Hydroponics and Beneficial Microorganisms

Hydroponics and Beneficial Microorganisms

By Clifford Woods 

Hydroponics is a subtype of hydro-culture or growing plants in water with nutrient solutions. It is a soil-less way of planting. Hydroponics derived its name from the Greek word “hydro” or water and “ponos” meaning labor. William Frederick Gericke of the University of California at Berkeley was one of the first ones to cultivate plants on mineral nutrient solutions. Gericke coined the term hydroponics in 1937 (although he asserts that the term was suggested by W. A. Setchell, of the University of California). 

Through these types of studies, it was discovered that plants could thrive not only in soil, but also in water, since water contains the essential nutrients and beneficial microorganisms that are also present in the soil. 

Hydroponics turned out to be more advantageous than soil culture, because pests are easy to control in this type of system.  In natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth. When the mineral nutrients in the soil dissolve in water, plant roots are able to absorb them. When the required mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant's water supply artificially, soil is no longer required for the plant to thrive. Almost any terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics.

Since the water environment of the plant can be controlled, nutrient solutions can be incorporated into the water depending on the nutrient needs of the plant. Many hydroponics growers also incorporate beneficial microorganism as supplements to nutrients in the water. 

There is actually a full range of ways to benefit from beneficial microorganisms, which can be utilized in hydroponics. The secret is only to know when to apply and how much to apply. Here are some of the benefits of beneficial microorganisms.

Development of Seeds and Clones
Beneficial microorganism is not just used on the hydroponics systems itself, but also for propagating seeds and also on developing the cuttings. This stage of crucial development in plant life and beneficial bacteria will help boost the growth and development of these plants and cuttings. During this time, beneficial microorganism incorporation should be three times the normal use. 

Elimination of Pathogens in the System
Harmful microorganisms that cause diseases increase even in the hydroponic systems during root development. These harmful microorganisms, which are also called pathogens, result to plant diseases or plant death. There are certain types of beneficial microorganism that kill these pathogens. 

It is important to know what type of pathogen is attacking the system to know what type of beneficial microorganism to incorporate in the hydroponics system. Moreover, these also strengthen plants defenses against harmful pathogens in a way like the immune system is boosted by supplements. 

Boosts Nutrient Uptake of Hydroponics Plants
Most beneficial microorganism types boost the nutrient uptake of plants in the hydroponics system by keeping the roots healthy by strengthening roots and increasing root size, since it is the one responsible for absorption. When spraying leaves with foliar fertilizer, these microorganisms may also be incorporated in the solution to enable the stomata of the leaves to absorb better.

Makes the Environment Suitable for Plant Growth
Beneficial microorganisms control the environment such as correcting the atmospheric nitrogen and producing nitrogen for plants, since plants cannot produce their own. Some fungi types also help in assimilating phosphorous when incorporated in the hydroponics system.

Hydroponics is a new way in cultivating plants where the environment can be controlled to eliminate any usual problems experienced from soil gardening. The strategy is to provide an environment that plants can thrive on and this is through providing the correct amount of nutrients supplemented with incorporating beneficial microorganisms. 

Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services
and Organic Environmental Technology.
We brew Beneficial Microorganisms that eat toxins in the environment and offer Environmentally Friendly products.

Healthy Environment and A Long Life

Healthy Environment and A Long Life

By Clifford Woods 


Individuals have a constant interaction with the environment. These interactions affect the quality of life, either bestowing years of healthy life or causing health problems and shorter lives. Environmental health involves controlling or preventing disease, disability, and injury related to the interactions between the environment and people.

Adverse solid waste material vastly affects the quality of life, resulting in various hindrances in living a healthy and long life, while also making the quality of life in some areas unbearable.

2020 Healthy People Environmental Health Objectives
The 2020 Healthy People Environmental Health Objectives focus on those areas that highlight some elements of environmental health. These consist of air quality outdoors; toxic substances and hazardous wastes; and ground and surface water quality, as well as other elements needed for a healthy environment that promotes a long life. 

Quality of Air
When we think of the surroundings and sustainability, air quality is a natural consideration. The air quality touches numerous parts of the ecosystem globally including water, soil, wildlife, vegetation, and human life. In one-way or another, all living things depend on the air around us.

