in its inventions and deeds;
but the endurance of Mother Nature
in keeping up with man’s endless needs.”
- avr
But such
thought is folly. We are still governed by the laws of nature. Our advantage is not necessarily the
advantage of nature, and vice versa. Man’s periodicity of time and space is so brief;
it is not even a wink of nature.
Now allow
me to take up the subject assigned to me – does recycling enhance sustainability?
On the point of nature yes. Let’s look
into these phenomena.
1. Lightning is Nature’s quickest and most
efficient converter and recycler, instant manufacturer of nitrates, phosphates,
sulfates; it burns anything on its path, recharges ions. Lightning sustains the
needs of the biosphere, it is key to biodiversity.
2. Fire is the Nature’s second tool. While fire
is indeed destructive, in the long run, fields, grasslands and forests are
given new life by it. Fire is a test of survival of the fittest. It re-arranges
organisms and assigns them in their respective places.
It gives chance to younger members, such as trees in a forest, to take over the
older ones, rejuvenating the whole forest itself. It is the key to the continuity of life.
3. Volcanoes erupt to recycle the elements
from the bowels of the earth to replenish the spent landscape, so with
submarine volcanoes that keep the balance of the marine ecosystems, including
those at the deep ocean floor.
The
Tale of the Potted Tree
A scientist planted in a pot a tree
seedling 1/2 kg in weight, 1/2 meter
tall. He placed 20 kg of soil, and
watered the plant regularly. After one year the sapling weighed 5 kg and
reached 2 m in height. The weight of the soil is still the same – 20 kilos more
or less.
But where did the incremental biomass (4 1/2
kg) come from? Gain in biomass is stored energy (of the Sun) + stored matter (water
from the soil, and Carbon Dioxide from the air.) This is the Principle of Photosynthesis,
which is the foundation of a complex system of energy flow in the biosphere – a
system than encompasses interrelationships between and among organisms through
a food web.
- Perpetual
Rhythm of Recycling on the grassland, field and forest.
- This
helps explain Homeostasis or dynamic balance in any ecosystem such
as the
What are the
practical applications of this phenomenon?
- When
we eat rice, we get that energy and release it in the form of work
- When
we burn firewood we release that energy in the form of heat and light.
- When
we step of the gas we release a bit of the sun stored millions of years
ago.
- A
compost pile shrinks and releases heat and gas.
- Wildfire
clears forests, smoothers pasture; carcasses become part of soil; farm
wastes become organic fertilizer.
The
Laws of Nature always prevail
•
Seasons, weather and climate
•
Life cycle and alternation of generations
•
Food chain, food web, food pyramid
•
Continental drift, volcanism, ice age
•
Naturally occurring Cycles –
- Carbon
- Nitrogen
- Phosphorous
- Calcium
- Water
- Other elements and compounds.
Be keen with the Continuity and Perpetual Rhythm in Nature
•
Rhizobium
bacteria restore N balance in soil.
•
A forest or pasture grows back after fire.
•
A volcano erupts, lava settles
into fertile soil.
•
Termites break cellulose into
simpler compounds.
•
Regeneration follows a typhoon or flood.
•
Tides and currents keep the sea in a state of balance.
The key
is Homeostasis or Dynamic Balance is the ability of Mother Earth to adjust with
changing conditions through time.
Living to Non-living, and Back
Organisms are born; they grow, reproduce,
then die. Inorganic matter is
transformed into organic matter, and back. Elements form compounds in
the non-living world (nitrates, phosphates, sulfates, etc.), to organic
compounds (amino acids to proteins; fatty acids to fats and oils, etc) in the
body of living organisms.
Recycling in home and community gardening includes
composting, raising of animals and fish, integrated with beautification, health
and nutrition.
Recycling leads to the development of many products.
Fruits in season that otherwise go to waste are made into table wine. Typhoon
or drought affected sugarcane make excellent natural vinegar and molasses.
Recycling with the Beast of Burden. The Carabao is the most efficient feed
converter, a living garbage processor. Its digestive system can extract
sufficient nutrients from roughage even during long dry spell.
Recycling through range poultry. Crossbred
with our native chicken, these chicken thrive on palay and corn, forage,
leftovers, ground shell, etc. They are more economical to produce, tastier and
free of antibiotic residues, and growth hormones.
Recycling with Goats. Anything that grows in the field
is food of goats, from weeds to crop residues. Goats are excellent gleaners,
leaving no waste on the farm after harvest.
Recycling helps in controlling destructive organisms
such as the mosquito, which is food of fish, spider and bat.
Recycling in home and community gardening includes
composting, raising of animals and fish, integrated with beautification, health
and nutrition.
Recycling wastes from wet markets Vegetable
trimmings, and waste from fish and animals require efficient collection,
segregation and processing into biogas and organic fertilizer.
Recycling is building farm ponds at the
basin of fields to store rain water and runoff water for summer use. It is also
useful in duck raising and fish culture.
Recycling means maximized impounding of
rain water and runoff water through efficient watershed management to insure
all year round supply of clean water of lakes and ponds for domestic and farm
use.
Recycling is building a multipurpose Small
Water Impounding Project (SWIP) for recreation, irrigation, fishery, and
power generation.
