#rainwater — Public Fediverse posts

Building #Resilience in Your #Garden for Challenges

April 17, 2024 by Hellen James

"Gardening can be incredibly rewarding, but it’s not without its challenges. From unpredictable weather patterns to pests and diseases, maintaining a thriving garden requires resilience. In this article, we’ll explore practical strategies to build resilience in your garden, ensuring it can withstand whatever challenges come its way.

Takeaways
1. Choose resilient plant varieties suited to your climate and soil conditions.
2. Improve soil health with #compost, #WormCastings, and cover crops to support plant resilience.
3. Implement water-efficient strategies such as #DripIrrigation and #rainwater harvesting to conserve water.
4. Utilize #NaturalPestControl methods like introducing beneficial insects and #CompanionPlanting.
5. Adapt to changing climate conditions by incorporating climate-resilient gardening practices.
6. Plan and prepare for each season to optimize plant growth and resilience.
7. Foster #biodiversity through companion planting and native plant selections to enhance garden resilience.
8. Create microclimates to tailor growing conditions to the specific needs of your plants.
9. #Mulch to suppress weeds, regulate soil temperature, and retain moisture for improved resilience.
10. Embrace #SustainableGardening practices to build long-term #resilience and environmental #stewardship.

Full article:
https://unifiedgarden.com/building-resilience-in-your-garden-for-challenges/

#SolarPunkSunday #GardeningChallenges #ClimateChangeGardening #EnvironmentalStewardship #RainwaterHarvesting #BuildingResiliency #FoodSecurity

Hydrangeas will grow a beautiful bright blue if you water with 1 thing https://www.allforgardening.com/1705568/hydrangeas-will-grow-a-beautiful-bright-blue-if-you-water-with-1-thing/ #advice #AluminiumSulphate #BlueHydrangeas #fertiliser #flowers #garden #gardeners #gardening #GardeningCanada #gardens #hack #HydrangeaFertiliser #hydrangeas #rain #rainwater #SoilPH #spring #tip #watering

Hydrangeas will grow a beautiful bright blue if you water with 1 thing https://www.allforgardening.com/1705568/hydrangeas-will-grow-a-beautiful-bright-blue-if-you-water-with-1-thing/ #advice #AluminiumSulphate #BlueHydrangeas #fertiliser #flowers #garden #gardeners #gardening #GardeningCanada #gardens #hack #HydrangeaFertiliser #hydrangeas #rain #rainwater #SoilPH #spring #tip #watering

The #depaving groups reclaiming #UrbanGreenSpace

by Jennifer Cole, Mar 21, 2026

"It took two years, but finally, in 2025, Jean Norwood’s dream of turning the parking lot at #MorningstarMissionary Baptist Church in #PortlandOR, into a play area for children and a #FoodGarden with #FruitTrees came true. Working with Norwood to bring her vision to reality was #DepavePortland. Since 2008, the Portland-based nonprofit has been digging up paved surfaces, freeing the trapped soil underneath and #regreening the newly reclaimed space.

"There are an estimated 2 billion parking places in the United States, an area comparable in size to the entire state of Vermont. That figure does not include #sidewalks, schoolyards or other paved surfaces, which, along with #CarParks, trap heat, intensifying the urban #HeatIsland effect in some cases by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit compared with surrounding areas. '#Asphalt makes your space hotter in the summertime, and colder in the wintertime,' Norwood says.

"When asphalt is removed and the soil beneath is exposed, those dynamics begin to reverse. The ground can absorb and store #carbon, and #rainwater is able to filter into the soil rather than running off into sewers. #Trees and #gardens can be planted that provide shade and a #habitat is created for #birds, #insects and other #wildlife.

"This was Norwood’s dream for the parking lot at Morningstar. Going from concrete to fruit trees, though, takes patience. 'First,' she says, 'there was about six months of planning and submitting requests for permitting.'

"Depave guided Norwood and the church through all of it, even seeking out grants to help cover costs. When it came time to depave the parking lot, volunteers recruited by Depave used crowbars, shovels, bare hands and wheelbarrows to lift out the pavement and daylight the soil beneath. Depave also worked with Morningstar on finding contractors to build the play area and raised #GardenBeds, and on choosing the plants for each newly #regreened space. It’s a process Depave has perfected at more than 82 sites across Portland."

https://www.rewildingmag.com/the-depaving-groups-reclaiming-urban-green-space/

#SolarPunkSunday #MoreGreenCities #GreenerCities #RewildingCities #MoreParksLessParkingLots #WildlifeHabitat

The #depaving groups reclaiming #UrbanGreenSpace

by Jennifer Cole, Mar 21, 2026

"It took two years, but finally, in 2025, Jean Norwood’s dream of turning the parking lot at #MorningstarMissionary Baptist Church in #PortlandOR, into a play area for children and a #FoodGarden with #FruitTrees came true. Working with Norwood to bring her vision to reality was #DepavePortland. Since 2008, the Portland-based nonprofit has been digging up paved surfaces, freeing the trapped soil underneath and #regreening the newly reclaimed space.

"There are an estimated 2 billion parking places in the United States, an area comparable in size to the entire state of Vermont. That figure does not include #sidewalks, schoolyards or other paved surfaces, which, along with #CarParks, trap heat, intensifying the urban #HeatIsland effect in some cases by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit compared with surrounding areas. '#Asphalt makes your space hotter in the summertime, and colder in the wintertime,' Norwood says.

"When asphalt is removed and the soil beneath is exposed, those dynamics begin to reverse. The ground can absorb and store #carbon, and #rainwater is able to filter into the soil rather than running off into sewers. #Trees and #gardens can be planted that provide shade and a #habitat is created for #birds, #insects and other #wildlife.

"This was Norwood’s dream for the parking lot at Morningstar. Going from concrete to fruit trees, though, takes patience. 'First,' she says, 'there was about six months of planning and submitting requests for permitting.'

"Depave guided Norwood and the church through all of it, even seeking out grants to help cover costs. When it came time to depave the parking lot, volunteers recruited by Depave used crowbars, shovels, bare hands and wheelbarrows to lift out the pavement and daylight the soil beneath. Depave also worked with Morningstar on finding contractors to build the play area and raised #GardenBeds, and on choosing the plants for each newly #regreened space. It’s a process Depave has perfected at more than 82 sites across Portland."

https://www.rewildingmag.com/the-depaving-groups-reclaiming-urban-green-space/

#SolarPunkSunday #MoreGreenCities #GreenerCities #RewildingCities #MoreParksLessParkingLots #WildlifeHabitat

The #depaving groups reclaiming #UrbanGreenSpace

by Jennifer Cole, Mar 21, 2026

"It took two years, but finally, in 2025, Jean Norwood’s dream of turning the parking lot at #MorningstarMissionary Baptist Church in #PortlandOR, into a play area for children and a #FoodGarden with #FruitTrees came true. Working with Norwood to bring her vision to reality was #DepavePortland. Since 2008, the Portland-based nonprofit has been digging up paved surfaces, freeing the trapped soil underneath and #regreening the newly reclaimed space.

"There are an estimated 2 billion parking places in the United States, an area comparable in size to the entire state of Vermont. That figure does not include #sidewalks, schoolyards or other paved surfaces, which, along with #CarParks, trap heat, intensifying the urban #HeatIsland effect in some cases by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit compared with surrounding areas. '#Asphalt makes your space hotter in the summertime, and colder in the wintertime,' Norwood says.

"When asphalt is removed and the soil beneath is exposed, those dynamics begin to reverse. The ground can absorb and store #carbon, and #rainwater is able to filter into the soil rather than running off into sewers. #Trees and #gardens can be planted that provide shade and a #habitat is created for #birds, #insects and other #wildlife.

"This was Norwood’s dream for the parking lot at Morningstar. Going from concrete to fruit trees, though, takes patience. 'First,' she says, 'there was about six months of planning and submitting requests for permitting.'

"Depave guided Norwood and the church through all of it, even seeking out grants to help cover costs. When it came time to depave the parking lot, volunteers recruited by Depave used crowbars, shovels, bare hands and wheelbarrows to lift out the pavement and daylight the soil beneath. Depave also worked with Morningstar on finding contractors to build the play area and raised #GardenBeds, and on choosing the plants for each newly #regreened space. It’s a process Depave has perfected at more than 82 sites across Portland."

https://www.rewildingmag.com/the-depaving-groups-reclaiming-urban-green-space/

#SolarPunkSunday #MoreGreenCities #GreenerCities #RewildingCities #MoreParksLessParkingLots #WildlifeHabitat

The #depaving groups reclaiming #UrbanGreenSpace

by Jennifer Cole, Mar 21, 2026

"It took two years, but finally, in 2025, Jean Norwood’s dream of turning the parking lot at #MorningstarMissionary Baptist Church in #PortlandOR, into a play area for children and a #FoodGarden with #FruitTrees came true. Working with Norwood to bring her vision to reality was #DepavePortland. Since 2008, the Portland-based nonprofit has been digging up paved surfaces, freeing the trapped soil underneath and #regreening the newly reclaimed space.

"There are an estimated 2 billion parking places in the United States, an area comparable in size to the entire state of Vermont. That figure does not include #sidewalks, schoolyards or other paved surfaces, which, along with #CarParks, trap heat, intensifying the urban #HeatIsland effect in some cases by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit compared with surrounding areas. '#Asphalt makes your space hotter in the summertime, and colder in the wintertime,' Norwood says.

"When asphalt is removed and the soil beneath is exposed, those dynamics begin to reverse. The ground can absorb and store #carbon, and #rainwater is able to filter into the soil rather than running off into sewers. #Trees and #gardens can be planted that provide shade and a #habitat is created for #birds, #insects and other #wildlife.

"This was Norwood’s dream for the parking lot at Morningstar. Going from concrete to fruit trees, though, takes patience. 'First,' she says, 'there was about six months of planning and submitting requests for permitting.'