2012 Outdoor Pollution
In 2010, 3.2 million people died early from outdoor air pollution, mostly in Asia, and mostly from soot as well as other pollutants from trucks and diesel cars.  This means that outdoor air pollution is now a much larger risk to health than high cholesterol and, along with obesity, is the health risk that is the fastest growing in the world, thus resulting in lack of a healthy environment nourishing quality life. 

Solid and Hazardous Waste
Nearly every activity leaves behind some type of waste in the environment.  Manufacturing and industrial processes create hazardous solid waste. Some of this waste has chemicals that are hazardous to people and the environment.  

When these hazardous chemicals are in the environment, people become exposed to them. Exposure arises when individuals have interaction with the toxic waste, both directly and through other substances polluted with this waste. Living a healthy long life becomes a really tough task under such circumstances.

Companies Not Following Regulations
There are many companies that do not safely dispose of their toxic waste, contaminating entire communities they are located in. This results in many quality of life issues including early onset of cancers and other health problems, especially in the very young and the very old. 

Ground and Surface Waters
The quality of ground and surface water possibly has the largest effect on long life – not so much in the United States, but certainly in underdeveloped countries where drinking water is polluted and babies and children often get sick and die from the quality of the water.  

Surface water can become stagnant and polluted simply by not having a method to flow and take out many elements of solid waste. Often, surface water is not a good source of potable water and can harm animals, plants, and humans. In many areas of the world, water out of the ground is pumped out, so people can use it for bathing, drinking, and well as other uses in a household, industry and agriculture.  

Additionally, groundwater often reaches the surface through other pathways that are natural such as springs. Groundwater that is contaminated affects the health of everything when they bathe or drink water that is contaminated or when they eat anything that has been negatively affected by contamination of groundwater. The dream of a healthy environment is simply not possible without better quality water.

Goals that need to be met
So, anything that contaminates the air, water or other areas of the environment can diminish the quality of life as well as shorten a long life. As times go on, we are contaminating more and more of our drinking water, which is the number one resource that all animals, plants, and human beings need to continue to sustain healthy growth.

Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services
and Organic Environmental Technology.
We brew Beneficial Microorganisms that eat toxins in the environment and offer Environmentally Friendly products.

The Environment – Who Cares For It?

The Environment – Who Cares For It?

By Clifford Woods


The whole world is going green. The going green campaign is one that has taken root in all parts of the world as a result of the growing concerns of environmental degradation. From social media to TV advertisements, every possible platform is being used to raise awareness on the horrifying situation we are currently in as far as the environmental care is concerned. There is cause to worry and you can find out why below:

Why Should We Care?

• 70% of marine life risks extinction
• By 2100, a third of all species may be extinct
• Between 15% and 20% of global methane emission comes from farm animals
• Over 850 million trees are chopped each year
• 25,000 people die daily due to water contamination and shortage
• 12,000 tons of carbon dioxide are added to the atmosphere every minute
• 50 tons of productive soil are blown off and washed away from cropland every single minute

The list is endless and it’s safe to say that we are living in a sorry state as far as our environment is concerned. Scientists tell us that at this rate, the ozone layer may be depleted to a point where life could be unsupported in just 200 years. This means that only microbial life will be around with higher life forms dying at a much faster rate. It’s not just plants and animals that are at threat of extinction, but the human race as well.

Why Should We Protect The Environment? The answer for this is quite obvious; we have no other choice. The environment supports life and all components that we depend on for survival is provided via the environment. This means that our reproductive growth, development activities and civilization are all at the mercy of our environment.

Environment Care: Which Way Forward? While talking about the problem helps, what matters most is getting a solution and we do not need to depend on our governments or celebrities to endorse environmental care. There are two key things we can do to reduce our carbon footprint and these are:

1. Recycle: By recycling and using recyclable products, we reduce the number of landfills we have and the amount of pollution that goes into the air due to production and manufacturing. Can you believe that each ton of recycled paper actually saves 17 trees and 380 oil gallons? This just shows that we can indeed make a difference in our own small way.
2. Become Energy Efficient: There are many ways in which we can become energy efficient. For starters, we could move to alternative forms of energy. Solar and wind energy are not only feasible, but free. Energy efficiency can be achieved just by changing several things in our lifestyles, such as the way we utilize energy, the products we use every day and even the cars we drive.

