Say What? Biodegradable Products May Contribute to Global Warming?
- Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:02pm by
Billy Hallowell
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The battle continues to rage over the existence and potential human perpetuation of global warming (or “climate change,” depending on who you’re talking to). But, regardless of where one stands on the wide spectrum of environmental belief, the results of a new study by North Carolina State University will surely be of intrigue.
According to researchers, the feel-good biodegradable products that so many Americans purchase to avoid contributing negatively to the ecosystem, may actually do more harm than good. Once these items make their way into landfills, they allegedly begin to release a “powerful greenhouse gas” as they decay:
“Biodegradable materials, such as disposable cups and utensils, are broken down in landfills by microorganisms that then produce methane,” says Dr. Morton Barlaz, co-author of a paper describing the research and professor and head of NC State’s Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering. “Methane can be a valuable energy source when captured, but is a potent greenhouse gas when released into the atmosphere.”
And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that only about 35 percent of municipal solid waste goes to landfills that capture methane for energy use. EPA estimates that another 34 percent of landfills capture methane and burn it off on-site, while 31 percent allow the methane to escape.
“In other words,” Barlaz says, “biodegradable products are not necessarily more environmentally friendly when disposed in landfills.”
This problem may be exacerbated by the rate at which these man-made biodegradable materials break down. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines call for products marked as “biodegradable” to decompose within “a reasonably short period of time” after disposal. But such rapid degradation may actually be environmentally harmful, because federal regulations do not require landfills that collect methane to install gas collection systems for at least two years after the waste is buried. If materials break down and release methane quickly, much of that methane will likely be emitted before the collection technology is installed. This means less potential fuel for energy use, and more greenhouse gas emissions.
You can access the complete study here. If these claims are true, environmentalists and government bodies, alike, have a lot more work ahead of them than they previously thought.
(h/t Weasel Zippers)
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Comments (99)
nomercy63
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:58pmup down this way that way someone make up their mind!!!
Report Post »912anita
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:43pmI do a fine job of preserving my planet. The green movement is a global redistribution of wealth scam.
Report Post »sbleve
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:48amA third are American communist eugenic faith wonders.
Report Post »standwithIsraelstandwithGod
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:40pmIdiots that play God and believe themselves infallible regarding his gifts to us continue to be the jester. They repeatedly show their ineptitude to “control” that which is not theirs to dictate. My God has such a sense of humor!
Report Post »cbazan3
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:39pmEverything these leftist clowns believe is wrong.
Report Post »ares338
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:32pmHow about not worrying about that crap and just live your life!
Report Post »eat-more-bacon-USA
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:31pmWhen organic materials decompose, they emit gasses and generate heat – just like we learned in school – This took a study to determine?
Report Post »spirited
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 8:18pmWhy not?
…The know-it-all Obamas caused some change by spending (at least) $2 million
on a ‘plate’ and a circle labeled ‘dairy’.
>What, no water???
Report Post »JohnnyJT South Philly
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:24pmMore FRAUD.
Report Post »SageInWaiting
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:23pmCO2 as a horrible earth-killing GHG… despite that little fact that CO2 causes plants to thrive and without it there would be no trees to hug? WHY Carbon Dioxide? I thought the demon terrorizing Mamma Earth 40 years ago was NO an CO or have we solved that issue? Electric cars, ya THAT’S IT! (Forget the disaster when all those batteries need to be replaced.) Read between the lines, folks: to reduce CO2 emissions, over 6 BILLION of us must do our ecological duty and die.
Report Post »GaGirl35
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:09pmThe next thing you know they will say we contribute to it and we need to be disposed of. hmmm….maybe that is what they are saying…..our government is so corrupt it’s not even funny.
Report Post »CalvinandHobbes
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:54pmPlastic please….drill everywhere…build more nuclear power plants….let’s get back to basics and common sense!
Report Post »IMCHRISTIAN
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:51pmI always did love a good mystery. I bet the sun did it.
Report Post »dizzyinthedark
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:44pmWill those with common sense come forward now, please!? This is becoming too ridiculous for me to bare anymore, this is truly the icing on the cake of America’s stupidity!
Report Post »numbers
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:44pmLove the irony! It’s time to stop pouring money into regs aimed at fulfilling “green” initiatives especially where people and the economy are the losers. Sure we’re supposed to care for the earth but NOT to worship it.
