Blogs

PSmall's picture

Plants take up drugs, antibacterials from biosolids used as fertilizers

Research demonstrates that chemical contaminants found in wastewater and sewage sludge (aka biosolids) may accumulate in plants.  (EHN Source

PSmall's picture

Biochar Offsets

I have been producing small quantities of biochar at home and using it in my compost.  My equipment is relatively low tech, but my process is reasonably efficient. Those who care deeply about the implications of rising atmospheric CO2  will invariably ask, can biochar produced in such a low tech system offset the carbon produced by the fire used to create the biochar in the first place?   The answer can be decidedly yes even when efficiency is low if you keep it simple.

PSmall's picture

How To Make Charcoal by Gary Gilmore

 Editor's note:

Gary gave me the go-ahead to use his article article and I am glad to take the opportunity.  A slightly different version of the article, with some informative illustrations, is posted at http://www.puffergas.com/historic/rules/rules.html.  I am happily relying on Gary's design myself.  It works great.
LLynn's picture

Wetlands delineation in soils with permafrost

Deep organics

Wetland delineation in permafrost soils presents a unique challange. Right now I am in Interior Alaska, northeast of Fairbanks conducting a wetland delineation in black spruce (picea mariana) forests underlain by permafrost. One of the trickiest parts of deciphering the wetland soil features is understanding the seasonal timing in relation to the permafrost depth. When I visited this site in mid-May, the seasonal frost was still at 8" below the surface. Now we are running into season frost and/or permafrost at 16" or so.

PSmall's picture

Persuasion

Hiring a soil scientist as a consultant can be a big leap for a client ...

PBordenave's picture

Opportunities in Storm Water and Erosion Control Permitting

For several years now, I have heard many of our members say that they are locked out of the business of Storm Water and Erosion Control work because their state or local agencies have defined all of that work as “engineering” and they are barred from performing the design of the plans.

PBordenave's picture

My Two Cents on Health Insurance Reform

The following is a more “average business owners” evaluation of what the insurance reform legislation does for you and me and Bobby McGhee.

PScoles's picture

Those Wizards Behind The Curtain

Recapping the Annual Meeting with a Round of Appreciation.

PSmall's picture

Health Care Reform and my Small Business

In our search for information on how the newly passed Health Care Reform is going to affect our business and our family, wife Rosemary came across a valuable timeline of reform elements.

Changes with Version 7 Field Indicators of Hydric Soils

 Changes between Field Indicators 7.0 and 6.0  with reference to USACOE Regional Supplements.

PSmall's picture

Me Too: I Hate Embargoes

I want to express my complete and unwavering support for science blogger "GrrlScientist" in her quest to get unfettered pre-publication access to science articles, on par with mainstream media (MSM). 

MMcClain's picture

NSCSS: President's Vision for 2010

Presented to NSCSS, Amelia Island, FL, March 5, 2010.

MMcClain's picture

Got an App for That?

 Smart Phones such as the Blackberry and iPhone are everywhere. There are several applications or “APPs” as they are known for the iPhone, many of which can be useful to soil scientists. 

PSmall's picture

News: US Congressman Chandler (KY) Receives Soil Stewardship Award

Ben Chandler, the congressman from Kentucky’s Sixth District, has received an “Excellence in Soil Stewardship Award” from the Soil Science Society of America for his support of agriculture and conservation.

PSmall's picture

Capture and reuse phosphorus

Another timely article relating to peak phosphorus:

The failure to capture and reuse phosphorus could contribute to a global food crisis as supplies of the vital fertilizer run low, say the authors of a report that highlights ways phosphorus can be recovered from human and animal waste.

"They say that what we excrete in urine equals the amount of phosphorus required to grow 50 to 100 per cent of our food,"  

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