Epigenesis and Mushrooms...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90vhfdj1zic

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Matt, it's good to have you back, and I'm certainly not the only one still eagerly awaiting the evolutionary theory that will set the cat among the pigeons.-Meanwhile, the two mushroom lectures you've alerted us to take 90 minutes and two hours respectively, and for some of us that's a substantial chunk out of a busy working day. Is there any way you could distill the important information for us? Sorry if that sounds like a lazy way out, but again I suspect there will be others in the same position.

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Matt, it's good to have you back, and I'm certainly not the only one still eagerly awaiting the evolutionary theory that will set the cat among the pigeons.
> 
> Meanwhile, the two mushroom lectures you've alerted us to take 90 minutes and two hours respectively, and for some of us that's a substantial chunk out of a busy working day. Is there any way you could distill the important information for us? Sorry if that sounds like a lazy way out, but again I suspect there will be others in the same position.-Yikes! I don't exactly have that much time at the moment. But what this guy has learned about fungi is downright amazing. -Here's an 18 minute summary, that if it whets your appetite, you can consider jumping in full-bore. -And the 2hr link is a radio show not a video... you could put it on in the background while you write! -More in the future...

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Matt:Yikes! I don't exactly have that much time at the moment. But what this guy has learned about fungi is downright amazing. 
> 
> Here's an 18 minute summary, that if it whets your appetite, you can consider jumping in full-bore. 
> 
> And the 2hr link is a radio show not a video... you could put it on in the background while you write! 
> 
> More in the future...-Where is the 18 minute summary? I watched 28 minutes and what he knows is amazing and the importance of fungi to arable soil is made obvious. But underneath is there that much cause for the alarm he is obviously spreading? I don't have time for 2 1/2 hours either.-Did you mean to post this:-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNRFxmfQNbo

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Matt:Yikes! I don't exactly have that much time at the moment. But what this guy has learned about fungi is downright amazing. 
> > 
> > Here's an 18 minute summary, that if it whets your appetite, you can consider jumping in full-bore. 
> > 
> > And the 2hr link is a radio show not a video... you could put it on in the background while you write! 
> > 
> > More in the future...
> 
> Where is the 18 minute summary? I watched 28 minutes and what he knows is amazing and the importance of fungi to arable soil is made obvious. But underneath is there that much cause for the alarm he is obviously spreading? I don't have time for 2 1/2 hours either.
> 
> Did you mean to post this:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNRFxmfQNbo-Oh cripes... yes, my mind is lost lately! >_<
I don't get the idea he's an alarmist at all. His research is wide-ranging, he's effectively used fungi to remove E. coli runoff from lakes and rivers as well as helping to remove radiation from the soil at Fukushima. The amount of pollution in our lakes, rivers, and streams is pretty bad. When I was still in chemistry, there was a ton of concern about the levels of female hormones in the water supply (Omaha recycles waste water back into the system). There's some concern that there may be a link between constantly ingesting female hormones and the earlier onset of puberty we've been seeing over the last decades. Its also been linked to negative effects on fishes and wildlife in river systems:-http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2854760/-In ecology its also a well-known problem that our agriculture relies too much on artificial fertilizers--thus causing nasty aglal blooms at the mouth of the Mississippi and large dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico:-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_zone_%28ecology%29#Size_of_Gulf_of_Mexico_.27Dead_Zone.27-Here in NE there are still lakes that are off-limits during the summer because of ag runoff. -Our agriculture also homogenizes ecosystems, making it more vulnerable to pests (which in turn exacerbate already existing problems due to runoff). So yeah, there are real and severe problems--its just not sexy to talk about agricultural runoff when Al Gore says polar bears might go extinct! [Although, runoff could be used two ways here! ]-Its not hippielike to look at human behavior and see it has real consequences for the environment! Stamets is simply suggesting using nature (fungi) to solve these and many other problems. Work cheaper and smarter, not harder! -At any rate, when the new house is built, first thing I'm doing is inoculating the soil around my new trees with mycelium. I've read that some trees in cities can be 20-40ft shorter than in the wild, and I'm convinced the lack of correct fungal species in the soil is a primary cause.

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> Matt: Oh cripes... yes, my mind is lost lately! >_<-Just a mind that gets too busy. I know.
 
> 
> Matt: Our agriculture also homogenizes ecosystems, making it more vulnerable to pests (which in turn exacerbate already existing problems due to runoff). So yeah, there are real and severe problems--its just not sexy to talk about agricultural runoff when Al Gore says polar bears might go extinct! [Although, runoff could be used two ways here! ]-Yes, there are real problems, but Al Gore is not one of them. Just ignore him.
> 
> Matt: Its not hippielike to look at human behavior and see it has real consequences for the environment! Stamets is simply suggesting using nature (fungi) to solve these and many other problems. Work cheaper and smarter, not harder! 
 
So he was sounding a reasonable alarm. Thanks for the explanations. On our ranch we research all the chemicals and fertilizers we use. We have pastures in a formerly oak forest ecosystem, with large brushy areas preserved for the deer. There are deer everywhere.

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Re the mushroom lectures, thank you, Matt and David, for the summary. I have to agree that it's all pretty mind boggling, but I don't think I can face three and a half hours of it! All the same, Stamets is clearly onto something of huge importance. It will be interesting to see if his ideas are followed up, though one suspects that vested interests will have their usual influence.

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dhw: Re the mushroom lectures, thank you, Matt and David, for the summary. I have to agree that it's all pretty mind boggling, but I don't think I can face three and a half hours of it! All the same, Stamets is clearly onto something of huge importance. It will be interesting to see if his ideas are followed up, though one suspects that vested interests will have their usual influence.-Right. Just as frightening is that 80% of all antibiotics used in this country are to speed animal growth!!! Ugh!

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The cost of water in agriculture is another issue:-http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/opinion/meat-makes-the-planet-thirsty.html?emc=edit_th_20140308&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=60788861&_r=0

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dhw: Re the mushroom lectures, thank you, Matt and David, for the summary. I have to agree that it's all pretty mind boggling, but I don't think I can face three and a half hours of it! All the same, Stamets is clearly onto something of huge importance. It will be interesting to see if his ideas are followed up, though one suspects that vested interests will have their usual influence.
> 
> Right. Just as frightening is that 80% of all antibiotics used in this country are to speed animal growth!!! Ugh!-dhw: Good news--He's been following up on his own science since 1982. It IS true that he's a scientist and a businessman: He runs a company that sells mushroom products. -But to give you a safer feeling: He sells plugs for you to grow edible mushrooms, and also gives you the information to keep them going beyond the first log. Basically, he's happy selling you a product once without finding ways to *force* you back. I have a *ton* of respect for that. -David: Yep, that's exactly the kind of nonsense his brand of environmentalist opposes. -For the record: I have a bias. Had I continued down the path of biochemistry, I undoubtedly would have fallen into mycology. I was always interested in soil ecology as well as the interplay between bacteria, fungus, and the human body.

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> Matt: For the record: I have a bias. Had I continued down the path of biochemistry, I undoubtedly would have fallen into mycology. I was always interested in soil ecology as well as the interplay between bacteria, fungus, and the human body.-Very farsighted. Science is just now studying how much of our bodies is made up of someone or somethings, other than basic us. Consider fecal transplants to cure or ameliorate gut troubles, as one simple example.

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Epigenesis and Mushrooms... (Origins)