On Saturday, I headed down to the convention center to check out Seattle's second annual Green Festival. I went in without any real expectations for the event (a product of only previously attending festivals of this genre in Miami and the Keys), yet I came out with a feeling of incredible enlightenment. This was all thanks to the presentation Paul Stamets made on how mushrooms can save the world.
Wearing a hat made out of a massive dried mushroom, Stamets explained to us how mycelium (more or less the root system of a fungus) is a lifeblood to our species. He then described the methods by which mycelium can be used in bioremediation/ecological restoration, including its application in many common types of toxic spills.
What impressed me the most about his presentation was his constant transparency. Each major claim for the profound ability of mycelium was supported with empirical data observed by Stamets and his fellow mycologists. And the claims were many; ranging from saving his own house from carpenter ants, to reopening bodies of water in the PNW to shellfish harvesting, to creating an ultra-efficient source of renewable fuel. By the end of his 90-minute lesson, Stamets had constructed an almost irrefutable argument as to why mycelium is a natural resource that we must begin to utilize.
Monday, March 30, 2009
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2 comments:
Very interesting Marshall.
If you search him on youtube he has a bunch of videos as well.
hope all is well.
ps: i like the color change. very nice :)
"I believe mycelium is the neurological network of nature...I see mycelium as the Earth's natural internet, a consciousness with which we might be able to communicate." ~Paul Stamets
I am happy we can share this appreciation.
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