FOR THE EARTH

Animal agriculture takes a devastating toll on the earth. It is an
inefficient way of producing food, since feed for farm animals requires land, water, fertilizer, and other resources that could have been used directly for producing human food. It is linked to
a number of environmental problems, including: contamination of aquatic ecosystems, soil, and drinking water by manure, pesticides, and fertilizers; acid rain from ammonia emissions; greenhouse gas production; and depletion of aquifers
for irrigation.
The United Nations has reported that a vegan diet can feed many more people than an animal based diet. For instance, projections have estimated that the 1992 food supply could have fed about 6.3 billion people on a purely vegetarian diet, 4.2 billion people on an 85% vegetarian diet, or 3.2 billion people on a 75% vegetarian diet.

A Thoughtful Article from Mary Jane on Anaerobic digestion:

GOLD FROM THE QUEEN CITY’S THRONES – AND MIDDENS

I would like the methane (natural gas) I buy for warming my house and water, and for cooking, to be produced locally by anaerobic digestion of current sources such as garbage and sewage, rather than from fracked or drilled deposits that have been sequestered for hundreds of millions of years.

Anaerobic digesters contain microorganisms which consume organic matter, producing methane and fertilizer.  This process occurs naturally in sewage treatment and landfills, but the gas is not usually captured, becoming a liability instead of an asset. The fertilizer can nurture more trees, fruits, nuts, berry bushes, vegetables, flowers and herbs on more open spaces and roofs, removing CO2 and providing abundant fresh, healthful food throughout greater Cincinnati.

Imagine a partnership involving the City of Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Duke Energy, Rumpke, the Metropolitan Sewer District and other key stakeholders, to transform the massive amounts of discarded food, sewage and other organic waste into raw materials for thriving Earth-friendly industry.

Mount Rumpke, the highest point in Hamilton County, daily grows from added tons of food, paper, cardboard, natural fiber fabrics, wood, dog poo, used diapers and many other kinds of organic matter.  Currently, Duke Energy does capture and distribute some of the methane generated in Rumpke’s mountain.  Proactive anaerobic digesters would increase output and curtail emissions, turning a potent greenhouse gas into a profitable product.

The Cincinnati Zoo, Marvin’s Organic Gardens, Compost Cincy and other existing collaborations could incorporate the anaerobic digestion step between organics and compost, deriving energy as well as rich soil amendments.

Developing this industry now, while natural gas is cheap, ensures a continued supply after the inevitable scarcity and price rise to come, with carbon neutrality forever after.  Enterprises that gear up to provide anaerobic digesters, scaled from single building to campus to neighborhood to metropolitan sized, can diversify into producing equipment for recycling literally everything currently dumped, turning trash into treasure.

Envision the region as a world leader in designing and building this technology locally to market, install, maintain and upgrade globally.  Wherever there are people, there is organic waste, a perpetual input for producing energy and fertilizer.

I am proud to live in a city that is forging a renewable future.  Let’s unleash our incredible visionary power and Cincinnati can accelerate the transition to a sustainable and resilient planetary economy.

Mary-Jane Newborn

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
-Mahatma Ghandi

Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.
-Albert Einstein

Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings we are still savages.
-Thomas Edison

* Factory Farm animals * Unseen they suffer, Unheard they cry, In agony they linger, In loneliness they die.