Goals that need to be met
So, anything that contaminates the air, water or other areas of the environment can diminish the quality of life as well as shorten a long life. As times go on, we are contaminating more and more of our drinking water, which is the number one resource that all animals, plants, and human beings need to continue to sustain healthy growth. A famous advocate for environmental care once said that if we were unkind to the environment, nature would not be kind to us.

The Environment - Who Cares For It?

Answer: we all use the environment and so it is we who should care for it. 


Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services and Organic Environmental Technology Find out more about our Natural Products We brew Beneficial Microorganisms that eat toxins and offer Environmentally Friendly products

What Does The "Environment" Consist of?

By Clifford Woods

The word environment can be defined as conditions that sustain life or an ecosystem. Different environments sustain both living and non-living organisms.

What does the Environment Consist Of? The composition of the environment is quite interesting and we can classify it into two main categories, which are:


Natural Universal Resources: These are resources that are not man-made and this includes water, climate, air, electric charge, magnetism, radiation as well as physical phenomena, such as the lack of boundaries on land.

Ecological Units: These are natural systems that occur within the boundaries of natural phenomena and this includes rock formations, soil, vegetation, the atmosphere and microorganisms.

Factors Affecting the Environment Various things affect the composition of the environment and these include the following processes:

1. Biotic processes: These involves living organisms and they affect the environment through excretion, breathing, absorption of sunlight, consumption of plants and animals, planting as well as decomposition. Different living organisms affect the environment in different ways, and a good example of these differences is roots hold the soil together while burrowing animals loosen it.
2. Hydrologic processes: Water also affects the environment in many ways. Water sustains life and plants and animals depend on its availability to develop and gain food. It also affects soil and can be detrimental through erosion. Water exists in various forms and can be present in liquid form, ice and vapors.
3. Geomorphic processes: These are factors that affect land and include processes such as deposition, weathering, transportation and erosion. To put this in order of occurrence, we will start with weathering that occurs when rock formations break either due to chemical, biotic or mechanical means. They then erode, thanks to wind and water that leads to transportation of the rocks and soil before being deposited to another location.
4. Atmospheric processes: The final factor affecting the composition of the environment is atmospheric processes. This includes climate, the wind and changing weather patterns. The weather we experience is as a result of atmospheric processes and these affect the environment by regulating availability of water for living organisms.

As you can see, there are physical and biological characteristics of the environment. The biological characteristics include plants, animals and other living matter, such as bacteria, while physical characteristics are made of land, water, the atmosphere and climate.

Types of Environment

• There are different environments and these include:
• Tropical rainforests
• Polar environments
• Deserts
• Wetlands
• Grasslands
• Water bodies
• Urban environments

Urban environments are largely man-made and they too, contain the resources just like any other environment.

Our environments are ever changing and while some changes are subtle, such as the receding water levels at a beach, others are massive and may cause major changes. Our short life spans prevent us from fully realizing the drastic environmental changes and what many don’t know is that the environment as we know it today is not as it was a hundred or a thousand years ago.

 The next time you get out of the house, think about where your environment meets the next change and how it will look like in the next century or decade.

Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services and Organic Environmental Technology Find out more about our Natural Products We brew Beneficial Microorganisms that eat toxins and offer Environmentally Friendly products

Health Issues and a Clean Environment

Health Issues and a Clean Environment

By Clifford Woods

The term clean environment is somewhat vague and can be interpreted in many ways. A clean environment is not only necessary for aesthetic pleasure, but is essential in sustaining human health as well. The most widely known health impacts of the environment can be attributed to factors like pollution, climate change, ozone depletion, land degradation and the obvious loss of biodiversity. It is such factors that bring about the correlation between health issues and a clean environment.