"Depave guided Norwood and the church through all of it, even seeking out grants to help cover costs. When it came time to depave the parking lot, volunteers recruited by Depave used crowbars, shovels, bare hands and wheelbarrows to lift out the pavement and daylight the soil beneath. Depave also worked with Morningstar on finding contractors to build the play area and raised #GardenBeds, and on choosing the plants for each newly #regreened space. It’s a process Depave has perfected at more than 82 sites across Portland."

https://www.rewildingmag.com/the-depaving-groups-reclaiming-urban-green-space/

#SolarPunkSunday #MoreGreenCities #GreenerCities #RewildingCities #MoreParksLessParkingLots #WildlifeHabitat

The #depaving groups reclaiming #UrbanGreenSpace

by Jennifer Cole, Mar 21, 2026

"It took two years, but finally, in 2025, Jean Norwood’s dream of turning the parking lot at #MorningstarMissionary Baptist Church in #PortlandOR, into a play area for children and a #FoodGarden with #FruitTrees came true. Working with Norwood to bring her vision to reality was #DepavePortland. Since 2008, the Portland-based nonprofit has been digging up paved surfaces, freeing the trapped soil underneath and #regreening the newly reclaimed space.

"There are an estimated 2 billion parking places in the United States, an area comparable in size to the entire state of Vermont. That figure does not include #sidewalks, schoolyards or other paved surfaces, which, along with #CarParks, trap heat, intensifying the urban #HeatIsland effect in some cases by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit compared with surrounding areas. '#Asphalt makes your space hotter in the summertime, and colder in the wintertime,' Norwood says.

"When asphalt is removed and the soil beneath is exposed, those dynamics begin to reverse. The ground can absorb and store #carbon, and #rainwater is able to filter into the soil rather than running off into sewers. #Trees and #gardens can be planted that provide shade and a #habitat is created for #birds, #insects and other #wildlife.

"This was Norwood’s dream for the parking lot at Morningstar. Going from concrete to fruit trees, though, takes patience. 'First,' she says, 'there was about six months of planning and submitting requests for permitting.'

"Depave guided Norwood and the church through all of it, even seeking out grants to help cover costs. When it came time to depave the parking lot, volunteers recruited by Depave used crowbars, shovels, bare hands and wheelbarrows to lift out the pavement and daylight the soil beneath. Depave also worked with Morningstar on finding contractors to build the play area and raised #GardenBeds, and on choosing the plants for each newly #regreened space. It’s a process Depave has perfected at more than 82 sites across Portland."

https://www.rewildingmag.com/the-depaving-groups-reclaiming-urban-green-space/

#SolarPunkSunday #MoreGreenCities #GreenerCities #RewildingCities #MoreParksLessParkingLots #WildlifeHabitat

How moss could help roads cope with heavy rain, reduce pollution

Som countries are experimenting with #moss in built-up areas to absorb air #pollution. As countries search for #nature-based solutions to #climate and #environmental challenges, #roadside moss is starting to attract attention

Moss could offer environmental benefits over grass, from trapping air pollution to slowing #rainwater runoff during heavy storms.

https://theconversation.com/how-moss-could-help-roads-cope-with-heavy-rain-and-reduce-air-pollution-277686?utm_medium=mastodon_fediverse

#natural #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming

100-Year-Old Way to Filter #Rainwater in a Barrel

by Linda Holliday
February 25, 2015

"During our boiling, broiling, blistering summer of 2012 here in the Missouri Ozarks, water was a topic of conversation wherever we went. Creeks and ponds dried up (some never recovered) and the water table dropped, forcing a few neighbors to have their well pumps lowered or to even have deeper wells drilled.

"Many folks shared memories of rain barrels, cisterns, hand pumps and drawing water with a well bucket as a child, usually on grandpa and grandma’s farm. Some said they’d never want to rely again on those old-time methods of getting water. But, at least they knew how it was done.

"It seems we have lost much practical knowledge in the last 50 or so years because we thought we’d never need it again. Now we are scrambling to relearn those simple know-hows.

"A tattered, 4-inch thick, 1909 book I happily secured for $8 in a thrift store reveals, among umpteen-thousand other every-day skills, how to make homemade water filters. The instructions in 'Household Discoveries and Mrs. Curtis’s Cookbook' are quite basic as everyone had a rain barrel back then and presumably knew how to clean the water. Now, 104 years later, I am thankful the authors had the foresight to preserve their knowledge for us, and pointed out that rainwater collected in barrels from a roof is a necessity in some locations, but also is best for laundry and 'often more wholesome for drinking purposes than hard water.' "

Learn more:
https://www.askaprepper.com/way-filter-rainwater-barrel/

#SolarPunkSunday #WaterFiltration #Rainwater #RainwaterCollection #WaterIsLife #WaterSystems #OldSchoolTechnology #NeoLuddite #OldWays

#Cistern #WaterSystems: How They Work and Why They’re Useful

By Robert Maxwell
Updated on Sep. 26, 2025

"Has your interest in alternative water systems made you ask, what is a cistern? Read on to learn about this ancient way to store and supply water.

The basic idea of a cistern water system, which collects and stores water in or near a home, goes back centuries. In some parts of #WesternAsia, archeologists discovered lime plaster cisterns in the floors of houses that were at least 5,000 years old. Ancient #Romans also used cisterns beneath their houses to catch, filter and store #rainwater.

A cistern is a closed tank, somewhat like a septic tank, but the similarities end there. Instead of sewage, it collects rainwater for household use or irrigation. A home with a well might have a large tank to store water to prevent the well pump from having to work all the time. In some cases, you could consider that tank a cistern, but according to longtime plumber Danny Pen, most cisterns are buried."

Read more:
https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/what-is-a-cistern-water-system/

#SolarPunkSunday #AncientTechnology #ModernAdaptations #Cistern #WaterIsLife #RainwaterCollection #RainwaterCisterns

Some good tips here...

How to Set Up a #RainwaterCollection System & 8 #DIY Ideas

Written by Author Lindsay Sheehan Published on March 26, 2021

"This technology can be traced back some 12,000 years in human history, and it makes just as much sense today to take advantage of a precious resource that freely falls from above.

The simplest #RainwaterHarvesting system involves a basic #RainBarrel situated next to your home.

[...]

Gutters made from coated aluminum and vinyl are the best choice for rainwater collection. Galvanized steel gutters are suitable for non-potable systems.

Avoid using gutters made with copper or lead materials."

Learn more:
https://www.ruralsprout.com/rainwater-collection/

#SolarPunkSunday #Rainwater #WaterIsLife #WaterHarvesters #RainHarvest #ClimateChangeGardening

So, before I start posting about #RainwaterCollection and #RainwaterHarvesting, I wanted to point out that while collecting rainwater is legal in most countries (though there can be local restrictions/regulations), there are some states in the #UnitedStates that restrict or prohibit #Rainwater collection.

Can You Go To Jail for Collecting Rainwater?

By Kiersten Hickman
Updated on Nov. 24, 2023

It's fine in most states, but some have stricter rules!

"While most states permit rainwater harvesting and some even encourage it, other states have specific rules and regulations around the topic. These states specify the uses of the water. For example, if the water can be collected for “non-potable” purposes, it means the water is not suitable for drinking but can be used for other things. Potable means it’s safe for drinking, cooking and bathing.

Here are a few with specific rules governing rainwater harvesting.

- #Alaska (rainwater okay, but groundwater is regulated)
- #Arkansas (legal with some regulation)
- #California (legal unless using it for landscaping)
- #Colorado (limited to 110 gallons per day)
- #Illinois (legal with some regulation)
- #Kansas (#WaterRights required, except for domestic use)
- #Louisiana (#cisterns must have covers)
- #Nevada (used to be illegal, but is legal with some restrictions
- #NorthCarolina (regulated)
- #Ohio (regulated for drinking)
- #Oregon (no longer illegal)
- #Texas (regulated)
- #Utah (rules about amounts)
- #WashingtonState (strict rules)

Learn more:
https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/collecting-rain-water-in-these-states-could-be-illegal/

More about the status of individual states:
https://4perfectwater.com/blog/rainwater-harvesting-laws

#SolarPunkSunday #WaterIsLife #WaterCollection #UnitedStates

SimplyInfo.org: 15th Anniversary Report #FukushimaDaiichi

March 2, 2026

Excerpt: "This TV Asahi investigative report from March 2025 [linked below] paints a sobering picture of the enormous challenges still facing the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi, fourteen years after the accident. While #TEPCO achieved a milestone the previous November by extracting roughly 0.7 grams of #NuclearFuel debris for the first time, experts interviewed for the piece emphasized that debris removal is just one piece of a far more complex puzzle. Around 1,000 fuel assemblies
still remain in the spent fuel pools of Units 1 and 2, untouched since the accident, and officials from the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation (#NDF) described clearing these pools as the single most urgent priority — in part because another
#earthquake or #tsunami could strike at any time.

"Before large-scale debris removal can even begin, the area around the reactor buildings must be cleared of heavily contaminated structures and exhaust stacks to make room for the massive equipment required. Because humans cannot safely approach the highly radioactive debris, all removal work must be done remotely. Radiation levels outside the buildings remain dangerously high — a dosimeter near #Unit2 showed particularly elevated readings — and contaminated water continues to be generated at a rate of roughly 80 tons per day as #rainwater and #groundwater contact radioactive materials on site, despite TEPCO having already released about 80,000 tons of treated [but still radioactive] water into the ocean.

"Perhaps the most troubling concern raised in the article is what happens to the debris and #RadioactiveWaste after it is removed. Hiroshi Miyano, chairman of the Decommissioning Review Committee of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, was blunt in his criticism, saying no serious thought has been given to managing this waste over the coming century or two.

"The Fukushima debris is uniquely complicated because it is a mixture of melted nuclear fuel and structural materials, and experts warned that removal may not even be possible until a concrete disposal plan is in place. General decommissioning superintendent Toyoshi Fukada warned that without proper storage facilities ready in advance, the entire decommissioning effort could eventually grind to a halt simply because there would be nowhere to put the waste."

