RE: did you know

Speaking of perchlorate:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/08/04/nasa.mars/index.html

Cyndi


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On
Behalf Of Theresa G.
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 10:30 PM
To: gardenchat@hort.net
Subject: Re: [CHAT] did you know

Isn't perchlorate also the chemical they use in dry cleaning?
Theresa

Melody wrote:
> Unfortunately it seems that the research you are reporting on has
omitted the
> one drawback to South American bat guano...it contains high levels of
an
> extremely toxic chemical called perchlorate.  Interestingly enough,
> perchlorate is also a common ingredient in ammunition manufacturing as
well as
> in rocket fuel used by the military and was also used as a storage
medium for
> the spent byproducts of nuclear weapons manufacturing (i.e. uranium
and
> plutonium). One of the  largest world exporters of bat guano at the
turn of
> the 19th century was Chile and Chilean bat guano is the only place in
nature
> where perchlorate occurs naturally.  All over the US there are
groundwater and
> deep level aquifers polluted by this substance that takes over a
century to
> break down into harmless nitrogen, oxygen, and carbons.  And once the
> groundwater becomes polluted, it can leach into the soil above and
around it.
> Many of you may remember that our groundwater here in Hills, IA (pop.
679) is
> contaminated with perchlorate.  EPA still has not nailed down a source
other
> than possibly the fireworks displays we do once a year (yeah, that's
what they
> say but hydrogeologist friends of mine on the West Coast dispute this
claim,
> stating that the declining levels of perchlorate in our water/soil
indicate a
> rate of decay that would point to a contamination far earlier than
when these
> displays started.)  Another very likely source of conamination could
possibly
> be Chilean bat guano as American farmers were heavy users of this as a
> fertilizer well into the early half of the 1900's.  Because of the
heavy use
> of perchlorate by the military, much of the information about
perchlorate is
> difficult to track down unless you know where to look.
>
>
> Blessings in Christ's mercy,
>
> Melody
>
> "I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station,
through which
> God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in." ~George
Washington
> Carver
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Kitty" [kmrsy@comcast.net]
> Date: 08/02/2008 08:41 PM
> To: gardenchat@hort.net
> Subject: Re: [CHAT] did you know
>
>
>
>
>> What prompted this research?
>>
> I needed to order some more natural amendments and I usually get them
from
> Nitron. While perusing Nitron's list, I came across Bat Guano, which
gave me
> a laugh because...
> While at work a couple of weeks ago 2 women I don't know came up from
> another office to see our Chief Deputy and the woman at the desk
behind me.
> When they finished talking shop one mentioned her bat houses and
started
> telling them all about bat guava. I just had to interupt her and
correct
> guava to guano, guava being a fruit. They were all amazed and not
quite
> believing that anyone would collect it or that it had valuable
properties,
> so of course I explained that I use cricket crap for my bulbs. That
really
> had them going!
>
> Kitty
> neIN, Zone 5
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "james singer" <islandjim1@comcast.net>;
> To: <gardenchat@hort.net>;
> Sent: Saturday, August 02, 2008 6:30 PM
> Subject: Re: [CHAT] did you know
>
>
>
>> Interesting. What prompted this research? When I was 9 or 10, guano
>> imports from South America were still a big deal. I remember learning
>> about it in probably the 4th grade.
>>
>>
>> On Aug 2, 2008, at 12:02 PM, Kitty wrote:
>>
>>
>>> The history of Bat Guano and American Expansion
>>>
>>> Stemming from the Incan language (Quichua) for "bird droppings",
guano
>>> is thought to have been used for centuries in both South American
and
>>> Pacific Islander civilizations. The Incas discovered that bat
rookeries
>>> established on nearby island chains contained vast amounts of this
>>> excellent soil fertilizer, which were easily accessible and provided
>>> amazing results when used on corn and bean crops. Spanish explorers
took
>>> both the word and the practice back with them to Europe. Guano soon
>>> became a valuable commodity, rivaling only gold in its value as an
>>> import of the new world.
>>>
>>> Later, American farmers eagerly took to using Bat Guano as well,
with
>>> Congress going so far as establishing the Guano Island Act in 1856.
This
>>> act secured future guano supplies by allowing ocean islands to be
>>> claimed as territories in the name of harvesting guano.
Incidentally,
>>> many currently owned American Territories were established in this
>>> manner such as Johnson Atoll and the famous Midway Island, which
served
>>> as an important forward base of operations during World War II.
>>>
>>> It wasn't until after the invention of gunpowder that early chemists
>>> discovered that components of bat guano also lent itself to the
>>> production of powerful explosives. Guano harvesting was increased as
the
>>> military found a new use for the unorthodox fertilizer. Bat guano
>>> operations began to spring up all across the world, from the remote
>>> corners of New Zealand to the depths of the Grand Canyon, and they
have
>>> continued in production ever since.
>>>
>>> Today, Bat guano is still in use as both a fertilizer and a
component of
>>> some ammunitions. Bat guano has even been taken into space aboard
the
>>> Mercury and Gemini space capsules, and was used as the propellant to
>>> deploy the radio transmission antennas after splashdown. Bat guano
may
>>> have originally been a discovery of the ancients, but its usefulness
for
>>> modern society can still be seen today.
>>>
>>> I bet Cathy knew all this.
>>>
>>> Kitty
>>> neIN, Zone 5
>>>
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>>>
>> Island Jim
>> Willamette Valley
>> 44.99 N 123.04 W
>> Elevation 148'
>> Hardiness Zone 8/9
>> Heat Zone 5
>> Sunset Zone 6
>> Minimum 0 F [-15 C]
>> Maximum 86 F [30 C]
>>
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>
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