Fort Lauderdale saves nearly $350K after repurposing seaweed into planting soil
1–10 of 19 posts
Re: Fort Lauderdale saves nearly $350K after repurposing seaweed into planting soil
#2Interesting! Do they do some kind of washing or processing to remove the salt? I assume without that step it would be impossible to use as soil, but I don't know.
Re: Fort Lauderdale saves nearly $350K after repurposing seaweed into planting soil
#3https://dcnanature.org/sargassum-fertilizer/
... found that vegetables grown in soil enriched with sargassum had higher levels of arsenic and cadmium, heavy metals that can be toxic to humans and animals. Researchers warn that sargassum should not be used to compliment animal fodder, nor used as a fertilizer for consumables until further investigated.
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/15/1163385168/sargassum-seaweed-...
... we're finding [sargassum] can contain heavy metals, including arsenic. It has fairly high concentrations of the toxin," he said. "There's a concern that, through leaching, that could impact groundwater."
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230622-what-is-causing-...
Another interesting thing we discovered is a set of genes called 'zot' genes, which causes leaky gut syndrome," says Mincer. The toxins produced by bacteria carrying these zot genes increase the permeability of the intestinal tract, leading to a range of symptoms including chronic diarrhoea.
Re: Fort Lauderdale saves nearly $350K after repurposing seaweed into planting soil
#4They've saved money, sure. They've also added toxic fat soluble molecules and heavy metals into the soil. What a win for the people!
This is the same city that made an ecological disaster by dumping thousands of tires into their ocean. So I'm not surprised.
Re: Fort Lauderdale saves nearly $350K after repurposing seaweed into planting soil
#5They've saved money, sure. They've also added toxic fat soluble molecules and heavy metals into the soil. What a win for the people! This is the same city that made an ecological disaster by dumping thousands of tires into their ocean. So I'm not surprised.
Source on the former? I know about the latter.
Re: Fort Lauderdale saves nearly $350K after repurposing seaweed into planting soil
#6[deleted]
Re: Fort Lauderdale saves nearly $350K after repurposing seaweed into planting soil
#7https://dcnanature.org/sargassum-fertilizer/ ... found that vegetables grown in soil enriched with sargassum had higher levels of arsenic and cadmium, heavy metals that can be toxic to humans and animals. Researchers warn that sargassum should not be used to compliment animal fodder, nor used as a fertilizer for consumables until further investigated. https://www.npr.org/2023/03/15/1163385168/sargassum-seaweed-... ..…
Wow, how can a city not do their due diligence on this?
Literally poisoning the people they serve.
Re: Fort Lauderdale saves nearly $350K after repurposing seaweed into planting soil
#8Interesting! Do they do some kind of washing or processing to remove the salt? I assume without that step it would be impossible to use as soil, but I don't know.
[dead]
Re: Fort Lauderdale saves nearly $350K after repurposing seaweed into planting soil
#9https://dcnanature.org/sargassum-fertilizer/ ... found that vegetables grown in soil enriched with sargassum had higher levels of arsenic and cadmium, heavy metals that can be toxic to humans and animals. Researchers warn that sargassum should not be used to compliment animal fodder, nor used as a fertilizer for consumables until further investigated. https://www.npr.org/2023/03/15/1163385168/sargassum-seaweed-... ..…
Farmed seaweed might have different properties than seaweed harvested directly from the ocean. It could be safer in controlled environments.
Re: Fort Lauderdale saves nearly $350K after repurposing seaweed into planting soil
#10https://dcnanature.org/sargassum-fertilizer/ ... found that vegetables grown in soil enriched with sargassum had higher levels of arsenic and cadmium, heavy metals that can be toxic to humans and animals. Researchers warn that sargassum should not be used to compliment animal fodder, nor used as a fertilizer for consumables until further investigated. https://www.npr.org/2023/03/15/1163385168/sargassum-seaweed-... ..…
In fairness, they are using the decomposed soil to line streets (I'd guess medians which have grass) and people's lawns.
Distributing to farmers would be terrible, but it seems like distributing near roadways is exactly the right move given that land is already unsafe to eat from due to car pollutants.
The metals are already there in the moss. Is it better to decompose on the beach, throw into a landfill, or recycle into ornamental land use?