Posted on 06/25/2007 1:51:24 PM PDT by grundle
Worm composting could be doing more harm than good to the environment, a leading researcher claimed today.
Composting Association research director Jim Frederickson said: “Worms produce a significant amount of greenhouse gases. Recent research done by German scientists has found that worms produced a third of nitrous oxide gases when used for composting.”
The ‘wiggly ones’ naturally produce nitrous oxide gases when they are put into the process of composting.
Worms can be used for home grown composting or commercial composting and are typically red worms. They are used to recycle food scraps and other organic material into valuable soil worm compost, otherwise known as vermicompost. This compost can then be used to grow plants.
“We have concentrated on getting waste out of landfill and into worm composting systems but they can actually produce more greenhouse gases than landfill sites produce,” Frederickson said.
Under the Waste Strategy the Government has strongly supported the composting of waste in efforts to reduce the landfilling of biodegradable waste. This includes encouraging householders to invest in home composting systems.
The Government wishes to increase the amount of waste which is composted to 40% by 2010 and 45% by 2015.
Although Frederickson says that worm composting is a positive thing, he claims that not enough research has been done on worms releasing polluting gases.
Frederickson said: “Everybody loves them because they think they can do no harm but they contribute to global warming. People are looking into alternative waste treatments but we have to make sure that we are not jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
“We need to investigate all alternative systems for greenhouse potential.
“The emissions that come from these worms can actually be 290 times more potent than carbon dioxide and 20 times more potent than methane. In all environmental systems you get good points and bad points.”
With all the hot air these so-called scientists are spewing, no wonder we have to deal with global warming!
That’s right, what’s destroying the Earth is you damned environmentalists! Throw some pesticide on those compost worms and start putting your garbage into the dumps, where God intended it to go!
What was God thinking making all those creatures that would destroy the earth? /s
You can’t do anything right by these environmentalists, can you?
Face it. We are doomed. We are all gonna die, no matter what. Except of course, for me.
Still laughing.....*snort*
I thought this was a joke. I was looking for a link to The Onion, or something. This is just insane. People are just going off the deep end.
Stop Global Warming.
Take a worm fishing.
There goes Al Gore’s dreams for world domination of the worm composting market.
Well, where the hell can I jump??
COOOL! Do we get to ride them into battle ?
I think I’ll go start my pickup engine and let it run for a while in the parking lot. Or, would, if I actually believed that it would help the warming.
What a mental giant!
The only ‘green house gas’ there is is called water; can worms make it?
Another bellwether of the coming apocolypse: The Spice Girls reunion.
Composting is great, and can substitute for commercial fertilizers. I’m sure the worms produce green house gases, as do all living things. Hey, I just realized we can solve this problem by extinguishing all life on Earth.
CO2 is not a pollutant!
Oh great, now the government’s going to go in our yards with those goofy electric probes, scare up all our earth worms, confiscate the majority of them and micro chip the ones they allow us keep - and the ones they confiscate will be made into some kind of blended protein drink that they will feed to the kids at the public schools.
WE'RE DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.