Report Post »uberchrist33
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:43pmI can not . . . stop . . . laughing!!!!
Report Post »capecodsully
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:40pmMakes perfect sense if you’re an environmentalist, just like using lightbulbs that are poisoning the planet with mercury. We are allowing environmentalists to dictate our lives. Keep in mind environmentalists have been on dope since high school and can‘t get a real job because they couldn’t pass a drug test to save their lives. So the next best thing to real work is telling everybody else how they should live their lives, nice work if you can get it.
Report Post »PatriotSmith
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:36pmWell anything to dramatically increase my carbon footprint…
Report Post »Warphead
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:26pmThis is the green whackos imploding on themselves. So what is good for the environment is actually bad for the environment? Why don’t they just come right out and say it. They want all human life on this earth to die. The liberals, the gays, the green whackos, they are all anti-life, anti-prosperity, anti-human. Will the world not wake up and realize that these people are sick and twisted.
Report Post »CrackerSmurf
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:21pmcheck out the yahoo homepage in the little news section….some dude from burma was kicking taliban buttocks. took on 30 he’s man.
Anyone who did not understand biodegradable meant it degraded and just vanished back into the Earth is a moron. Simple enough to say. Of course, there is going to be some form of pollutant from anything put into the Earth. The answer already being solved is the EARTH HEALS ITSELF FROM ANYTHING>!< The only way the EARTH CAN DIE IS IF SOMEONE SAYS SO. IT IS NOT A MAN. Sorry Algore.
Report Post »Jaycen
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:18pmJust like central planning for society, central planning for the Earth doesn’t work either. The more you try to control, the more you realize you must control.
It’s like a cartoon – a water spout shoots up, so they cover it with one hand, so the pressure builds and 2 more spouts shoot up. Suddenly, Uncle Sam looks like a hydra trying to clamp down on all the forces it was never going to control in the first place.
Report Post »I.Gaspar
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:17pmNice going, greenpeople.
Report Post »As usual, you’re once again caught blowing smoke out of your assets.
And I can’t get a renewable paper bag at the grocery store.
Kromlik
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:16pmHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Report Post »showmerancher
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:14pmGee whiz. I guess being country folk we already know these things… including that the composting (breakdown) process also emits significant amounts of heat. As for the methane, I’m not sure which would be worse; composting or me after eating at Taco Bell…
Report Post »cboyd54
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:09pmPlastic bags please! Thank you so much.
Report Post »Cold War Vet
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:09pmI think the most damaging form of greenhouse gas comes from the mouths of Climate Change advocates. If we got rid of a few of them, we could reduce emissions.
Report Post »Gold Coin & Economic News
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:25pmWe’re going to find one day that Al Gore is the biggest contributor to CO2 emissions because he is nothing more than a giant gas bag.
Report Post »avenger
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 7:16pmyou got it bro !
Report Post »unsalvageable.org
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:06pmwhat can be said? The more they try to save the palnet, the more they hurt it! http://www.unsalvageable.org
Report Post »ISeeDanger.com
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:12pmNot to worry…
Everything will JUST FINE…
http://www.ISeeDanger.com
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:12pmBio-degrades, gas emission, burning coal..etc..etc..do not hurt the planet. The planet can take care of itself, it always has and always will.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:14pmGlobal warming ? Huh ?
Report Post »Is it still on ..I mean after all the raw data destroyed by CRU and the ‘fudge factor’ of their computer program, are we still calling it “global warming ”?
Obama Snake Oil Co
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:19pmYes and I am sure nuclear does more danger to the envrionment than burning coal…wait…you mean once its burned up it becomes ammo to be used on middle east terrorists? Well, its OK then. The lie of the envrironmentalists is told everyday, yet I am not aware of one that has sold his house, car and all he owns to live the life they preach of. It only seems to apply to….us. Funny, I am yet to get that solar and wind nozzle to fit my car yet…..I would like to tell them where to stick it……
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:25pmPersonally, I never told them to stop using glass Coca-Cola bottles or brown paper bags.
So, blame the people who insisted on those changes.
I’m tired of being accused of being at fault for everything from global warming to slavery to foreign policy.