Read more:
https://simplyinfo.org/2026/03/simplyinfo-org-15th-anniversary-report-fukushima-daiichi/

Asashi investigative report [pdf]:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ysaf6a7hj62286sv4hoql/alps_water_d250130_14-j_translated.pdf?rlkey=3u397ndoafdtiq6fgjczg4a74&st=845tdf30&dl=0

#FukushimaIsntOver #TEPCOLies #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #RenewablesNow #WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife #NuclearPlants #NuclearDisaster #Remember311

SimplyInfo.org: 15th Anniversary Report #FukushimaDaiichi

March 2, 2026

Excerpt: "This TV Asahi investigative report from March 2025 [linked below] paints a sobering picture of the enormous challenges still facing the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi, fourteen years after the accident. While #TEPCO achieved a milestone the previous November by extracting roughly 0.7 grams of #NuclearFuel debris for the first time, experts interviewed for the piece emphasized that debris removal is just one piece of a far more complex puzzle. Around 1,000 fuel assemblies
still remain in the spent fuel pools of Units 1 and 2, untouched since the accident, and officials from the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation (#NDF) described clearing these pools as the single most urgent priority — in part because another
#earthquake or #tsunami could strike at any time.

"Before large-scale debris removal can even begin, the area around the reactor buildings must be cleared of heavily contaminated structures and exhaust stacks to make room for the massive equipment required. Because humans cannot safely approach the highly radioactive debris, all removal work must be done remotely. Radiation levels outside the buildings remain dangerously high — a dosimeter near #Unit2 showed particularly elevated readings — and contaminated water continues to be generated at a rate of roughly 80 tons per day as #rainwater and #groundwater contact radioactive materials on site, despite TEPCO having already released about 80,000 tons of treated [but still radioactive] water into the ocean.

"Perhaps the most troubling concern raised in the article is what happens to the debris and #RadioactiveWaste after it is removed. Hiroshi Miyano, chairman of the Decommissioning Review Committee of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, was blunt in his criticism, saying no serious thought has been given to managing this waste over the coming century or two.

"The Fukushima debris is uniquely complicated because it is a mixture of melted nuclear fuel and structural materials, and experts warned that removal may not even be possible until a concrete disposal plan is in place. General decommissioning superintendent Toyoshi Fukada warned that without proper storage facilities ready in advance, the entire decommissioning effort could eventually grind to a halt simply because there would be nowhere to put the waste."

Read more:
https://simplyinfo.org/2026/03/simplyinfo-org-15th-anniversary-report-fukushima-daiichi/

Asashi investigative report [pdf]:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ysaf6a7hj62286sv4hoql/alps_water_d250130_14-j_translated.pdf?rlkey=3u397ndoafdtiq6fgjczg4a74&st=845tdf30&dl=0

#FukushimaIsntOver #TEPCOLies #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #RenewablesNow #WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife #NuclearPlants #NuclearDisaster #Remember311

SimplyInfo.org: 15th Anniversary Report #FukushimaDaiichi

March 2, 2026

Excerpt: "This TV Asahi investigative report from March 2025 [linked below] paints a sobering picture of the enormous challenges still facing the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi, fourteen years after the accident. While #TEPCO achieved a milestone the previous November by extracting roughly 0.7 grams of #NuclearFuel debris for the first time, experts interviewed for the piece emphasized that debris removal is just one piece of a far more complex puzzle. Around 1,000 fuel assemblies
still remain in the spent fuel pools of Units 1 and 2, untouched since the accident, and officials from the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation (#NDF) described clearing these pools as the single most urgent priority — in part because another
#earthquake or #tsunami could strike at any time.

"Before large-scale debris removal can even begin, the area around the reactor buildings must be cleared of heavily contaminated structures and exhaust stacks to make room for the massive equipment required. Because humans cannot safely approach the highly radioactive debris, all removal work must be done remotely. Radiation levels outside the buildings remain dangerously high — a dosimeter near #Unit2 showed particularly elevated readings — and contaminated water continues to be generated at a rate of roughly 80 tons per day as #rainwater and #groundwater contact radioactive materials on site, despite TEPCO having already released about 80,000 tons of treated [but still radioactive] water into the ocean.

"Perhaps the most troubling concern raised in the article is what happens to the debris and #RadioactiveWaste after it is removed. Hiroshi Miyano, chairman of the Decommissioning Review Committee of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, was blunt in his criticism, saying no serious thought has been given to managing this waste over the coming century or two.

"The Fukushima debris is uniquely complicated because it is a mixture of melted nuclear fuel and structural materials, and experts warned that removal may not even be possible until a concrete disposal plan is in place. General decommissioning superintendent Toyoshi Fukada warned that without proper storage facilities ready in advance, the entire decommissioning effort could eventually grind to a halt simply because there would be nowhere to put the waste."

Read more:
https://simplyinfo.org/2026/03/simplyinfo-org-15th-anniversary-report-fukushima-daiichi/

Asashi investigative report [pdf]:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ysaf6a7hj62286sv4hoql/alps_water_d250130_14-j_translated.pdf?rlkey=3u397ndoafdtiq6fgjczg4a74&st=845tdf30&dl=0

#FukushimaIsntOver #TEPCOLies #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #RenewablesNow #WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife #NuclearPlants #NuclearDisaster #Remember311

SimplyInfo.org: 15th Anniversary Report #FukushimaDaiichi

March 2, 2026

Excerpt: "This TV Asahi investigative report from March 2025 [linked below] paints a sobering picture of the enormous challenges still facing the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi, fourteen years after the accident. While #TEPCO achieved a milestone the previous November by extracting roughly 0.7 grams of #NuclearFuel debris for the first time, experts interviewed for the piece emphasized that debris removal is just one piece of a far more complex puzzle. Around 1,000 fuel assemblies
still remain in the spent fuel pools of Units 1 and 2, untouched since the accident, and officials from the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation (#NDF) described clearing these pools as the single most urgent priority — in part because another
#earthquake or #tsunami could strike at any time.

"Before large-scale debris removal can even begin, the area around the reactor buildings must be cleared of heavily contaminated structures and exhaust stacks to make room for the massive equipment required. Because humans cannot safely approach the highly radioactive debris, all removal work must be done remotely. Radiation levels outside the buildings remain dangerously high — a dosimeter near #Unit2 showed particularly elevated readings — and contaminated water continues to be generated at a rate of roughly 80 tons per day as #rainwater and #groundwater contact radioactive materials on site, despite TEPCO having already released about 80,000 tons of treated [but still radioactive] water into the ocean.

"Perhaps the most troubling concern raised in the article is what happens to the debris and #RadioactiveWaste after it is removed. Hiroshi Miyano, chairman of the Decommissioning Review Committee of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, was blunt in his criticism, saying no serious thought has been given to managing this waste over the coming century or two.

"The Fukushima debris is uniquely complicated because it is a mixture of melted nuclear fuel and structural materials, and experts warned that removal may not even be possible until a concrete disposal plan is in place. General decommissioning superintendent Toyoshi Fukada warned that without proper storage facilities ready in advance, the entire decommissioning effort could eventually grind to a halt simply because there would be nowhere to put the waste."

Read more:
https://simplyinfo.org/2026/03/simplyinfo-org-15th-anniversary-report-fukushima-daiichi/

Asashi investigative report [pdf]:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ysaf6a7hj62286sv4hoql/alps_water_d250130_14-j_translated.pdf?rlkey=3u397ndoafdtiq6fgjczg4a74&st=845tdf30&dl=0

#FukushimaIsntOver #TEPCOLies #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #RenewablesNow #WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife #NuclearPlants #NuclearDisaster #Remember311

SimplyInfo.org: 15th Anniversary Report #FukushimaDaiichi

March 2, 2026

Excerpt: "This TV Asahi investigative report from March 2025 [linked below] paints a sobering picture of the enormous challenges still facing the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi, fourteen years after the accident. While #TEPCO achieved a milestone the previous November by extracting roughly 0.7 grams of #NuclearFuel debris for the first time, experts interviewed for the piece emphasized that debris removal is just one piece of a far more complex puzzle. Around 1,000 fuel assemblies
still remain in the spent fuel pools of Units 1 and 2, untouched since the accident, and officials from the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation (#NDF) described clearing these pools as the single most urgent priority — in part because another
#earthquake or #tsunami could strike at any time.

"Before large-scale debris removal can even begin, the area around the reactor buildings must be cleared of heavily contaminated structures and exhaust stacks to make room for the massive equipment required. Because humans cannot safely approach the highly radioactive debris, all removal work must be done remotely. Radiation levels outside the buildings remain dangerously high — a dosimeter near #Unit2 showed particularly elevated readings — and contaminated water continues to be generated at a rate of roughly 80 tons per day as #rainwater and #groundwater contact radioactive materials on site, despite TEPCO having already released about 80,000 tons of treated [but still radioactive] water into the ocean.

"Perhaps the most troubling concern raised in the article is what happens to the debris and #RadioactiveWaste after it is removed. Hiroshi Miyano, chairman of the Decommissioning Review Committee of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, was blunt in his criticism, saying no serious thought has been given to managing this waste over the coming century or two.

"The Fukushima debris is uniquely complicated because it is a mixture of melted nuclear fuel and structural materials, and experts warned that removal may not even be possible until a concrete disposal plan is in place. General decommissioning superintendent Toyoshi Fukada warned that without proper storage facilities ready in advance, the entire decommissioning effort could eventually grind to a halt simply because there would be nowhere to put the waste."

