Natural Resources
Earth’s carbon cycle works on a global scale. But it can be affected by the tiniest of organisms: soil microbes. These microbes decompose organic matter like plant litter and dead organisms, and create simple carbon compounds. These simple carbon compounds can then be used by other organisms, or turned into gases (like carbon dioxide) and released into the atmosphere.
Sewage treatment plants provide an important service to communities around the world. Through several processes, these facilities take dirty water and transform it into water that can be reused safely. Treating water that comes from our homes and offices – domestic wastewater - to be reintroduced into the environment protects both human and environmental health.
If you’re a gardener, you know that planting seeds in the ground doesn’t always mean you’ll have a good yield at the end of growing season. On a personal level, this can be disappointing. Farmers are in charge of growing dozens to thousands of acres of food. And, they face the same variability in the planting, growing, and harvesting processes as gardeners do.
Whether we like it or not, plastic is a major part of our lives. The production and use of plastics has been found to create a problem because “microplastics” are accumulating in our soils.
Have you ever thought about where your waste goes? For people living in cities, it goes to a treatment plant. However, treated wastewater ultimately finds its way into a local waterway. This means it could end up in your nearby stream, river, or lake.
For more than four decades, biosolids have been applied to land and studied by researchers for many useful purposes. Biosolids are a product of the wastewater treatment process. Yes, that means sewage. However, the sewage is treated carefully to ensure it has beneficial properties and is not harmful.
