7 Responses to “Paul Stamets: 6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save The World”

1. 1 Jacob
   Apr 7th, 2009 at 8:19 pm

   Wow two of my heroes are finding each other! I watched Stamets give this speech live in Telluride about 5 years ago and Catherine I’ve been following your work for several years now as well… Fungus is the first decomposer and a vital part of natural eco-systems and can be utilized in permaculture gardening with great success. Thank you for posting this video, Mr. Stamets has greatly inspired my way of thought.

2. 2 Crac
   Apr 7th, 2009 at 10:52 pm

   If you dump water on carpet and padding, there will be mold within a few days (as I found out earlier this year because of a leak).So carpet (which is made from petroleum and artificial fibers) is almost as conducive to fungi growth as wet bread.

   And I was thinking at the time, where the heck did the spores come from? They must be EVERYWHERE if every loaf of store-bought bread (wrapped in plastic) will mold if given enough time.

3. 3 Angela
   Apr 7th, 2009 at 11:05 pm

   Wow from me, too, Jacob- it’s so funny that Paul Stamets and his mushroom logs keep coming up for me whenever I listen in on the Thursday night Solari reports. They seem like a wonderful way to invest in my family’s future. Thanks once again Catherine!

4. 4 koios
   Apr 8th, 2009 at 9:38 am

   Fungal spores are ubiquitous - there is no such thing as a mold-free environment. Under conditions of “normal fungal ecology” you will have a minumum of 2,500-3,000 spores per cubic meter and as much as 50,000 in outdoor air, depending on native flora, temperature and humidity. When spores settle and you have 17%+ wood moisture or a relative material humidity index of 60%+, you will see mold growth within 48-72 hours. If that area is dark and moisture continues, you will have mushrooms within 2-3 weeks, depending on the host.

   If any of you remember when so many gasoline tanks were removed and the contaminated soil was left covered with plastic back in the 90s, after about 3-4 weeks you would have grasses and weeds growing through the plastic.

   Through my 20+ years in the environmental industry, the “natural” solutions to petroleum remediation centered on bacterial rather than fungal. It appears that fungi create a Fenton’s Process without necessitating a metal substrate and an enhanced oxygenate (usually 10-50% hydrogen peroxide solution). So, to remediate soil you would add mushroom fertilizer to contaminated soil and water, mix thoroughly and cover to naturally attenuate. With contaminated groundwater, you would inject a fungal “stew”. When you can reduce PAHs, which are heavy carbon chains from C12-C25, from 10,000 to under 200 mg/kg (parts per million) in several weeks, that is amazing.

5. 5 Tom
   Apr 8th, 2009 at 12:30 pm

   Wow it’s great to see you pick up on Paul’s work and by extension permaculture. Mr. Stammets has three patents now on using fungi to “mycoremediate” sites suffused with toxic chemicals.

6. 6 margret henkels
   Apr 8th, 2009 at 3:52 pm

   Maybe running out of money will prove to help switch our techologies over to this approach. The cash rich approach has led only to ruin. Let’s celebrate the crash….and a coming rebirth.

7. 7 Robert Callahan
   Apr 12th, 2009 at 10:08 pm

   I can’t believe I’m sitting here reading all this dribble. Some of the worst soil pathogens, as imperfect fungi, are devastating to plant life. Look at Pythium, or try Phytopthora infestans. Even perhaps Fusarium species. Soils, and soil dynamics are as complicated as any aspect of life.
   Then,look at fungal symbiosis with mycorrhizae for their wonder, but temper the hoopla please