Why look at environment and health? There is increasing awareness that our health and the environment in which we live are closely linked, and in 2006 the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 24% of the global burden of disease was due to modifiable environmental factors. This growing awareness is reflected in recent health and environmental initiatives from governments and other organizations.
A lot has been said about the health issues brought about by poor indoor and outdoor quality, lack of sanitation, the use of hazardous chemicals and poor water quality as well. These are all factors that directly affect human health and are as a result of our poor efforts at maintaining and creating a clean environment.
Many blame the sorry state of the environment on the growing population, the projected increase from 6.8 billion to 9.2 billion by the 2050 means that we should expect worse days to come. This link between resource utilization and population is easy to follow, but is largely due to our lifestyles.
There is simply too much carbon dioxide production and this is all easily traced from sources, such as cars, detergents, pesticides, manufacturing and of course, the receding water levels.

Health and the Environment

• While there are efforts to improve the environment, it is still shocking that preventable ailments and premature deaths still occur globally due an unclean environment and here’s proof:
• 3 million children lose their lives every year due to diarrhea, which is brought about by unclean water and poor sanitation
• Malaria still claims close to 3 million lives yearly
• Acute poisoning from pesticides affects between 3.5 and 5 million people in developing countries
• About 4 million children lose their lives to respiratory infections many of which are linked to poor indoor and outdoor air quality

While it’s clear that many of these health issues affect those in developing countries, environmental threats are everywhere and industrialization is now the major threat to a clean environment. Industrial pollution is now the leading cause of air pollution and toxic waste. In fact, statistics show that respiratory conditions, such as asthma, are becoming more prevalent in the developed world mainly due to environmental factors.
Environmental conditions that affect human health are manageable and even preventable with better environmental care and practices. A clean environment is not just the responsibility of your government, but falls upon us all. There are many advantages to having a clean environment and some of these include:

• Less communicable diseases
• Enhanced quality of life
• Better food quality
• Clean energy for future generations and more

Health and the environment affect us all, but it is the poor who are most affected and especially the children and women. 

While the health issues that have been brought about by global changes are quite easy to identify, many of us ignore them unless we are directly infected or affected.

Human health has always undergone threats from natural phenomena like draught, fire, flooding and others. This is however, being worsened by poor environmental management. Remember that good health and a clean environment coexist.

Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services and Organic Environmental Technology Find out more about our Natural Products We brew Beneficial Microorganisms that eat toxins and offer Environmentally Friendly products

Beneficial Microorganisms and the Environment

By Clifford Woods




Our culture has become obsessed with eliminating bacteria; using gels and wipes to kill all the microbes that we have associated with illness, infection and death. But there are many types of microbes that are beneficial, which are helpful, even helping us in our fight against global warming by breaking down plastics and cleaning up pollution. Someday perhaps even developing into a cure for cancer.



Beneficial Microorganisms Bacteria or microbes are everywhere in our world, and their presence of course has an effect on the environment they are living in. These effects of microbes on our environment may be beneficial or harmful, with some having no effect on humans at all.

Beneficial Applications Outside the body, microorganisms are used widely in various applications that are beneficial, including pest control, food, as well as symbiosis of plants and stimulation of growth.

Oil Spills There are assorted types of bacteria that can clean up the environment when major petroleum spills happen. There is a specific strain of bacteria called Alcanivorax that will quickly increase in population whenever an oil spill offers for them, large amounts of food, and they are able to remove much of the oil from these spills. They were at work in the Gulf of Mexico during the Deepwater Horizon spill and are probably still there to help undo the damage that was done to the Gulf. Because they are able to help in this area, they provide an effect that is beneficial to our environment. This incident brought to the attention of scientists even more beneficial microorganisms that feed on oil than originally first thought. It is estimated that the annual seepage in the Gulf of oil is 140,000 tons and these microorganisms take care of that.

Produce Electricity There are still other forms of bacteria having tiny wire appendages referred to as nanowires and they not only digest toxic waste including PCBs and chemical solvents, they can also produce electricity while they are digesting the toxic waste. One bacterium, called Shewanella, is a type of microorganism from the deep sea that grows these nanowires that seek oxygen when placed in low-oxygen environments. Experts discovered that when the nanowires are pricked with electrodes of platinum, they are able to carry a current. If these capabilities are harnessed effectively, they one day could be used in sewage treatment facilities to not only digest waste, but at the same time provide the power for the plant. There is currently no analytics on this form of bacteria.