Read more:
https://simplyinfo.org/2026/03/simplyinfo-org-15th-anniversary-report-fukushima-daiichi/

Asashi investigative report [pdf]:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ysaf6a7hj62286sv4hoql/alps_water_d250130_14-j_translated.pdf?rlkey=3u397ndoafdtiq6fgjczg4a74&st=845tdf30&dl=0

#FukushimaIsntOver #TEPCOLies #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #RenewablesNow #WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife #NuclearPlants #NuclearDisaster #Remember311

‘If you’re flushing the toilet with #greywater, people should know’: how #China turned rain into an asset
#Architects and designers have recycled ancient practice of collecting #rainwater to make buildings ecologically friendly https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/16/grey-water-how-china-turned-rain-into-asset

‘If you’re flushing the toilet with #greywater, people should know’: how #China turned rain into an asset
#Architects and designers have recycled ancient practice of collecting #rainwater to make buildings ecologically friendly https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/16/grey-water-how-china-turned-rain-into-asset

‘If you’re flushing the toilet with #greywater, people should know’: how #China turned rain into an asset
#Architects and designers have recycled ancient practice of collecting #rainwater to make buildings ecologically friendly https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/16/grey-water-how-china-turned-rain-into-asset

‘If you’re flushing the toilet with #greywater, people should know’: how #China turned rain into an asset
#Architects and designers have recycled ancient practice of collecting #rainwater to make buildings ecologically friendly https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/16/grey-water-how-china-turned-rain-into-asset

‘If you’re flushing the toilet with #greywater, people should know’: how #China turned rain into an asset
#Architects and designers have recycled ancient practice of collecting #rainwater to make buildings ecologically friendly https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/16/grey-water-how-china-turned-rain-into-asset

Floating gardens, #CleanEnergy, and #CommunityFirst: Why '#solarpunk' #architecture gives us #ClimateOptimism

Dec 12, 2025

"Imagine floating towers teeming with lush greenery that look out over clean waterways overflowing with wildlife. As you glance down, you realize pedestrians outnumber cars — which fly on renewable energy — and people mill about in community gardens and meeting spaces as plants and solar panels alike drink in sunlight.

"Welcome to the dream world of a 'solarpunk' city.

"Solarpunk is derived from #cyberpunk, a genre of speculative fiction that was coined by author #BruceBethke in 1983 with the release of his sci-fi short story of the same name, which follows a group of young #RebelHackers.

"From there, cyberpunk spawned a slew of futuristic aesthetics, ideals, and stories. But solarpunk — a term which first sprang up online in 2008 — goes a step further than cyberpunk, and its fantastical subgenre steampunk, by encapsulating not just a style or genre, but an entire #SocialMovement.

"#JaySpringett is the co-administrator of solarpunks.net, a website that curates articles, stories, and artwork that are representative of the movement. Spend a minute scrolling on the site and common themes will emerge: #rewilding efforts, #gardening methods, #rainwater harvesting, #VisibleMending practices, and so much more. [Hey, that sounds a lot like what we cover on #SolarPunkSundays!]

" 'I have always considered solarpunk to be focused on the practical as opposed to the wishful thinking,' Springett told Built In, a Chicago software company. 'And it’s a discussion that’s becoming more and more prominent.' "

Read more:
https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/solar-punk-green-architecture-futuristic-design

#SolarPunkSunday #Decentralize #BuildingCommunity

Can '#WaterBatteries' help farmers tackle #drought?

Kirk England, 21 October 2025

"#Rainwater used to surge through Will Luke's dairy farm whenever there was a downpour.

"He used to watch it flow away but concerns over 'drier and drier' summers led him to build a storage pond allowing him to put that water to use - particularly for livestock.

" 'Once it leaves the farm, it's no good to me. If we capture the water we can get more use out of it. We're much more resilient,' said Mr Luke, whose farm is near Plymouth, Devon.

"The Westcountry Rivers Trust said #ponds and #wetlands were insurance for 'times of need' including droughts, and it was now leading a €8m (£6.95m) project on how the so-called 'water batteries' could be used to create a 'smart water grid' across Europe."

Read more:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg7p9en90ro

#SolarPunkSunday #Ponds #Wetlands #Rainbarrels #Cisterns #WaterBatteries #ClimateChangeFarming #ClimateChangeAdaptation #WaterIsLife

Could This #Arizona Ranch Be a Model for #Southwest Farmers?

Oatman Flats has undergone a dramatic transformation, becoming the Southwest’s first #Regenerative #Organic Certified farm and a potential source of ideas for weathering #ClimateChange.

" 'We embraced the abundance of #heirloom and native crops in the #SonoranDesert,' Hansen said. 'We are looking at the land and asking it what we should grow, rather than asking the land to grow what we want.' " - Dax Hansen, owner of Oatman Flats Ranch.

By Samuel Gilbert
May 12, 2025

Excerpt: "Regeneration Rooted in #Indigenous Practices

"Southern Arizona’s rich agricultural history stretches back more than 5,000 years. By 600 CE, the Hohokam people were constructing North America’s largest and most elaborate irrigation systems along the Salt and Gila Rivers. The descendants of the Hohokam—the Pima and Tohono O’odham—continued to farm the land up to and after the arrival of the Spanish, who began to colonize southern Arizona in the 1600s. They continue to farm in Arizona today.

"At the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation, about two hours southeast of Oatman Flats, the San Xavier Co-op Farm uses historic land management practices and grows traditional crops that reflect their respect for the land, plants, animals, elders, and the sacredness of water.

"San Xavier Farm Manager Duran Andrews and his team plant #CoverCrops, rotate fields, and collect #rainwater.

" '[Regenerative agriculture] is nothing new to us,' Andrews said. 'We have been doing this for decades. Harmony between nature and people has been our approach all the time.' Rotating fields and cultivating multiple mutually beneficial species in the same fields improves water and soil quality and biodiversity in this harsh landscape.

" 'You’ve seen what the land looks like in five years; imagine it in 10. If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere.'

"The co-op grows a variety of native crops that were developed in the region and cultivated for centuries or, in some cases, millennia, such as grains and beans, which they sell online. 'We irrigate them till they sprout, then cut them off till the monsoon shows up,' Andrews said. 'We try to keep crops in that hardy state through all the years and decades they have been here. We try not to get away from how things were done in the past.'

"They also grow White Sonora wheat, introduced to Arizona by Spanish Jesuit missionaries in the 1600s. 'It was a gift from Father Kino that we have taken as our own,' Andrews said. 'The [San Xavier] community was one of the first to grow this wheat.'

"Following the Mexican-American War in the mid-1800s, the United States claimed parts of modern-day Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, and Utah. The Anglo ranchers who moved into the area dug canals to irrigate agricultural fields, transforming the landscape. An 1852 watercolor by surveyor Jon Russell Bartlett depicts a verdant valley with cottonwoods and mesquite trees lining a flowing Gila River as it passes through Oatman Flats Ranch.

"That landscape is unrecognizable today. The lower Gila has gone bone dry after years of upstream diversions, dams, water overuse, and climate change. In 2019, the Gila River earned the title of Most Endangered River by the nonprofit advocacy group American Rivers.

"Standing on the sandy Gila riverbed, which divides the north and south farms of Oatman Flats Ranch, Wang pointed to the nearby invasive salt cedars. Healing the land involves rebuilding the water, nutrient, and carbon cycles from the ground up, 'at the micro level,' he said. 'On the macro level, it’s broken.'

"The ranch team has poured resources into rebuilding soil health by planting #hedgerows and 30-plus species of cover crops, at a cost of approximately $100,000. The hedgerows, mostly native trees, were planted along the edges of the fields to reduce erosion and provide habitat for beneficial species, including #pollinators such as #bees and #hummingbirds.

"The cover crops — #millet, #chickpeas, #sunflowers, #sorghum, sudan grass, broadleaves, and #NativeGrasses among them—are planted immediately after harvesting wheat, to provide 'soil armor,' help conserve water, fix nitrogen in the soil, suppress weeds, attract beneficial insects, and sequester carbon. The once-barren land now supports life for more than 120 species of flora and fauna."

Read more:
https://civileats.com/2025/05/12/could-this-arizona-ranch-be-a-model-for-southwest-farmers/

#SolarPunkSunday #RegenerativeAgriculture #RegenerativeFarming #RestorativeAgriculture #ClimateChangeFarming

Could This #Arizona Ranch Be a Model for #Southwest Farmers?

Oatman Flats has undergone a dramatic transformation, becoming the Southwest’s first #Regenerative #Organic Certified farm and a potential source of ideas for weathering #ClimateChange.

" 'We embraced the abundance of #heirloom and native crops in the #SonoranDesert,' Hansen said. 'We are looking at the land and asking it what we should grow, rather than asking the land to grow what we want.' " - Dax Hansen, owner of Oatman Flats Ranch.

By Samuel Gilbert
May 12, 2025

Excerpt: "Regeneration Rooted in #Indigenous Practices

"Southern Arizona’s rich agricultural history stretches back more than 5,000 years. By 600 CE, the Hohokam people were constructing North America’s largest and most elaborate irrigation systems along the Salt and Gila Rivers. The descendants of the Hohokam—the Pima and Tohono O’odham—continued to farm the land up to and after the arrival of the Spanish, who began to colonize southern Arizona in the 1600s. They continue to farm in Arizona today.

"At the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation, about two hours southeast of Oatman Flats, the San Xavier Co-op Farm uses historic land management practices and grows traditional crops that reflect their respect for the land, plants, animals, elders, and the sacredness of water.

"San Xavier Farm Manager Duran Andrews and his team plant #CoverCrops, rotate fields, and collect #rainwater.

" '[Regenerative agriculture] is nothing new to us,' Andrews said. 'We have been doing this for decades. Harmony between nature and people has been our approach all the time.' Rotating fields and cultivating multiple mutually beneficial species in the same fields improves water and soil quality and biodiversity in this harsh landscape.

" 'You’ve seen what the land looks like in five years; imagine it in 10. If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere.'