Don’t waste Nature’s Gifts - tap them
instead. Examples: Lantana, natural pesticide; oregano, natural medicine; chichirica,
cancer drug; pandan, spice-condiment; and eucalyptus, liniment and
cold drops; bunga de China
The
Principle of Recycling
Recycling in nature through the action of
microorganisms: bacteria, algae, protists (amoeba, diatoms), blue green algae
Recycling of fibrous materials with fungi.
Other than roughage and fuel, rice hay is used as substrate for mushroom
growing. The spent materials decompose
easily into organic fertilizer.
Nature’s nutrient converters are simple life
forms such as lichens, algae, mosses and ferns silently working on inert
materials, converting them into nutrients for higher organisms.
We put back to Nature what we do not use. So
that it will be used in the second generation, in the next season, in another
process, and by other users. Recycling is a continuing process; like a circle
(continuum). Recycling helps homeostasis, increases production, enhances
sustainable productivity.
Recycling is attained through different methods:
•
Biological –
Trichoderma, a fungus, in composting
•
Enzymatic –
Wild sunflower in compost, urea in hay
•
Mechanical
– Shedding, decortication
•
Fermentation
– Silage, retting, biogas digester
•
Burning – Rice
hull ash
•
Any combination of two or more of these methods
So what are the elements that are
recycled? Let’s take as example the
naturally occurring elements in the human body, as a reference.
Farmers
should recycle rice hay back to the soil, and must not burn it. This is the reason. These are major nutrients removed from soil
by the rice crop. Here is a comparison
between the amounts absorbed in the straw as compared to those present in the
grain. (Grain versus straw, kg nutrient/MT)
•
Nitrogen: 10.5 - 7.0
•
Phosphorus: 4.6 – 2.3
•
Potassium: 3.0 - 17.5
•
Magnesium: 1.5 - 2.0
•
Calcium: 0.5 - 3.5
Rice straw contains 85-90 percent of
potassium (K) of the biomass. Thus much
greater amounts of K must be applied to maintain soil supply where straw is
removed.
By recycling rice straw after harvest we
compensate for the poor efficiency of the crop to use soil nutrients. Generally we get little from the fertilizer
we invested in our crop. Typical fertilizer efficiencies are as follows:
•
30 to 60 % for N,
•
10 to 35 % for P, and
•
15 to 30% for K.
Recycling of rice by-products mainly straw and hull
increases yield and reduces cost of production . Before recycling anything, reduce
potential waste through good quality control. Reduce post harvest loss in rice that
runs to 40 % of the harvested palay.
The
7 Rs in Waste Management
- Reduce - plan to limit potential waste
- Replace with environment-friendly
materials
- Regulate
depends on
effective governance
- Recycle
- re-use in
original or new form.
- Replenish. “Pay back” what you get from
nature.
- Reserve
for
tomorrow, next generation, posterity.
- Revere
- reverence
for life, respect creation.
The Limits and Drawback of
Recycling
Phenomena vs Man-induced Disasters - Floods which are accompanied by erosion and
siltation do occur, but become frequent and worst with the destruction of
watershed.
Recycling on the farm should avoid
non-biodegradable materials such as
•
Plastics
•
Oils
•
Metals
•
Shells, rocks, glass
Watch out for toxic materials
•
Toxic metals: Cadmium, Mercury, Lead
•
Hospital and medical wastes, including
radioactive materials
•
Pesticide residues, especially dioxin
•
Industrial wastes, like acids, Freon, alkalis
Oil Spill Recycling – no way.
• Not with hydrocarbon compounds; not in the
case of oil spill. The Petron oil spill in Guimaras in 2005 destroyed thousands
of hectares of marine and terrestrial irreversibly upsetting ecosystems and
depriving the residents of their livelihood.
Heavily polluted Pasig River
Recyling is not recommended where pollution is heavy and unabated such as
this mudflat. Silt in clean environment
is excellent garden soil.
Inefficient technology generates wastes.
•
Such is the case in sugar milling as observed
at CADP, Nasugbu, Batangas. Sugarcane bagasse continues to accumulate in
spite of its many uses as fuel, glass making, manufacture of paper and
cardboard.
•
Many companies simply throw their waste into
waterways. Example: Mine tailings are
simply dumped into the river gorge of Benguet, flowing down the sea and
polluting rice fields.
Nature Prayer
When my days are done,
let me lay down to sleep
on sweet breeze and earth
in the shade of trees
I planted in youth
and old;
and if this were my last,
make, make others live
that they carry on
the torch,
while my dust falls
to where new life begins –
even an atom
let me be with you
dear Mother Earth.
- avr
References
1. Cabiokid (2008) PowerPoint presentation by Bert Peeters
3. IRRI (2002) Rice Production Special Supplement, Los Baños, Laguna
4. PCARRD (1999) Processing and Utilization of Crop Residues, fibrous
Agro-Industrial By-Products, and Food Waste Materials for Livestock & Poultry Feeding, DOST
5. Rotor AV (2004) The Living with Nature Handbook UST Publishing House
6. Rotor AV (2007) Living with Nature in Our Times, UST Publishing House
7. Rotor AV (2008) Living with Folk Wisdom, UST Publishing House
8. Rotor AV (2007) Learning Biology PowerPoint presentation
Acknowledgement: Internet Photos
No comments:
Post a Comment