Can toxic waste be turned from a disposal problem into a useful and benign fertilizer? That’s the question some scientists and activists are asking about a product that is routinely used by farmers and home gardeners to feed their soils.
There are few hidden chemical threats in a natural futon. A simple version is just puffy cotton or wool, sometimes certified organic, within a cover made of cotton or other material. Layering several futons on the floor and storing them in the closet can save space. You can also buy a wooden futon frame, which gives you a couch during the day and a bed at night.
Record gas prices have prompted heated debate about the root causes, leading some to point their fingers at ethanol, which in the U.S. is usually made from corn (see "Grass to Gas," Currents, May/June 2005). Congress had recently mandated replacement of the groundwater pollutant methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) with ethanol, another additive that decreases pollution when blended with gasoline.