"The co-op grows a variety of native crops that were developed in the region and cultivated for centuries or, in some cases, millennia, such as grains and beans, which they sell online. 'We irrigate them till they sprout, then cut them off till the monsoon shows up,' Andrews said. 'We try to keep crops in that hardy state through all the years and decades they have been here. We try not to get away from how things were done in the past.'

"They also grow White Sonora wheat, introduced to Arizona by Spanish Jesuit missionaries in the 1600s. 'It was a gift from Father Kino that we have taken as our own,' Andrews said. 'The [San Xavier] community was one of the first to grow this wheat.'

"Following the Mexican-American War in the mid-1800s, the United States claimed parts of modern-day Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, and Utah. The Anglo ranchers who moved into the area dug canals to irrigate agricultural fields, transforming the landscape. An 1852 watercolor by surveyor Jon Russell Bartlett depicts a verdant valley with cottonwoods and mesquite trees lining a flowing Gila River as it passes through Oatman Flats Ranch.

"That landscape is unrecognizable today. The lower Gila has gone bone dry after years of upstream diversions, dams, water overuse, and climate change. In 2019, the Gila River earned the title of Most Endangered River by the nonprofit advocacy group American Rivers.

"Standing on the sandy Gila riverbed, which divides the north and south farms of Oatman Flats Ranch, Wang pointed to the nearby invasive salt cedars. Healing the land involves rebuilding the water, nutrient, and carbon cycles from the ground up, 'at the micro level,' he said. 'On the macro level, it’s broken.'

"The ranch team has poured resources into rebuilding soil health by planting #hedgerows and 30-plus species of cover crops, at a cost of approximately $100,000. The hedgerows, mostly native trees, were planted along the edges of the fields to reduce erosion and provide habitat for beneficial species, including #pollinators such as #bees and #hummingbirds.

"The cover crops — #millet, #chickpeas, #sunflowers, #sorghum, sudan grass, broadleaves, and #NativeGrasses among them—are planted immediately after harvesting wheat, to provide 'soil armor,' help conserve water, fix nitrogen in the soil, suppress weeds, attract beneficial insects, and sequester carbon. The once-barren land now supports life for more than 120 species of flora and fauna."

Read more:
https://civileats.com/2025/05/12/could-this-arizona-ranch-be-a-model-for-southwest-farmers/

#SolarPunkSunday #RegenerativeAgriculture #RegenerativeFarming #RestorativeAgriculture #ClimateChangeFarming

Could This #Arizona Ranch Be a Model for #Southwest Farmers?

Oatman Flats has undergone a dramatic transformation, becoming the Southwest’s first #Regenerative #Organic Certified farm and a potential source of ideas for weathering #ClimateChange.

" 'We embraced the abundance of #heirloom and native crops in the #SonoranDesert,' Hansen said. 'We are looking at the land and asking it what we should grow, rather than asking the land to grow what we want.' " - Dax Hansen, owner of Oatman Flats Ranch.

By Samuel Gilbert
May 12, 2025

Excerpt: "Regeneration Rooted in #Indigenous Practices

"Southern Arizona’s rich agricultural history stretches back more than 5,000 years. By 600 CE, the Hohokam people were constructing North America’s largest and most elaborate irrigation systems along the Salt and Gila Rivers. The descendants of the Hohokam—the Pima and Tohono O’odham—continued to farm the land up to and after the arrival of the Spanish, who began to colonize southern Arizona in the 1600s. They continue to farm in Arizona today.

"At the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation, about two hours southeast of Oatman Flats, the San Xavier Co-op Farm uses historic land management practices and grows traditional crops that reflect their respect for the land, plants, animals, elders, and the sacredness of water.

"San Xavier Farm Manager Duran Andrews and his team plant #CoverCrops, rotate fields, and collect #rainwater.

" '[Regenerative agriculture] is nothing new to us,' Andrews said. 'We have been doing this for decades. Harmony between nature and people has been our approach all the time.' Rotating fields and cultivating multiple mutually beneficial species in the same fields improves water and soil quality and biodiversity in this harsh landscape.

" 'You’ve seen what the land looks like in five years; imagine it in 10. If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere.'

"The co-op grows a variety of native crops that were developed in the region and cultivated for centuries or, in some cases, millennia, such as grains and beans, which they sell online. 'We irrigate them till they sprout, then cut them off till the monsoon shows up,' Andrews said. 'We try to keep crops in that hardy state through all the years and decades they have been here. We try not to get away from how things were done in the past.'

"They also grow White Sonora wheat, introduced to Arizona by Spanish Jesuit missionaries in the 1600s. 'It was a gift from Father Kino that we have taken as our own,' Andrews said. 'The [San Xavier] community was one of the first to grow this wheat.'

"Following the Mexican-American War in the mid-1800s, the United States claimed parts of modern-day Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, and Utah. The Anglo ranchers who moved into the area dug canals to irrigate agricultural fields, transforming the landscape. An 1852 watercolor by surveyor Jon Russell Bartlett depicts a verdant valley with cottonwoods and mesquite trees lining a flowing Gila River as it passes through Oatman Flats Ranch.

"That landscape is unrecognizable today. The lower Gila has gone bone dry after years of upstream diversions, dams, water overuse, and climate change. In 2019, the Gila River earned the title of Most Endangered River by the nonprofit advocacy group American Rivers.

"Standing on the sandy Gila riverbed, which divides the north and south farms of Oatman Flats Ranch, Wang pointed to the nearby invasive salt cedars. Healing the land involves rebuilding the water, nutrient, and carbon cycles from the ground up, 'at the micro level,' he said. 'On the macro level, it’s broken.'

"The ranch team has poured resources into rebuilding soil health by planting #hedgerows and 30-plus species of cover crops, at a cost of approximately $100,000. The hedgerows, mostly native trees, were planted along the edges of the fields to reduce erosion and provide habitat for beneficial species, including #pollinators such as #bees and #hummingbirds.

"The cover crops — #millet, #chickpeas, #sunflowers, #sorghum, sudan grass, broadleaves, and #NativeGrasses among them—are planted immediately after harvesting wheat, to provide 'soil armor,' help conserve water, fix nitrogen in the soil, suppress weeds, attract beneficial insects, and sequester carbon. The once-barren land now supports life for more than 120 species of flora and fauna."

Read more:
https://civileats.com/2025/05/12/could-this-arizona-ranch-be-a-model-for-southwest-farmers/

#SolarPunkSunday #RegenerativeAgriculture #RegenerativeFarming #RestorativeAgriculture #ClimateChangeFarming

Could This #Arizona Ranch Be a Model for #Southwest Farmers?

Oatman Flats has undergone a dramatic transformation, becoming the Southwest’s first #Regenerative #Organic Certified farm and a potential source of ideas for weathering #ClimateChange.

" 'We embraced the abundance of #heirloom and native crops in the #SonoranDesert,' Hansen said. 'We are looking at the land and asking it what we should grow, rather than asking the land to grow what we want.' " - Dax Hansen, owner of Oatman Flats Ranch.

By Samuel Gilbert
May 12, 2025

Excerpt: "Regeneration Rooted in #Indigenous Practices

"Southern Arizona’s rich agricultural history stretches back more than 5,000 years. By 600 CE, the Hohokam people were constructing North America’s largest and most elaborate irrigation systems along the Salt and Gila Rivers. The descendants of the Hohokam—the Pima and Tohono O’odham—continued to farm the land up to and after the arrival of the Spanish, who began to colonize southern Arizona in the 1600s. They continue to farm in Arizona today.

"At the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation, about two hours southeast of Oatman Flats, the San Xavier Co-op Farm uses historic land management practices and grows traditional crops that reflect their respect for the land, plants, animals, elders, and the sacredness of water.

"San Xavier Farm Manager Duran Andrews and his team plant #CoverCrops, rotate fields, and collect #rainwater.

" '[Regenerative agriculture] is nothing new to us,' Andrews said. 'We have been doing this for decades. Harmony between nature and people has been our approach all the time.' Rotating fields and cultivating multiple mutually beneficial species in the same fields improves water and soil quality and biodiversity in this harsh landscape.

" 'You’ve seen what the land looks like in five years; imagine it in 10. If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere.'

"The co-op grows a variety of native crops that were developed in the region and cultivated for centuries or, in some cases, millennia, such as grains and beans, which they sell online. 'We irrigate them till they sprout, then cut them off till the monsoon shows up,' Andrews said. 'We try to keep crops in that hardy state through all the years and decades they have been here. We try not to get away from how things were done in the past.'

"They also grow White Sonora wheat, introduced to Arizona by Spanish Jesuit missionaries in the 1600s. 'It was a gift from Father Kino that we have taken as our own,' Andrews said. 'The [San Xavier] community was one of the first to grow this wheat.'

"Following the Mexican-American War in the mid-1800s, the United States claimed parts of modern-day Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, and Utah. The Anglo ranchers who moved into the area dug canals to irrigate agricultural fields, transforming the landscape. An 1852 watercolor by surveyor Jon Russell Bartlett depicts a verdant valley with cottonwoods and mesquite trees lining a flowing Gila River as it passes through Oatman Flats Ranch.

"That landscape is unrecognizable today. The lower Gila has gone bone dry after years of upstream diversions, dams, water overuse, and climate change. In 2019, the Gila River earned the title of Most Endangered River by the nonprofit advocacy group American Rivers.

"Standing on the sandy Gila riverbed, which divides the north and south farms of Oatman Flats Ranch, Wang pointed to the nearby invasive salt cedars. Healing the land involves rebuilding the water, nutrient, and carbon cycles from the ground up, 'at the micro level,' he said. 'On the macro level, it’s broken.'

"The ranch team has poured resources into rebuilding soil health by planting #hedgerows and 30-plus species of cover crops, at a cost of approximately $100,000. The hedgerows, mostly native trees, were planted along the edges of the fields to reduce erosion and provide habitat for beneficial species, including #pollinators such as #bees and #hummingbirds.

