A good friend of mine has two very life-like bees tattooed on her back, one on either shoulder blade. When asked their significance, she will happily explain that they are a personal reminder of the destruction and mayhem we humans wreck upon our environment. “Bees?” You might ask. “Not a beloved Hometree, toppled by greedy contractors amidst fire and brimstone?”
Interestingly enough bees are an apt reflection of environmental damage. An extreme reduction in the number of honey bees (Apis mellifera to you Latin lovers), feral and commercial, has been recorded over the past several decades. The mysterious phenomenon was dubbed “colony collapse disorder” or CCD in 2006, by which time some areas were reporting colony losses of up to 90% according to USDA. Why mysterious? CCD is characterized by a sudden, complete absence of bees in a colony (including dead bees…spooky, eh?). There is, however, a presence of “capped brood,” i.e. unhatched baby bees, which adult bees would normally never abandon. The vacant colonies also typically contain well stocked larders of both honey and bee pollen, which remain untouched by other bee colonies for some time after they are abandoned. Confirmed cases of CCD have been recorded in 24 different states, portions of Canada, India, Brazil, and parts of Europe. During the winter of 2008/2009, a total loss of 28.6% of commercial honey bee colonies was recorded in the U.S. – 15% of which was confirmed as CCD related.
Loss of the honey bee population would not only be a disastrous event for a certain honey loving bear, but for all of us. Bees aren’t just little honey making machines; they are a very important link in our economy. The bee product industry in the state of Georgia alone generates $70 million per year through the sale of honey, beeswax, queen bees and package bees. Apis mellifera are responsible for the pollination of thousands of plant species, including those we humans depend on for food. A full 1/3 of the human diet can be traced back to bee pollination, a service they kindly provide free of charge. A Canadian study estimated that the annual benefit of bee pollination totaled above $443 million per year. In 2000, a study at Cornell University estimated the value of U.S. crops that are entirely dependent on bee pollination exceeds $15 billion. The economic value bees provide, however, extends far beyond food crops. Bee pollination accounts for over 16% of flowering plant species in the world, sustaining plants that prevent erosion, increase property value, please our jaded senses, and are a key part of natural ecosystems.
While no single culprit has been identified, the causes of CCD have been speculated upon for years, ranging from cell phone signals to climate change and from parasites to pesticides. The explanation now emerging is of a complex condition, triggered by a combination of causes. This is nature we’re discussing after all.
So how is such a complex condition treated? Beekeepers have had some success by increasing the diversity of plants they’re bees feed upon. Bees that feed from a range of plants show signs of healthier immune systems than those forced to feed on acres of monocropping. One of the conclusions of a new French study is that bees need to ingest a range of proteins to create their various chemical defenses; an unvaried diet leaves them open to disease. Meticulous hive sanitation has also proved worthwhile, eliminating the instances of parasites like Nosema apis. In the U.K. farmers receive financial incentives to utilize wildlife-friendly practices. Dr. David Aston, chair of the British Beekeepers’ Association technical committee, says he believes there is a great opportunity to halt this decline by simply restoring natural diversity. “That makes landscapes much more attractive as well, so it’s a win-win situation,” he says.
Great or small, any step taken towards raising awareness or decreasing instances of CCD helps create healthier bees, which will create healthier crops and flowers, which will create healthier, happier humans.
Percentages of U.S. agricultural crop dependence on bee pollination.
A single lump of coal, like the kind bad little kids might find in their stocking, is capable of producing 12,000 Btu or enough energy to power a 75-watt light bulb for 2 full days. Compared to oil, coal is easy to get out of the ground and dirt cheap, clocking in at 1/6 the cost of oil or natural gas per Btu.
What if Food Waste Collection was Mandatory?
What If…?
We as humans are naturally inquisitive and we have all been down that oh-so-tempting rabbit hole: what if…? What if I could fly? What if I didn’t pay my taxes? What if I learned to speak Quechua? What if I ate this entire quart of ice cream? Well, you’re not alone and when it comes to our future as a sustainably-minded race, I for one am here to follow through on some of these musings. Over the next few weeks, this blog will offer a glimpse into possible realities.
According to the FAO, nearly half of all food produced worldwide is wasted in private kitchens, restaurants, processing plants, supermarkets, and during transportation. In the U.S., as much as 30% of our food goes to waste after production. This means over $48 billion is pulled from our collective pockets and tossed right into the garbage can every year. Anyone who has worked in a high traffic restaurant or eaten at a buffet can attest to just how much we waste on a daily basis. All this discarded food is sent to rot in landfills, where it generates tons upon tons of methane – a greenhouse gas 23 times more destructive than CO2.
On the federal level, the collection of food waste and yard waste would not only immediately decrease the amount of organic material that is heaped into landfills, it would also begin the shift in consciousness from “waste” to “resource.” Food waste still has a lot to give. It can be composted and used as a rich soil amendment, or it can be converted into energy to power the community. It can even be converted into new, usable products!
Food waste is some of the most energy dense material out there. As the majority of you are likely aware, BME’s very own AGATE system is capable of processing all manner of organic waste to produce biogas for energy, and biochemicals to replace toxic petrochemicals. This not only includes food scraps and moldy leftovers, but soiled napkins and compostable paper products. Imagine then that each scrap of food saved from the maw of the garbage bin is a battery, holding the potential to power your home and displace petroleum. We may yet add a new phrase to the environmentally conscious vocabulary: “Don’t throw that away, it’s AGATE-able!”
Think this is a pipedream of the future? In many cities it is already reality. Across the U.S., temporary pilot programs have been setup to test the feasibility of food waste collection in their particular urban environment. Such programs have been underway in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Colorado. Longstanding regional programs have flourished and expanded in areas like California’s Alameda County and our own King County. Seattle boasts both recycling and organic (food/yard) waste collection mandates. San Francisco has also enacted mandatory residential organics collection. Since the enactment of this mandate, the amount of food waste collected in San Francisco rose from 400 to 500 tons per day.
The big concern on critics’ lips has been monitoring and enforcing these mandates. There’s really no getting around the fact that the idea of someone inspecting your trash is creepy at best and invasive at worst. That being said, we have yet to see a takeover of the Department of Sanitization by Big Brother in any of the cities currently practicing mandatory food waste collection. It may help to think of food waste mandates as an extension of litter or hazardous material laws. And when it comes to fines, we can breathe a collective sigh of relief. According to officials from Seattle Public Utilities, families failing to separate food waste from their trash do not immediately receive a fine; suffering instead the minor inconvenience of having their trash tagged and left until it has been properly sorted. Only after a residence has been tagged 3 times, will the family receive a fine ($50 in case you’re curious). These fines are intended to provide punitive incentive, not line city coffers. In 2008, only 18 of the 6,000 apartment buildings served by Seattle Public Utilities were fined.
In most cases, cities across the globe with mandatory food waste pickup report a rise in the standard of living. Compostable food waste no longer besmirches apartment building trash chutes and basements, affording tenants a distinctly fresher outlook on life. Salvaged food waste has enriched the soil of local parks and gardens, nourishing plants and improving the public experience. Private companies and municipalities with waste to energy agreements are enjoying the mutual benefits of the shift from “waste” to “resource.” It’s hard to argue with something this full of win, and we can only hope that this regional trend will soon go national.