Long revered for its value as a fertilizer, and as a raw material for explosives, guano is the dried droppings of various birds and bats. The New York Times has published an excellent account of the Peruvian harvest of this valuable resource including a multimedia slideshow. Guano was superseded by synthetics in the early part of the 20th century, due to the development of the Haber Bosch process, which fixed atmospheric nitrogen. An attempt to harvest bat guano from a Grand Canyon cave in the late 1950’s was beset by technical problems and was ultimately unsuccessful. The remaining structures at the canyon rim are now a tourist attraction.
posted by Tube on Jun 7, 2008 - 13 comments

Fritz Haber's story is the story of the double edged sword of science. He won the Nobel prize in 1918 for his groundbreaking work in breaking the nitrogen cycle for Germany's WWI efforts, but it's been estimated that two out of every five people now living would not have been born if it weren't for artificial fertilizers created using his process. He also spent much of the war developing poison gases; first chlorine (after watching its first use, Haber's wife committed suicide) and later Zyklon B (the cyanide insecticide later used against his fellow Jews in concentration camps). He died alone and in poverty in Switzerland. But the lessons of his life haven't quite been forgotten.
posted by Plutor on Nov 21, 2006 - 17 comments

A new way to go How would you like to get to the next world: burial, cremation, or alkaline hydrolysis?
posted by gimonca on Jul 30, 2003 - 8 comments

30,000 tons of turkey poop to turn an old mine site in Indiana into wetlands. Memo to self, avoid driving anywhere near Lynnville Indiana anytime soon. This is so neat. I mean what else are you going to do with 30,000 tons of turkey poop?
posted by MAYORBOB on Apr 27, 2002 - 11 comments