More Than Mere Magic Mushrooms

like a bandaid on the titanic.

if people are acting like they want to shift to a past perspective of being ecologically efficient and a member of a global ecology using a fungus to consume plastic seems like a hairbrained excuse for further degradation down a path...

Perhaps you should watch all three video's before posting a comment, especially such uneducated comments.

What was shown in the first video was controlled experiments to see is fungi could clear up toxic waste using low tech materials and waste products, therefore not adding more harmful chemicals to the environment which only make the situation worse. The experiment was a success by the way.

The second video demonstrated how we can use natural biodegradable materials to replace Styrofoam which takes 10,000 years to break down and poisons the planet.

Both of these video's prove how successful fungi can be in correcting the mistakes we have made, they are not just a band aid, they are a solution.

The third video, hell why should I bother explaining if you cant be bothered watching

Fascinating! Nature never ceases to amaze me! It's just a shame not everyone on this planet appreciates it. There's clearly still much to learn!

Originally posted by PrinceDreamer

The third video, hell why should I bother explaining if you cant be bothered watching

I for one appreciate the breakdown of what is in the videos..

Despite the era of fiber optic high speed internet, there are still those of us who are still stuck in the prehistoric digital age

I call my setup Hillbilly broadband, which is merely a tethered blackberry attached to a signal amp/antenna to squeeze out sub 3G cellular service..

Please, carry on with your summaries?

reply to post by captaintyinknots


I think that just because the fungi use the decay of the nuclear material as a feed source, it does not mean anything in terms of mitigating the nuclear mess. It is like how we on earth use the sun for energy, but the sun could care less and is not affected by our presence.

the whole green push is like rolling pebbles down a mountain eventually a boulder will be inside a valley. you can be vain if you want and act like trying to find or change a fungi into something that eats a type of plastic is a good quest for you or if a type of fungi could be used in which ever way u care to explain it to me videographically the concept that you can solve an issue by increasing in magnitude neurosis about the subject is flattery to foolery.

reply to post by RealSpoke

More Than Mere Magic Mushrooms

Misleading title I was expecting something a little bit more "magic".

You still get a star and flag from me though since the information you presented was very interesting.

Mother nature is the cure to all our problems, only if more people could realize this.

Originally posted by Ausar


the whole green push is like rolling pebbles down a mountain eventually a boulder will be inside a valley. you can be vain if you want and act like trying to find or change a fungi into something that eats a type of plastic is a good quest for you or if a type of fungi could be used in which ever way u care to explain it to me videographically the concept that you can solve an issue by increasing in magnitude neurosis about the subject is flattery to foolery.

I can't argue with this. If someone found a way to fix this mess, then why not do things that might destroy the planet a hundred years from now - after all, it's guaranteed that someone will find a way to fix it before then (which is complete bull). We need each and every human to become 100% ecologically responsible before any type of endeavor gets under way.

reply to post by JacKatMtn


Because you asked so nice

The third video was a presentation by a guy called Paul Stamets, to me he is like the Willy Wonka of the Fungi world, completely potty and totally brilliant at the same time, he did a presentation on 6 ways that Fungi (mushrooms) can save the planet, these were as follows

1, As mentioned in the first video, it can breakdown and eat toixic waste, such as oil spills, as teh fungs grows and eats, it releases enzymes which in turn break down teh hydrocrabon molocules, the fungus then eats them, it can do this rapidly, within weeks or months.

2, There are 3 types of Fungi that are particularly effective agains pox viruses, they can be used to cure all forms of pox virus including small pox

3, There are strains of fungi that are particualrly effective at curing all strains of the flu virus

4, There are fungi that can be used to kill insects, the insects have the built knowledge to avoid these fungi, however if you remove the spores this fools the insects and eat them, killing the insects, this was used against Ants and termites, once the spores were removed, the ants and termites ate the food and also took it back to the queen effectively killing off the queen. Interestingly once the the ants had eaten the fungi, they died and the fungi then grew back through the ants, starting to produce spores again, this had the effect of stopping the nest ever coming back and warding off further insect invasion of the area

5, packaging can be made with spores from mushrooms and seeds from trees, (the spores are embeded in the packaging) this packaging if discarded will start to grow, and create a mushroom field, however it encourages other life to join it, insects come to the mushrooms, then birds come for the insects, this leaves seeds and such and soon that bit of discarded waste becomes a little oasis and a whole system of life develps around it. the normal throw away packaging becomes a little genesis machine quite remarkable

6, You can make ethanol from the sugars that are made from the fungi sugars that are a by product of the fungi


Here is a link that you may enjoy, and if you search around on him yo will find lots of information

Paul Stamets

Thanks OP for posting some very interesting and useful info. I had no idea about any of these gifts from good ole mother nature. I for one believe that if we need it, it is out there waiting for us to discover it. And this lends creedance to that belief so S&F for you. I hope that we can continue to find things that are in balance with nature and stop on our path to poison the planet. Always happy to be educated.

Amazed and Astonished
-citizenjack

I'll be careful by what I say, but let me say this - mother nature and the universe IMO have an intelligence but we sometimes are to blinded to see. Organisms aren't the only things adapting and evolving. Hopefully one day the stigma will be lifted and we can once again speak as adults about the connection between the fungi and humans and what it means to society.