"The cover crops — #millet, #chickpeas, #sunflowers, #sorghum, sudan grass, broadleaves, and #NativeGrasses among them—are planted immediately after harvesting wheat, to provide 'soil armor,' help conserve water, fix nitrogen in the soil, suppress weeds, attract beneficial insects, and sequester carbon. The once-barren land now supports life for more than 120 species of flora and fauna."

Read more:
https://civileats.com/2025/05/12/could-this-arizona-ranch-be-a-model-for-southwest-farmers/

#SolarPunkSunday #RegenerativeAgriculture #RegenerativeFarming #RestorativeAgriculture #ClimateChangeFarming

Could This #Arizona Ranch Be a Model for #Southwest Farmers?

Oatman Flats has undergone a dramatic transformation, becoming the Southwest’s first #Regenerative #Organic Certified farm and a potential source of ideas for weathering #ClimateChange.

" 'We embraced the abundance of #heirloom and native crops in the #SonoranDesert,' Hansen said. 'We are looking at the land and asking it what we should grow, rather than asking the land to grow what we want.' " - Dax Hansen, owner of Oatman Flats Ranch.

By Samuel Gilbert
May 12, 2025

Excerpt: "Regeneration Rooted in #Indigenous Practices

"Southern Arizona’s rich agricultural history stretches back more than 5,000 years. By 600 CE, the Hohokam people were constructing North America’s largest and most elaborate irrigation systems along the Salt and Gila Rivers. The descendants of the Hohokam—the Pima and Tohono O’odham—continued to farm the land up to and after the arrival of the Spanish, who began to colonize southern Arizona in the 1600s. They continue to farm in Arizona today.

"At the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation, about two hours southeast of Oatman Flats, the San Xavier Co-op Farm uses historic land management practices and grows traditional crops that reflect their respect for the land, plants, animals, elders, and the sacredness of water.

"San Xavier Farm Manager Duran Andrews and his team plant #CoverCrops, rotate fields, and collect #rainwater.

" '[Regenerative agriculture] is nothing new to us,' Andrews said. 'We have been doing this for decades. Harmony between nature and people has been our approach all the time.' Rotating fields and cultivating multiple mutually beneficial species in the same fields improves water and soil quality and biodiversity in this harsh landscape.

" 'You’ve seen what the land looks like in five years; imagine it in 10. If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere.'

"The co-op grows a variety of native crops that were developed in the region and cultivated for centuries or, in some cases, millennia, such as grains and beans, which they sell online. 'We irrigate them till they sprout, then cut them off till the monsoon shows up,' Andrews said. 'We try to keep crops in that hardy state through all the years and decades they have been here. We try not to get away from how things were done in the past.'

"They also grow White Sonora wheat, introduced to Arizona by Spanish Jesuit missionaries in the 1600s. 'It was a gift from Father Kino that we have taken as our own,' Andrews said. 'The [San Xavier] community was one of the first to grow this wheat.'

"Following the Mexican-American War in the mid-1800s, the United States claimed parts of modern-day Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, and Utah. The Anglo ranchers who moved into the area dug canals to irrigate agricultural fields, transforming the landscape. An 1852 watercolor by surveyor Jon Russell Bartlett depicts a verdant valley with cottonwoods and mesquite trees lining a flowing Gila River as it passes through Oatman Flats Ranch.

"That landscape is unrecognizable today. The lower Gila has gone bone dry after years of upstream diversions, dams, water overuse, and climate change. In 2019, the Gila River earned the title of Most Endangered River by the nonprofit advocacy group American Rivers.

"Standing on the sandy Gila riverbed, which divides the north and south farms of Oatman Flats Ranch, Wang pointed to the nearby invasive salt cedars. Healing the land involves rebuilding the water, nutrient, and carbon cycles from the ground up, 'at the micro level,' he said. 'On the macro level, it’s broken.'

"The ranch team has poured resources into rebuilding soil health by planting #hedgerows and 30-plus species of cover crops, at a cost of approximately $100,000. The hedgerows, mostly native trees, were planted along the edges of the fields to reduce erosion and provide habitat for beneficial species, including #pollinators such as #bees and #hummingbirds.

"The cover crops — #millet, #chickpeas, #sunflowers, #sorghum, sudan grass, broadleaves, and #NativeGrasses among them—are planted immediately after harvesting wheat, to provide 'soil armor,' help conserve water, fix nitrogen in the soil, suppress weeds, attract beneficial insects, and sequester carbon. The once-barren land now supports life for more than 120 species of flora and fauna."

Read more:
https://civileats.com/2025/05/12/could-this-arizona-ranch-be-a-model-for-southwest-farmers/

#SolarPunkSunday #RegenerativeAgriculture #RegenerativeFarming #RestorativeAgriculture #ClimateChangeFarming

Scientists Are Warning of A Brand-New Kind of #AcidRain

Story by Darren Orf

Key points:
- While acid rain caused by sulfur dioxide is an environmental threat of the past (at least, for now), a new kind of acid is proliferating in rain water—as well as groundwater, ice cores, and even human blood.
- #TrifluoroaceticAcid (#TFA) is a subclass of “#ForeverChemical” that’s been steadily increasing in concentrations around the world.
- With calls to consider this rise in TFA a planetary threat, some governments are starting ban chemicals linked to TFA—but the threat will require global cooperation.

"Acid rain may have a sequel, and like most sequels, it’s arguably worse.

"While the world’s first bout of acid rain (at least, in modern times) came from increased concentrations of sulfuric acid produced largely from coal plants, this new #anthropogenic source is possibly more pervasive, more persistent, and more sinister. Its name is Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a kind of 'forever chemical' that, for decades, has been steadily increasing in #RainWater—but not just rain water.

"Countries around the world have found increasing concentrations in #groundwater, #ArcticIceCores, #wine, and even #HumanBlood. In fact, TFA is likely the most pervasive form of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl (#PFAS)—technically, a subclass known as ultrashort-chain perfluoroalkyl acid (#PFAA)—on Earth due in part to the fact that longer-chain PFAS degrade into TFA via #incinerators or #SewageTreatment plants. They’re also used in #refrigerants instead of #chlorofluorocarbons and #hydrochlorofluorocarbons, which were famously known to deplete the Earth’s #OzoneLayer.

"In October of 2024, a team of European environmental scientists raised the TFA alarm, stating that a rise in concentration could be considered a threat to '#PlanetaryBoundaries' — a system designed to make sure the planet remains #habitable for human life (which we are doing a real bang-up job at following).

" 'Since the 1990s, it has been suggested that hazard-related concerns of TFA and other short-chain PFAAs are much lower than those of PFAAs with longer perfluoroalkyl chains, which are more #bioaccumulative and generally more #toxic,' the authors wrote back in October. 'However, these early reports did not consider TFA’s ubiquitous accumulation in the environment, in particular its observed accumulation in water resources and #bioaccumulation in various plants, including crops.'

"One of the most dangerous things about PFAAs is what we don’t know about them. Unlike other PFAS (of which there are, sadly, thousands of different kinds), TFA is so small (a.k.a. ultrashort) that it’s water-soluble, meaning it likely passes through the human body pretty quickly. A new Nature article reports that some scientists find this evidence compelling enough to not even consider TFA a kind of PFAS, but a growing chorus of voices are raising concerns that increased concentrations of TFA in water and food sources could render TFA’s fast-moving nature a moot point.

"In fact, TFA’s water-solubility could be a long-term headache. If scientists and governments eventually decide that TFA does need to be removed from drinking water and other sources, current filtration technologies are not up to the task. In other words, ridding the world of TFA will not only be immensely difficult, it’ll also be incredibly expensive. Current regulations to eliminate certain forms of PFAS are already proving to be fiscally onerous.

"Thankfully, some governments are taking action. #Denmark, for example, banned 23 substances earlier this month known to contain PFAS that contribute to rising TFA concentrations. Meanwhile, the #US is lagging behind—the Environmental Protection Agency [#EPA] doesn’t even define TFA as a 'forever chemical,' much to the dismay of #environmentalist groups and to the merriment of many #industry leaders.

"Rising concentrations of TFA is the acid rain sequel no one wanted. But just like every terrible sequel ever made, it seems like we’re getting it anyway."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/scientists-are-warning-of-a-brand-new-kind-of-acid-rain/ar-AA1JhZaP?ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&cvid=1f43e3736065441889cbebfb22a4eb74&ei=10

#WaterIsLife #Dupont #DowChemical #3M #ForeverChemicals #EPACuts #Deregulation #TrumpSucks #USPol #WorldPol #Environment #EnvironmentalDamage #GenXChemicals #3MLied

Water butt level indicator project was a roaring success. Idea from a random internet blog I stumbled across a few weeks ago

See alt text for descriptions

#diy #gardening #gardeningmastodon #homesteading #irrigation #rainwater #waterbutts #homeprojects

Taking a break to water the plants using #rainwater. Keeping one's #RainBarrel clean is essential to having good rainwater! And I've found that if mosquitoes are an issue, a light layer of olive oil (I save old, rancid olive oil for this purpose) can smother mosquito larvae. Natural dish soap does the same thing, without causing harm to plants.

Now, this article mentions using goldfish in one's rainbarrel. Ummmm... But, vegetable oils and natural soap will work (and so would #BTDunks )!

How To Control Mosquitoes In A Rain Barrel

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/mosquito-control-in-rain-barrels.htm

#SolarPunkSunday #NaturalPestControl #RainwaterCollection #Gardening #ClimateChangeGardening #RainBarrell

Hydrangeas will bloom beautifully blue if watered with 1 natural item https://www.allforgardening.com/1359686/hydrangeas-will-bloom-beautifully-blue-if-watered-with-1-natural-item/ #BlueFlowers #flowers #garden #gardening #hydrangeas #rainwater #SoilAcidity

Hydrangeas will bloom beautifully blue if watered with 1 natural item https://www.allforgardening.com/1359686/hydrangeas-will-bloom-beautifully-blue-if-watered-with-1-natural-item/ #BlueFlowers #flowers #garden #gardening #hydrangeas #rainwater #SoilAcidity

Ooooh...! Some really cool tips here! Well-thought out!

