Mana Mushrooms

Without naming organizations, the biggest challenge I had with approaching this grant and other symbioses in Pennsylvania was that the recaptured energy, in the form of electricity, would need to be purchased; "If we help you recapture something you're currently wasting, why should we BUY it from you?" I understand there are economic incentives for most actions, but this one was a tough mental barrier for me. Provided I bring funds for equipment to the table, I would much prefer to share the consequently recaptured energy than spend out of pocket for energy I helped recapture.

Advantage Grant

Special thanks to Joshua for helping take us down this road. It was a great learning experience for all involved.

This site is a resource for determination of substrate components by chemical composition which may help mushroom cultivators, ruminant ranchers, and farmers with feed constituents better evaluate the relative values of their inputs. My hope is that re-thinking such relationship webs will add value for all constituents.

Of particular interest to me at this time were:

1) Peanut Hulls: 8 1.5 62
2) Brewer's Dried Grains 27 6 15
3) Brewer's Wet Grains 4 1 4
4) Corn 7 3 3
5) Grain Sorghum (Milo) 8 2.5 3
6) Wheat Bran 15 3 10

The numbers above (sorry their a bit mushed) represent Minimum Crude Protein, Minimum Crude Fat, and Minimum Crude Fiber, respectively.
1 is of interest because I developed a relationship with a producer of this byproduct in Massachussets, where I look forward to implementing if I can demonstrate success with the model.
2 and 3 of interest because of several relationships developed with brewers, ranging from local brewpubs and microbreweries in MA and CO, to regional breweries in Chicago, to Coors, based in CO.
4 is of interest because I understand, especially after seeing the documentary King Corn that it is the primary feed constituent in the United States
5 is of interest because I have been told it makes a great supplement for a sawdust substrate
6 is of interest because I currently use it as a substrate component, as recommended by Paul Stamets and others.

Office of TX State Chemist

This piece from the Yale school of Forestry and Environmental Studies is a rare, well-written academic article with real-world implications. Written to be understood by people outside the specialization, this summary of IBS provides the reader with a clear, succinct description of the benefits of cyclical flows versus the traditional linear model -- one of the best articles I have ever read in this space.

Integrated_Bio-Systems

Eco-Industrial Development: Eco-Industrial Parks, Bio-Refineries, Renewable Energy, and Zero Waste Opportunities for Lane County - A Report for the Lane County Sustainable Business and Jobs Project October 10, 2003

This report for Lane county Oregon is a good example of the concepts found at ZERI, implemented in a local context, with local groups. The url below links to several reports in a similar vein, including the one titled here. We hope you will find the list more useful than the individual report. Prepared by UO Graduate Student Interns
Naoko Atsusaka, Kate Darby, and Tim Shinnebarger
with assistance from Tom Osdobo and Faculty with the
Program for Watershed and Community Health
Institute for a Sustainable Environment
University of Oregon

Industrial_Ecology_:_a_Practical_Model
If following the link, take a look around - the seventh link is the one which gives the source material for the summary, but the site has several similar articles of interest.

Government

• Department of Natural Resources (forestry projects)
• Fisheries (runoff mitigation)
• EPA (brownfield remediation)

Landscaping

• erosion management
• soil enrichment and remediation