I’ve done what I can do. I’ve called my representatives, I’ve written them, I’ve e-mailed them, I’ve campaigned for HONEST candidates (NOT ‘honest politicians’ because I don’t think there is such a thing)
When our representatives are mostly people who are their for THEIR OWN well being, and not REPRESENTING us, we can only be blamed for their election. If I didn’t vote for the culprits, I am not to blame for their actions, so stop blaming me.
Tell you what – since legislators demanded plastic bags (here in California, they did), let THEM pay for the consequences.
gimme a break!
stop micromanaging my life!
The Constitution is supposed to stop you (congress) from doing those things, but you do it anyway… EVERY SINGLE DAY.
I say we need to fix/repeal/replace the 10th ammendment that congress hides behind to RULE us, rather than be RULED BY US.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:27pm@Unsalvagable:
These eco dingbats fail to understand anything that a farmer or gardener could explain in a few seconds around a compost heap – organic materials, such as leaves and grass clippings break down into fertile soil and compost over time also produces heat at the center along with methane gas (very smellable at that too).
That tends to occur with anything that has the ability to be ‘degradable’ and ‘biological’ in its name.
Nature has been doing that for many a billion years before mankind even thought of it.
Report Post »seeker9
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:35pmThe conundrum of unintended consequences. A good example of why government should stay out of social engineering.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:36pm@ TomFerrari
Report Post »I’m sure this will delight you as much as it did delight me :
Quote Mitt Romney :
Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney broke with Republican orthodoxy on Friday by saying he believes that humans are responsible, at least to some extent, for climate change.
“I believe the world is getting warmer, and I believe that humans have contributed to that,” he told a crowd of about 200 at a town hall meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire.
End quote
Its a Reuters report
Susan Harkins
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:37pmReminds me of the “Red Seal” Campaign by GreenPeace.
Once they finished painting all the baby seals red, protesting the seal hunters, the pups were easily seen from afar and targeted by killer whales. Go figure.
Report Post »silentwatcher
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:39pmHere’s a message for all the know-it-all gov’t “experts” on global warming (or whatever they call it these days),,,,,,,the only thing that degrades without affecting global warming is WATER. Now stop lying to the people,,,,they aren’t all idiots. While you profess your sh*t don’t stink,,,,it does biodegrade but still affects global warming. P*ss off.
Report Post »rlmeals
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:47pmYou know, first they told us, “Don’t use paper at the grocery store, you’re killing all the trees! Use plastic because it’s recycled/recyclable.” Then they told us to stop using plastic because it was harming the environment and they expect me to spend $2+ per reusable grocery bag. I don’t live in the city where you take 2-4 bags to the market down a few blocks and walk home. I live in the country, and we only grocery shop every 2 weeks or so. And when we do, we take home an entire basket of groceries, about 6 gallons of milk, all the meat we need (to be put in the freezer), boxes of cereal, etc. And I have to buy how many of those reusable bags to accommodate my trip? I don‘t see why we can’t just recycle the paper and plastic we’ve been using this whole time.
Report Post »JRook
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:48pmAs my father would say statistics don’t lie, liars use statistics…..or rephrased reports don’t lie, liars just communicate them out of context and with no reference point. Let us not forget that in the days of no real regulation people in Cleveland stood idle while their river got so polluted it caught on fire and lake Erie became biologically dead. The purpose of this report is to highlight the need to utilize comprehensive solutions, such as capturing the methane, more so than go back to foam cups that don’t break down for 1,000 years.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:48pmSusan Harkins
Report Post »Reminds me of the “Red Seal” Campaign by GreenPeace.
—————-
How about this :
If there had been an ozone hole today , all these green house gases would have an outlet to escape and the Earth and atmosphere would NOT be heating up ?
That ozone hole was a way of nature giving us a release valve for GHGs
seeker9
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:49pm@silentwatcher
But water vapor is a powerful greenhouse gas, worse than CO2.
Report Post »Dustyluv
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 4:55pmIt would be funny if there were such a thing as Global Warming….Idiot enviromentalists have done more to harm the enviroment than anything man could ever do if they just left everything alone…
Put some more tires in the ocean so we can kill off some more fishies while you are at it you stupid tree huggers.
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:07pmWe didn’t have global warming until the Progressives took over and figured out how to create a crisis that could be used to fill their own pockets.
As Allen West said, “Don’t try to blow sunshine up my butt!”
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:16pm@TomFerrari ~
I was so impressed by your comment that I sent it to my political forum, along with the link to the story, for their input. Am waiting to see what their thoughts are.