#ClimateChangeGardening: 12 strategies for a #resilient #garden

by Niki Jabbour

"#ClimateChange gardening is a set of tactics that make our yards and gardens more resilient to extreme weather as well as reduce our personal impacts on the climate. There are several ways to approach climate change gardening. You can use sustainable and organic gardening practices that put soil, #biodiversity, and #pollinators first. You can also plan to reduce plastic waste, up-cycle materials, and collect #rainwater.

3 reasons to care about climate change gardening

"Climate change gardening influences the health and success of your garden. When you nurture your soil, foster biodiversity, and support pollinators you create a garden that is more resilient to the challenges of climate change. Here are 3 reasons to care about climate change gardening.

- Extreme weather – The impact of weather related challenges like droughts, storms, precipitation, flooding, and above or below normal temperatures can be reduced with climate change gardening strategies.
- Pollinators, birds, and beneficial insects – Climate change can affect pollinators and birds in various ways. Weather extremes can impact migration timing and success, host plant growth and bloom time, disease and pest issues, and habitat and food supply.
- Non-native invasive pests and plants – With a longer growing season, invasive plants, pests, and diseases will move north and potentially affect plant health and crop yields."

Read more [tips include #NoTill gardening]:
https://savvygardening.com/climate-change-gardening/
#ClimateChange #GardenGuidance #ClimateChangeGardening #Resiliency #GardenGuides #SolarPunkSunday #FoodSecurity #WaterManagement #PestManagement

In April 2024, more than 9 million residents of Bogotá, Colombia’s capital city, were told to #collect #rainwater
– if the city was lucky enough to experience a storm❗️
Fed by the Guatiquía River, the Chingaza reservoir system, which supplies the area with 70% of its water, had reached critically low levels.
To make what was left stretch through a dry spell with no clear end in sight, authorities divided the city into nine zones.
💥Every day, one of the zones would go dry for 24 hours.
No toilet would flush.
No glass of water would be filled from the tap.
Dishes would have to go unwashed.
Bogotá Mayor Carlos Galan told residents they should
🔥be prepared to live with the water restrictions for a year.
“The call is to take care of every drop of water,” the mayor’s office said, according to CBS News.
⚠️ A month later, 2,000 miles away in Mexico, the Cutzamala system of reservoirs reached historic lows.
The water reserves supply a substantial portion of water to #Mexico #City’s 22 million residents, who faced mandatory rationing.
🆘 Bogotá and Mexico City’s stories mirror those of cities across the globe.
The amount of water stored in lakes worldwide has drastically and steadily decreased since 1992, according to a 2023 study published in the prestigious research journal Science.
During those 30 years, freshwater lakes collectively lost an average of 600 cubic kilometers of water storage annually
– 17 times the volume of Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States.
https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/09/how-cities-run-dry/

#PlasticRain Is the New #AcidRain

Plastic rain could prove to be a more insidious problem than acid rain.

by Matt Simon
June 12, 2020

"Hoof it through the national parks of the western United States—Joshua Tree, the #GrandCanyon, Bryce Canyon—and breathe deep the pristine air. These are unspoiled lands, collectively a great American conservation story. Yet an invisible menace is actually blowing through the air and falling via raindrops: #Microplastic particles, tiny chunks (by definition, less than 5 millimeters long) of fragmented plastic bottles and microfibers that fray from clothes, all #pollutants that get caught up in Earth’s atmospheric systems and deposited in the #wilderness.

"Writing in the journal Science, researchers report a startling discovery: After collecting #rainwater and air samples for 14 months, they calculated that over 1,000 metric tons of microplastic particles fall into 11 protected areas in the western US each year. That’s the equivalent of over 120 million plastic water bottles.

"'We just did that for the area of protected areas in the West, which is only 6 percent of the total US area,' says lead author Janice Brahney, an environmental scientist at Utah State University. 'The number was just so large, it's shocking.'

"It further confirms an increasingly hellish scenario: Microplastics are blowing all over the world, landing in supposedly pure habitats, like the #Arctic and the remote #FrenchPyrenees. They’re flowing into the #oceans via #wastewater and tainting #deepsea #ecosystems, and they’re even ejecting out of the water and blowing onto land in sea breezes. And now in the American West, and presumably across the rest of the world given that these are fundamental atmospheric processes, they are falling in the form of plastic rain—the new acid rain.

"Plastic rain could prove to be a more insidious problem than acid rain, which is a consequence of #SulfurDioxide and #NitrogenOxide emissions. By deploying #scrubbers in power plants to control the former, and catalytic converters in cars to control the latter, the US and other countries have over the last several decades cut down on the #acidification problem. But microplastic has already corrupted even the most #RemoteEnvironments, and there’s no way to scrub water or land or air of the particles—the stuff is absolutely everywhere, and it’s not like there’s a plastic magnet we can drag through the oceans. What makes plastic so useful—its hardiness—is what also makes it an alarming pollutant: Plastic never really goes away, instead breaking into ever smaller bits that infiltrate ever smaller corners of the planet. Even worse, plastic waste is expected to skyrocket from 260 million tons a year to 460 million tons by 2030, according to the consultancy McKinsey. More people joining the middle class in #EconomicallyDeveloping countries means more #consumerism and more #PlasticPackaging. "

Read more:
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/plastic-rain-is-the-new-acid-rain?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

#Crapitalism #BanPlastics #WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife

In Halifax, Canada, green roofs net great results

As cities grapple with climate change, green roofs are catching carbon, shielding buildings from sunlight and moderating temperatures

Equally important for Halifax, which averages more than 1.35 metres of rain per year, is how green roofs reduce flooding by absorbing storm water and filtering runoff into grey water & sewers

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/06/03/news/Halifax-green-roofs-sustainable-architecture

#GreenRoof #ecology #rain #rainwater #flood #runoff #recycle #food #ClimateChange #Halifax

‘#ForeverChemicals’ – the part of cleaning you don’t want to last

"Notable categories of cleaners that either may contain, or have historically contained, PFAS are:

- glass and hard surface cleaners
- fabric, upholstery, and #CarpetCleaners and treatments
- #waxes and polishes for #floors, #furniture, #cars and #boat vessels
- dishwashing rinse aids
- #AerosolPropellant-based #cleaners and #AirFresheners
- #paints and #coatings.

"Floor sealers and finishes – products that cure into a film once applied – often contain PFAS. During floor stripping and waxing, PFAS concentrations in dust and air particulate matter were one order of magnitude greater than typical residential indoor air and two orders of magnitude greater than outdoor air, according to a 2022 study.

"But now the cleaning products #Industry wants to keep consumers in the dark about the use of these chemicals in their brands. Earlier this month, a bill was introduced in Congress on behalf of leading household cleaning product makers that would deny Americans the right to know about #ToxicChemicals in cleaning products.

"The manufacturer #Reckitt applauded Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) for introducing the bill, which would rob consumers of crucial information about the ingredients in their products. Reckitt makes popular household brands like #Lysol, #Woolite, #AirWick, #Vanish, #Calgon, among many others.

And industry giant #SCJohnson
called for a 'clear federal standard' on disclosing ingredients, knowing any such standard could take a decade or longer. The company manufactures #Glade, #Drano, #Pledge, #ScrubbingBubbles, #Shout and #Windex, along with many other products, including #Ziploc."

Read more:
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2023/10/forever-chemicals-part-cleaning-you-dont-want-last

#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater

‘#ForeverChemicals’ – the part of cleaning you don’t want to last

"Notable categories of cleaners that either may contain, or have historically contained, PFAS are:

- glass and hard surface cleaners
- fabric, upholstery, and #CarpetCleaners and treatments
- #waxes and polishes for #floors, #furniture, #cars and #boat vessels
- dishwashing rinse aids
- #AerosolPropellant-based #cleaners and #AirFresheners
- #paints and #coatings.

"Floor sealers and finishes – products that cure into a film once applied – often contain PFAS. During floor stripping and waxing, PFAS concentrations in dust and air particulate matter were one order of magnitude greater than typical residential indoor air and two orders of magnitude greater than outdoor air, according to a 2022 study.

"But now the cleaning products #Industry wants to keep consumers in the dark about the use of these chemicals in their brands. Earlier this month, a bill was introduced in Congress on behalf of leading household cleaning product makers that would deny Americans the right to know about #ToxicChemicals in cleaning products.

"The manufacturer #Reckitt applauded Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) for introducing the bill, which would rob consumers of crucial information about the ingredients in their products. Reckitt makes popular household brands like #Lysol, #Woolite, #AirWick, #Vanish, #Calgon, among many others.

And industry giant #SCJohnson
called for a 'clear federal standard' on disclosing ingredients, knowing any such standard could take a decade or longer. The company manufactures #Glade, #Drano, #Pledge, #ScrubbingBubbles, #Shout and #Windex, along with many other products, including #Ziploc."

Read more:
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2023/10/forever-chemicals-part-cleaning-you-dont-want-last

#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater

‘#ForeverChemicals’ – the part of cleaning you don’t want to last

"Notable categories of cleaners that either may contain, or have historically contained, PFAS are:

- glass and hard surface cleaners
- fabric, upholstery, and #CarpetCleaners and treatments
- #waxes and polishes for #floors, #furniture, #cars and #boat vessels
- dishwashing rinse aids
- #AerosolPropellant-based #cleaners and #AirFresheners
- #paints and #coatings.

"Floor sealers and finishes – products that cure into a film once applied – often contain PFAS. During floor stripping and waxing, PFAS concentrations in dust and air particulate matter were one order of magnitude greater than typical residential indoor air and two orders of magnitude greater than outdoor air, according to a 2022 study.

"But now the cleaning products #Industry wants to keep consumers in the dark about the use of these chemicals in their brands. Earlier this month, a bill was introduced in Congress on behalf of leading household cleaning product makers that would deny Americans the right to know about #ToxicChemicals in cleaning products.

