By WALLYCE TODD
Staff writer

I’m not a scientist. But I recognize how integrally involved science is in the world around us. I’m not an expert environmentalist. But while I don’t believe we humans can destroy completely what God created, I do believe we can make His earth a more miserable place to live.

I’m not an artisan of crafts. But I can so appreciate the creativity, talent and skill that go into creations of clay, glass, wood and more. I’m not a horticuralist, but I am thankful for those whose hands, minds and hearts combine to plant, nurture and harvest nature’s gifts of crops and color.

No, I’m not any of the above, but I can still appreciate what I saw at the Energy Xchange in Yancey County. In my opinion, it is an excellent example of beauty from ashes…or should I say it’s bringing something lovely from gases?

Methane is what is produced at landfills. It’s a gas that can be toxic. Five people, four all in the same family, were killed almost instantly in Virginia earlier this month when they were exposed to intense methane fumes from a manure pit used on their farm.
In the mountains of our Tar Heel state, there’s a project in place that captures the methane gas produced at a discontinued landfill and utilizes it to heat greenhouses where native plants are grown and original crafts are created using methane-powered kilns.

This month, I visited the environmentally artistic project located in a community near where my mom was born. I found myself impressed by how scientists, horticulturalists, artisans, business people and educators combined to cultivate a project that was forward thinking and environmentally advantageous.

Last week, I coordinated a page that briefly highlighted this project (the Lifestyle page in the Monday, July 9, edition). I wanted to add a bit of “first person perspective” to the photo feature page. Hence this column.

Before visiting the landfill energy exchange site, I spoke to Dennis Grady, who is the director of the Appalachian State University Energy Center. I asked him to give me five points about why he believed utilizing landfill gases for projects such as those in Yancey County was important. Here’s what he said:

• About half of landfill gas is methane. It has BTU (measurement of energy), which can be converted into heat or energy.

• Methane is a severe “greenhouse gas,” 23 times more toxic than carbon dioxide. It’s better for the environment (and us!) for it not to just evaporate into the atmosphere.

• The cost of energy (i.e. petroleum) is constantly increasing.

• Other industries could do what Energy Xchange in Yancey County is doing, especially if their businesses have particularly intense energy needs.

• Landfill energy exchange projects can take what is historically considered as a nuisance and turn it into an economic benefit.
This last point is one in which I found myself most interested. I love it when negatives can result in positives. That seems to reflect so much of life, holistically, if we allow it to work that way. Not all things are good, but I truly believe all things can work together for good…

Now, back to science, landfills and such. Just this week, I was speaking with Chris Helms, who is the superintendent for Lake Waccamaw’s state park. We were talking about Venus flytraps, which are found in only 10 counties in the world. In other words, these native plants are indigenous to our region, and not found elsewhere. Pretty exciting, isn’t it? Carnivorous plants aren’t found just everywhere.

Becky Westbrooks, an instructor at Southeastern Community College, and I have also spoken about the Venus flytrap phenomenon as it relates to tissue culturing and growing native plants via micro propagation techniques. Whew! I just reread that last sentence and it has a lot of big words. Let me simplify.

Our region has a special plant (translation for the younger folks: “it’s really cool!”). If people keep digging it up from its natural habitat, it messes up the environment and soon we won’t have any more.

However, we can grow the plants (translation: micro propagate) in special conditions like greenhouses. If we do this, we could create a niche market in our area (translation: benefit us economically) and positively impact the world we live in by not eliminating a naturally produced species. Make more sense? I hope so.
But why am I even bringing “meat-eating” plants into this column? Well, why couldn’t our landfill gases be used to help in growing Venus flytraps in greenhouses? Or if that wasn’t feasible, what about all these gifted artisans who are making pottery and ceramics out at SCC and in other places in our area?

For the artists-in-residents in Yancey County, the methane gas powered kilns didn’t always provide a consistent source of heat energy, but they dramatically lowered the production costs of artisans who are interested in building their business. One couple had lived several places before renting space and equipment in New Orleans for seven years.

All during that time, they were unable to afford the start-up costs of having their own building, kilns, etc. In just three years of not having to pay for the use of the kilns they used at the Energy Xchange site in the N.C. mountains, they were able to build a clientele and save enough money to go out entirely on their own in another state.

Why couldn’t we do something like that here in Columbus County? We could. In fact, if the landfill gases couldn’t be used for greenhouses or artists, maybe it could be used for an agricultural-based business.

There are numerous options to consider. My hope is that enough people will actually move forward on an idea like the above. It isn’t just a neat concept somewhere else in the state, but is one we could develop right here at home.