Oil and Bioremediation in the Age of Global Warming

I don't normally find a good word to say about Shell Oil or any other oil company. But I was intrigued by an article about the use of a rose farm to create bioremediation for oil refineries by Shell Oil in the Netherlands http://tinyurl.com/ejtoj to reduce carbon emissions.

In Maine, we now have a thriving wind farm industry but the evidence of bat kills as well as birds continues to be disturbing despite new designs and placements. I am betting on wave energy because the Bay of Fundy has the strongest tides in the world. That is also being more intensively explored now. Meanwhile global warming continues and requires immediate solutions.

I find the application of bioremediation intriguing and promising as an intermediatory solution until we can achieve full independence from fossil fuels. Besides this recent application to global warming issues, bioremediation has been used successfully for mercury & metals reclamation, as gold. Mercury, for example, is a major concern here in Maine, at the end of the Midwest tail pipe from coal factories and the jetstream.

I think bioremediation is an inadequately explored option. I know it also has problems, as the consumption of plant materials, as seeds, by birds & other fauna but I suspect even those problems might be overcome with original thinking. Using a farm to reduce emissions at the refinery level is a new & valuable idea for me.

At this point I am anxious to identify and acknowledge any avenue of promise. There have been a lot of recent media discussions here in this country about polarization between parties, whether politically, in the world arena or between stakeholders. I think there are many reasons for that but I do think at this point it is in the way of finding solutions to the problems we face. As one study pointed out, when our emotions are aroused, we (as a species) fail to accurately take in information. Without information, we are doomed.

Recently, for example, I was speaking to a rancher from Arizona, concerned with the fires in Sidona. He described how he is trying to use grazing techniques (similar to traditional means in Wales) as an alternative to controlled burning to create open space/biodiversity. However, he says he is in conflict with Earth First folks there who are (by his version) unwilling to even look at scientific papers that document the value of rotational grazing and will eventually drive ranchers out of business entirely.

In "Animals in Translation", Temple Grandin writes, we are not yet going to be a species that eschews meat. So the question is how to kill humanely until & if something changes. I would rather address the suffering of animals now and find answers to loss of biodiversity than wait until the whole world goes vegetarian while we lose open space. Whatever the “final truth” on these controversial points, it seems obvious to me that it is a lose lose situation when people are unwilling to see value in different approaches.

I am personally learning a great deal these days about humility, modest goals and the value of taking responsibility for self-righteousness & perfectionism. I know there are times when there can be no compromise but I suspect they are fewer and further apart than I once believed.