Terraforming & Sustainability using Kudzu & Waste (cont. 3)

Autarky (self sufficiency) can be exemplified in two very different natural systems; the first of these is the rainforest. Here, occasionally even in relatively nutrient poor areas, the generation of unused waste, dead leaves, dead animals are rapidly decomposed, energy and nutrients being the main reward to the “deconstructionists” (bugs and moulds). Very quickly all the nutrients are returned to the trees. The decomposers are the key to the long term sustainability of the rainforest. In the authors experience, on the ground, there is little to see except a fine brown soil and cathedral like towering tree trunks in the gloom. However, the sunlit canopy is full of flowers, fruits and animals. The “wealth” of the canopy lies in its diversity, (including the generation of rainclouds above & within the canopy that keep all the rainforest microenvironments moist). However, it is the little studied decomposers that keep the whole system viable. By comparison, waste management in wealthier human societies largely consists of throwing refuse in a hole in the ground. The lack of the "deconstructors" ecological niche could be undertaken by the local municipality & provide much needed employment. Metals, paper, plastics, yard waste & agricultural waste can all produce useful industrial raw materials or energy. Even straw or cornstover could easily replace trees as a high quality paper source. Old trees, as a cellulose source, are apparently as carbon positive as coal.