The rainforest seems to have the answer to everything

Once the truth of that seeps in you cannot but feel saddened by how we continue to destroy it bit by bit for the sake of development and profit. The worship of materialism at the expense of beauty, health, and possibility - is a tragedy. Places like the amazon are the lungs of the earth and by extension, our lungs.

Originally posted by TheLieWeLive
Using Mycelium and Hemp we could replace plastics, feed the hungry, cloth the cold, medicate everyone,and house the world.

What are we waiting for?

For someone that's able to make a profit from it.

Originally posted by Ausar
like a bandaid on the titanic.

if people are acting like they want to shift to a past perspective of being ecologically efficient and a member of a global ecology using a fungus to consume plastic seems like a hairbrained excuse for further degradation down a path...

I think this is a very important point. At one point we must address the root of the issue. Discoveries such as these help slow the process of destruction but not destruction itself. Only a drastic change in lifestyle and direction will do any lasting good, and for that to happen we need to be honest with ourselves and responsible for our own actions.

AWESOME! You know it makes me angry but there are solutions to our problems they just cost money and with too much greed in this world they are rarely sought out.

I'm glad to see the subject brought up here, as this is an interesting and important topic at the same time.

SnF from me.

Firstly, bioremediation certainly is not new, however it is not as widely known as it should be, because of how important the method could be in helping to provide a sustainable future.

Secondly, other organisms - not just mushrooms, show hope in not only breaking waste down, but actually breaking waste down into useful things. I had heard a long time ago that researchers were working with mosses, lichens and algae and stumbled upon a combination that broke a certain waste product down to copper due to the colossally complex chemical processes. How awesome would THAT be? Toss in garbage, get something useful back out? Sign me up!

Thirdly, any chance I get to point out how weird mushrooms are, I do so I was doing some research a while back into Terrence McKenna, his timewave zero psychobabble and, of course, his advocacy of psilocybin...regardless of your stance on any of that, it cannot be ignored just how utterly bizarre fungus really is. It's so bizarre, in fact, they had to give it its own myconoid taxonomy - all by itself - because it defied classification. The spores can live in space, some species don't even need sunlight and, just like nicotine, it's as if the psychoactive molecules found in psilocybin were tailor-made for the human brain's receptors. I'm by no means advocating its use, (as I'm aware that would be a T&C violation) but what I AM advocating, in a way, is that I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if mushrooms genuinely came from outer space. They just don't fit in here at all, and they are just THAT WEIRD.

Nature will find a way! Anything that has come from this earth shall return and nothin g is non-biodegradable, ashes to ashes and dust to dust.
When man has long since been eradicated from self-destruction, the earth will still be here to start over and repair herself.

Originally posted by guavas
I'm glad to see the subject brought up here, as this is an interesting and important topic at the same time.

SnF from me.

Firstly, bioremediation certainly is not new, however it is not as widely known as it should be, because of how important the method could be in helping to provide a sustainable future.

Secondly, other organisms - not just mushrooms, show hope in not only breaking waste down, but actually breaking waste down into useful things. I had heard a long time ago that researchers were working with mosses, lichens and algae and stumbled upon a combination that broke a certain waste product down to copper due to the colossally complex chemical processes. How awesome would THAT be? Toss in garbage, get something useful back out? Sign me up!

Thirdly, any chance I get to point out how weird mushrooms are, I do so

I was doing some research a while back into Terrence McKenna, his timewave zero psychobabble and, of course, his advocacy of psilocybin...regardless of your stance on any of that, it cannot be ignored just how utterly bizarre fungus really is. It's so bizarre, in fact, they had to give it its own myconoid taxonomy - all by itself - because it defied classification. The spores can live in space, some species don't even need sunlight and, just like nicotine, it's as if the psychoactive molecules found in psilocybin were tailor-made for the human brain's receptors. I'm by no means advocating its use, (as I'm aware that would be a T&C violation) but what I AM advocating, in a way, is that I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if mushrooms genuinely came from outer space. They just don't fit in here at all, and they are just THAT WEIRD.

Yes you bring up a lot of good points.

it's as if the psychoactive molecules found in psilocybin were tailor-made for the human brain's receptors.

One word: symbiosis.

Originally posted by TheLieWeLive
Using Mycelium and Hemp we could replace plastics, feed the hungry, cloth the cold, medicate everyone,and house the world.

Wheres the money in that??

Blowing # up is way more profitable.

EDIT:
damn, beaten to the punch!

Originally posted by Mart0

Originally posted by TheLieWeLive
Using Mycelium and Hemp we could replace plastics, feed the hungry, cloth the cold, medicate everyone,and house the world.

What are we waiting for?

For someone that's able to make a profit from it.

reply to post by wrdwzrd


How is that video amazing...........

Its 46 seconds of an intro.............the fact that you got two stars for that kinda proves people dont watch videos or really read content before starring posts........

As far as the OP........Def cool find............

I dunno that you could solve world hunger with it, as people here are claiming.......you cant live only off of mushrooms.......

But its a step in the right direction for many things

There's a fungus.... among us....!