"The manufacturer #Reckitt applauded Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) for introducing the bill, which would rob consumers of crucial information about the ingredients in their products. Reckitt makes popular household brands like #Lysol, #Woolite, #AirWick, #Vanish, #Calgon, among many others.

And industry giant #SCJohnson
called for a 'clear federal standard' on disclosing ingredients, knowing any such standard could take a decade or longer. The company manufactures #Glade, #Drano, #Pledge, #ScrubbingBubbles, #Shout and #Windex, along with many other products, including #Ziploc."

Read more:
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2023/10/forever-chemicals-part-cleaning-you-dont-want-last

#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater

‘#ForeverChemicals’ – the part of cleaning you don’t want to last

"Notable categories of cleaners that either may contain, or have historically contained, PFAS are:

- glass and hard surface cleaners
- fabric, upholstery, and #CarpetCleaners and treatments
- #waxes and polishes for #floors, #furniture, #cars and #boat vessels
- dishwashing rinse aids
- #AerosolPropellant-based #cleaners and #AirFresheners
- #paints and #coatings.

"Floor sealers and finishes – products that cure into a film once applied – often contain PFAS. During floor stripping and waxing, PFAS concentrations in dust and air particulate matter were one order of magnitude greater than typical residential indoor air and two orders of magnitude greater than outdoor air, according to a 2022 study.

"But now the cleaning products #Industry wants to keep consumers in the dark about the use of these chemicals in their brands. Earlier this month, a bill was introduced in Congress on behalf of leading household cleaning product makers that would deny Americans the right to know about #ToxicChemicals in cleaning products.

"The manufacturer #Reckitt applauded Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) for introducing the bill, which would rob consumers of crucial information about the ingredients in their products. Reckitt makes popular household brands like #Lysol, #Woolite, #AirWick, #Vanish, #Calgon, among many others.

And industry giant #SCJohnson
called for a 'clear federal standard' on disclosing ingredients, knowing any such standard could take a decade or longer. The company manufactures #Glade, #Drano, #Pledge, #ScrubbingBubbles, #Shout and #Windex, along with many other products, including #Ziploc."

Read more:
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2023/10/forever-chemicals-part-cleaning-you-dont-want-last

#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater

‘#ForeverChemicals’ – the part of cleaning you don’t want to last

"Notable categories of cleaners that either may contain, or have historically contained, PFAS are:

- glass and hard surface cleaners
- fabric, upholstery, and #CarpetCleaners and treatments
- #waxes and polishes for #floors, #furniture, #cars and #boat vessels
- dishwashing rinse aids
- #AerosolPropellant-based #cleaners and #AirFresheners
- #paints and #coatings.

"Floor sealers and finishes – products that cure into a film once applied – often contain PFAS. During floor stripping and waxing, PFAS concentrations in dust and air particulate matter were one order of magnitude greater than typical residential indoor air and two orders of magnitude greater than outdoor air, according to a 2022 study.

"But now the cleaning products #Industry wants to keep consumers in the dark about the use of these chemicals in their brands. Earlier this month, a bill was introduced in Congress on behalf of leading household cleaning product makers that would deny Americans the right to know about #ToxicChemicals in cleaning products.

"The manufacturer #Reckitt applauded Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) for introducing the bill, which would rob consumers of crucial information about the ingredients in their products. Reckitt makes popular household brands like #Lysol, #Woolite, #AirWick, #Vanish, #Calgon, among many others.

And industry giant #SCJohnson
called for a 'clear federal standard' on disclosing ingredients, knowing any such standard could take a decade or longer. The company manufactures #Glade, #Drano, #Pledge, #ScrubbingBubbles, #Shout and #Windex, along with many other products, including #Ziploc."

Read more:
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2023/10/forever-chemicals-part-cleaning-you-dont-want-last

#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater

Are ‘#ForeverChemicals’ In Your Favorite Sparkling Water? Here’s What to Know

Many brands have #PFAS levels of more than 1 part per trillion, exceeding the #Environmental Working Group's recommendation.

By Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner
Published on April 28, 2024

"Bottled and canned water is often considered a healthier or safer option, thanks to purification and processing. But that may not necessarily be the case. In 2020, Consumer Reports ran a study to determine PFAS levels in 47 bottled waters, including 35 noncarbonated and 12 carbonated samples. Many of the carbonated waters had PFAS in them."

https://www.foodandwine.com/pfas-in-sparkling-water-8640113

#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater #BlueTriton #PolandSpring

‘#ForeverChemicals’ Are Found in Some #Milk, Including #Organic

Story by Lauren Kirchner
May 2, 2024

"It was November 2016 when one of the earliest warning signs flashed, in the form of an unassuming and very unlucky dairy farm in #Arundel, #Maine.

"That’s when Fred Stone learned that water on his farm contained high levels of #PFAS. The source of the pollution was later found to be recycled sewage #sludge, which he had been told for many years was a safe #fertilizer. But per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—otherwise known as “forever chemicals” for their persistence in the environment and in humans—have been linked to cancer, immunity and endocrine problems, and infertility.

"The chemicals had contaminated not just his body but his cows and their milk. The land that three generations of his family had worked on for over a century was now toxic.

"Stone took his story public, and similar reports from other farmers around the country followed. In 2018 a dairy and cattle farmer in New Mexico learned that PFAS-containing firefighting foam from a nearby Air Force base had leached into his well water, putting him out of business. In 2022 Michigan shut down a cattle farm because fertilizer it got from a nearby wastewater treatment plant had contaminated the cows’ feed with PFAS. And earlier this year, the owners of two ranches in Texas said that PFAS-laden fertilizer had killed their livestock and made them sick, too."

https://www.consumerreports.org/pfas/pfas-forever-chemicals-found-in-some-milk-including-organic-a1101576034/

#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater

The #EPA is cracking down on #PFAS — but not in #fertilizer

Story by Zoya Teirstein
4/19/2024

"Although the EPA’s new restrictions are groundbreaking, they only apply to a portion of the nation’s extensive PFAS contamination problem. That’s because drinking water isn’t the only way Americans are exposed to PFAS, and not all companies spreading PFAS into the environment deliberately added the chemicals to the products. In Texas, a group of farmers whose properties were contaminated with PFAS from fertilizer are claiming the manufacturer should have done more to warn buyers about the dangers of its products. The first-of-its-kind lawsuit illustrates how much more regulation will be needed to rid the environment — and Americans’ bodies — of forever chemicals."

https://grist.org/agriculture/the-epa-is-cracking-down-on-pfas-but-not-in-fertilizer/

#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater

LEAVE IT TO HUMANS TO NOT ONLY SH*T WHERE THEY EAT -- BUT WITH HARD TO BREAK FLUORINE-CARBON BONDS! GOOD JOB HUMANS! MAYBE CONSIDER ALL POSSIBLE OUTCOMES BEFORE MAKING STUPID DECISIONS!

‘This is #Chernobyl’: #Texas ranchers say ‘forever chemicals’ in waste-based fertilizers ruined their land

Story by Rebecca Lopez
April 28, 2024

"Ranchers here say their cattle, fish and horses are dying and getting sick because of a fertilizer spread on nearby farmland.

"The fertilizer is made from treated human waste from the city of Fort Worth.

"The company that makes the fertilizer says its products meet government standards.

"County officials have launched a criminal investigation, and ranchers are suing, saying runoff from the fertilizer has made their land useless."

Read more:
https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/investigations/texas-johnson-county-ranchers-forever-chemicals-pfas-fort-worth/287-85b7d4ce-c694-4c2a-b221-78bd94d6c8f6

#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater

#Maine Is a Warning for America’s #PFAS Future

Story by Zoë Schlanger
4/11/2024

"Cordelia Saunders remembers 2021, the year she and her husband, Nathan, found out that they’d likely been drinking tainted water for more than 30 years. A neighbor’s 20 peach trees had finally matured that summer, and perfect-looking peaches hung from their branches. Cordelia watched the fruit drop to the ground and rot: Her neighbor didn’t dare eat it.

"The Saunderses’ home, in Fairfield, Maine, is in a quiet, secluded spot, 50 minutes from the drama of the rocky coast and an hour and 15 minutes from the best skiing around. It’s also sitting atop a plume of poison.

"For decades, sewage sludge was spread on the corn fields surrounding their house, and on hundreds of other fields across the state. That sludge is suspected to have been tainted with PFAS, a group of man-made compounds that cause a litany of ailments, including kidney and prostate cancers, fertility loss, and developmental disorders. The Saunderses’ property is on one of the most contaminated roads in a state just waking up to the extent of an invisible crisis.

Onur Apul, an environmental engineer at the University of Maine and the head of its initiative to study PFAS solutions, told me that in his opinion, the United States has seen 'nothing as overwhelming, and nothing as universal' as the PFAS crisis. Even the #DDT crisis of the 1960s doesn’t compare, he said: DDT was used only as an insecticide and could be banned by banning that single use. PFAS are used in hundreds of products across industries and consumer sectors. Their nearly 15,000 variations can help make pans nonstick, hiking clothes and plumber’s tape waterproof, and dental floss slippery. They’re in performance fabrics on couches, waterproof mascara, tennis rackets, ski wax. Destroying them demands massive inputs of energy: Their fluorine-carbon bond is the single most stable bond in organic chemistry."

Read more:
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2024/04/pfas-drinking-water-maine/678040/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/rV2vC

#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater

It's been nice to be in the #HabitableZone for a few weeks after the last #NorEaster. Today was a bit on the warm side, but soon #Hazy / #Wildfires / #ExtremeHeat will be here. I think this years' theme in #Maine will be #Drought rather than humid #Wetbulb -- more like 2022. Better store that #Rainwater -- but make sure you put a layer of #OliveOil on top (a good use for old/rancid oil) to keep the #Mosquitoes at bay.
#MaineWeather #ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #Maine