I agree with you. I have written, called, and emailed my congressional representatives, and even helped with an investigation. No one will stand up for us.
The natives are getting impatient, not to mention restless.
Report Post »johnos69
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:18pmWell I guess I better stop going number 2!
Report Post »usa2stay
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:18pmTouted as the largest of its kind nationwide, the tire reef was created with the best of intentions. In the spring of 1972, a nonprofit group called Broward Artificial Reef, or BARINC, hatched an idea to build a three-mile reef while at the same time disposing of old tires.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers endorsed the project; similar ones had been created in the Northeast and Gulf of Mexico. Broward County pitched in with the funds. BARINC even raised $8,000 from bingo games. And so, the tires came from Goodyear and junkyards, bundled on barges to be dumped at sea.
The idea was that an artificial reef — called Osborne Reef — would form from the stacked tires.
TIRES CAME LOOSE
But it didn’t work. Metal clips holding the tires together corroded, and the tires spilled across the ocean floor. Unlike sunken barges also used to build artificial reefs, the tires moved with the tide, and marine life never formed.
Fishermen grumbled that game fish never came because the water there was too shallow.
”I do know we made a mistake in doing it,” said Ray McAllister, one of BARINC’s founders and now professor emeritus of ocean engineering at Florida Atlantic University. “They weren’t the great attractions we thought they would be.”
Today, the loose tires are damaging the environment because the tide tosses them about, causing them to bang against delicate marine life. The tires also emit a minortoxin, environmentalists say.
Report Post »restorehope
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:51pmIt seems like these green people are too much in a hurry to “fix” the planet. They jump on the bandwagon to promote ways to be green without really knowing whether it will eventually help or harm our world. Haste makes waste.
Another example is the eco-friendly lightbulb which they want to force us to use. Unfortunately, there are plenty of problems with those lightbulbs, and people are just now starting to realize that maybe they were not such a great idea. (They contain mercury, are difficult to dispose of, and will cost alot of money per bulb). Eco-friendly does not necessarily mean eco-smart.
This is another example of lib/progressives jumping the gun and doing things in an impetuous manner…..all for what they claim is “our own good”. Unfortunately, “our own good” usually ends up benefiting more libs than anyone else. Look which companies are getting contracts and making big money from going green. Many are connected to this administration or have ties to Al Gore (the guy who has made millions crying “Wolf!”
Report Post »CatB
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 5:53pmLOL .. reminds me of the MERCURY filled curly light bulbs!
The more they try to “help’ the worse they make it.
Report Post »avenger
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 6:52pmscrew the planet..this crap has been on going by wackos since year one !…enjoy life and do your thing,life is a blink of an eye….
Report Post »jeff.cooper
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 7:52pmFor more insight on how effed up the environmental movement is, read http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/06/03/four-dirty-secrets-about-clean-energy/ written by Alex Epstein of the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights.
Report Post »Anti_Spock
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 11:43pmNEWS FLASH: Liberals are contributing to global warming, and if they would all tie plastic bags over their heads the earth would be 50% greener within a week.
Report Post »CaptainKook
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:14pm“the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that only about 35 percent of municipal solid waste goes to landfills that capture methane for energy use. EPA estimates that another 34 percent of landfills capture methane and burn it off on-site, while 31 percent allow the methane to escape.
“In other words,” Barlaz says, “biodegradable products are not necessarily more environmentally friendly when disposed in landfills.”
NO.
In other words we need to improve those landfills to capture that methane.
Methane is a useful chemical when handled properly.
But being the Blaze the mindset is “uh, duh, I guess recycling don’t work.”
Report Post »getalong
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:50pmGlobal warming should be way down on our list of priorities in this country. It is a bunch of crap!
Report Post »Clean Patriot
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 9:20pmJust another indication that these wizards know NOTHING. They are ALWAYS wrong with their dooms day predictions and BS
Just Government Goons with too much time on their hands.
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on June 5, 2011 at 12:05pmGee. Who could’a predicted this? now, wait a minute… isn’t the “green” movement a fallout of the AGW environmental zealots movement? and wasn‘t it discovered that widespread fraud and corruption at the top levels of the so called ’scientific front’ and had laughed in the face of “scientific method” exercising overwhelming bias? do you suppose free markets subsidized by government could become corrupted?
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