Bacteria and Plastics Non-biodegradable and far too present on our planet, plastic becomes a great problem when it comes to disposal. But in 2008, a student in Canada carried out an amazing science experiment where microorganisms were able to eat plastic. Since that time, research teams have been working on the development of this ability and how to use it to our benefit. At the University of Dublin, a professor got these bacteria to metabolize plastic bottles that were cooked down into a new type of plastic that is biodegradable.

On Their Own In the earlier part of the year, experts discovered that beneficial microorganisms were already breaking down plastics in the world’s oceans on its own, but it has not been shown whether this will have a negative or positive effect on the environment. Some items such as fishing line as well as plastic bags are being devoured by these bacteria; the problem is that this waste could have potential harmful effects to ecosystems in the ocean as it travels up the food chain.

These are just several different ways that microorganisms are being beneficial to our environment. However, there is a greater need of research in the area.

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Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services and Organic Environmental Technology
Find out more about Beneficial Microorganisms
We brew Beneficial Microorganisms that eat toxins and offer Environmentally Friendly products

The Value Of Clean Water

By Clifford Woods

It is a known fact that clean water is essential to all living things to be able to survive. With the environmental changes occurring at present, however, the environment is at risk of losing clean water with all the uncontrolled pollutants that are incorporated in the water system. There might be a time when clean water scarcity will be experienced all around the world.

One solution in addressing the problem of contaminated water is the use of beneficial microorganisms.

Beneficial microorganisms, either in the form of bacteria or fungi, have the ability to breakdown almost anything to use them for food as a source of energy. They are the reason for the decay of organic materials in the environment.
Beneficial microorganisms, which we commonly term as good bacteria, are very helpful to the body since they fight harmful microorganisms or bad bacteria. Aside from their benefits in the body, they also have some benefits in our environment, such as helping in production of clean water.

These beneficial microorganisms are versatile; they can adapt to any type of environment they are in. These have the ability to clean water and thus, they are incorporated to dirty ponds and lakes that need to be cleaned up. Although there are natural floras already present in the local environment, they have already been depleted by pollution and thus, the need to incorporate cultured microorganisms into them is imminent.

Beneficial microorganisms may be incorporated in ponds to produce clean water. Some types of beneficial microorganisms break down toxic ammonia present in ponds. They break them down into nitrites, which are converted into a useful form. An increase of nutrients present in the pond environment can also become harmful, beneficial microorganisms also feed on these excess nutrients.

A pond that is full of algae and dead plants has its oxygen content of the water depleted. The introduction of beneficial microorganisms can help clean water by feeding on these dead plants and algae and emitting oxygen back into the water. The pungent odors due to increase in algae and dead plants are also reduced. In this way, other living things present in ponds and lakes, such as fish are able to thrive in the environment. And people enjoy the clean water caused by beneficial microorganisms too.

Bad bacteria present in a pond environment can cause illness to humans resulting in ulcers, septicemia, and gastroenteritis. These harmful microorganisms are incorporated into water systems that mix with water sources and then come out in tap water, which all the while is thought as clean water. Beneficial microorganisms can eliminate stomach illnesses by releasing antibacterial properties.

Beneficial microorganisms are able to balance the ecosystem around their environment to help other living things to thrive, such as in the case of ponds and lakes to keep clean water flowing. However, if the beneficial microorganism is out-numbered by harmful organisms and substances, the rate of pollution is faster than the breakdown from the beneficial microorganisms. They cannot do the entire job alone and so there is a need for humans to maintain cleanliness in the environment and to reduce pollution as much as possible to have unending supply of clean water.

It is important to implement methods that will keep the correct balance of both algae and bacteria so that a healthy ecosystem is maintained. Where matter and waste are allowed to collect in the bottom of the pond, the oxygen content eventually decreases, which means that beneficial bacteria or microorganisms are unable to control for high levels of ammonia and nitrites. Even the application of a pump or filter to aerate the water will prove ineffective.

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Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services and Organic Environmental Technology Find out more about our Organic Pond Cleaner - Pond Magician
We brew Beneficial Microorganisms that eat toxins and offer Environmentally Friendly products